When the coronavirus hit Dubai this Spring, all of photographer Paula Hainey's maternity and wedding photo shoots evaporated overnight. Once the world's busiest international air travel hub, the Persian Gulf city became home to tens of thousands of laid-off expats, for whom the loss of their jobs meant the loss of their temporary work visas. As they readied to pack up and return back to their "home" countries, where many hadn't lived in 15-20 years, Hainey decided to spend the new-found space in her schedule offering free photo shoots for expats by iconic city landmarks -- something with which to remember the city and the lives they led there. The response was tremendous. Her phone exploded with texts from people of all nationalities, and when Dubai reopened after lockdown, she spent her mornings on the white-sand Palace Beach, photographing more than a hundred families at sunrise. "Everybody is trying to help during Covid, restaurants are giving food or people are supporting medical staff, Hainey said. This is my way of helping, really."

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