Philly Navy Yard Shoot

GINA CORSO

Even though I’ve photographed two small wedding ceremonies during the COVID pandemic I needed a creative photoshoot to get the wheels spinning again to knock some of the rust off. This pandemic has admittedly been a struggle for me. Especially, after the first month or so when I realized, along with all other creatives, just how detrimental the impact of this virus would be on our livelihoods. If I’m real honest with you, as the pandemic unfolded, I felt the need to take a break from picking any camera up for a little while.

While keeping things afloat with the business I also kept myself busy with woodworking projects, hanging out with my son, and planting a vegetable garden. My camera though? Well, it hasn’t felt any love in quite some time.

A few weeks ago I figured it was time. Time to shake off some of the rust and try to wake the creative beast that’s been asleep since mid-May. Before COVID hit, I had three projects in the works, all of which were cancelled/postponed. One of them was a creative project with a professional violinist, Gina Corso. I reached out to her to see if she would be interested in doing a quick shoot at the Philadelphia Navy Base.

Her world has been rocked by COVID these past several months as well so it was a great way to get both our heads back on track professionally and creatively. It was 96 degrees out, full sun, tons of good ol’ fashion humidity, and ticks covering us from head to toe that we picked up in a freshly cut grass field in between a couple of abandoned Navy buildings. Being in the city, these ticks were so shocked to smell fresh blood that I could swear we could see the grass shaking as they moved in for the kill. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever had so many ticks on me at once.

Kristen Catoe, one of the talented Twisted Oaks Studio associate photographers came along and helped out, getting in some shooting herself and capturing some BTS shots. Having someone else shooting with me is something that I’ve grown to find really helpful after years of photographing weddings with my wife, Sandi. It helps to push me and comes in very handy when my mind turns to mush and I need a few minutes to get my shit together. Kristen not only did a great job of helping out but she captured some great shots herself.

As for the shoot itself, I would be lying if I said it felt great to get out shooting again. I felt rusty as hell. But just as it is with most creative endeavors, we have to be patient. The spark of fresh ideas and “that’s it!” moments don’t always tend to hit us exactly when we plan for it too. As the evening went on, we were getting good photographs but I never quite felt like I was on my game. I had wanted to push things creatively but to be completely honest, it just never happened. But hey, I’m okay with that right now. One step at a time. If anything, it was a good reality check that I needed.

Here are a handful of the shots I processed along with a few BTS that were captured by Kristen. Please, feel free to comment below and let me know how things have been going for you during this unique time that we find ourselves and how you get the creative juices flowing again after a long break. Have a great week!