Metro Detroit filmmaker chronicles life in America during COVID-19 pandemic

‘Even now I get chills,’ Barry Walton said

At the height of the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdowns, a Metro Detroit filmmaker decided to grab his camera and hit the road.

He drove across the country chronicling what life was like when America came to a sudden stop.

Over the past two months people have seen an empty America. Parks, stadiums, malls all closed due to COVID-19. A man from Rochester Hills took the opportunity to pack up his Jeep and capture it all.

Barry Walton is a documentary filmmaker.

“When I starte dto see it firsthand it kind of just was so eye opening. Even now I get chills. I still haven’t been able to process it all,” Walton said.

Walton describes his travels as eerie. He drove through empty cities while listening to AM radio.

He said Las Vegas was like a ghost town, “I wanted to leave. I didn’t want to spend a lot of time there.”

Walton is putting together his work.


About the Authors:

You can watch Kim on the morning newscast weekdays from 4:30 to 7 a.m., and frequently doing reports on the 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts.

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.