This is a series of conversations to explore how other artists and creatives are spending their time and energy during the quarantine. In today's episode: Marco Catini.
(original picture by Marco Catini)
» Tell us a little bit about yourself:
My name is Marco Catini. I grew up in Switzerland, and in 2001 I moved to New Jersey. I am a freelance photographer, and I love using my craft to tell visual stories.
» How did the quarantine affect your work?
From the beginning, it was clear to me that, without weddings or events happening, I was going to be sitting at home for a long time. On a rational level, I knew that there wasn't much I could do about the pandemic and the lockdown. While being somewhat prepared with the loss of work, the lack of social interaction was hard to get used to.
» Did you have any big plans for 2020 that you had to cancel or postpone it? what was the impact?
Annually recurring events, like conferences, were canceled. Some of the weddings have been postponed indefinitely, while others have already been rescheduled. A couple of downsized weddings are happening now. My bottom line this year will be adversely affected, but hopefully, next year can somewhat make up for it.
My volunteer work for Special Olympics and for the Valerie Fund has come to a full stop. Both organizations serve a population that may have a compromised immune system, where it's paramount to keep everybody safe.
My wife and I were supposed to celebrate a bunch of birthdays with our family in Italy this year. Obviously that hasn't happened, which is a real bummer. We are now in that weird state of trying to plan our next trip to Europe, without having any idea of when travel will be doable for all of us.
» Since quarantine started, did you start any new projects, pick up any new hobbies, develop new abilities, etc?
I learned a new language, became a certified yoga teacher, and built the Colosseum with Lego bricks. If this all sounds far fetched: it is. Despite all my best intentions to learn something new I stayed close to what I always do: photography.
Of all things, I started taking self-portraits. I set up a "studio" at home, consisting of a backdrop and two strobes. This way I was able to take photos whenever the creative mood hit me, without having to plan an outing or trying to schedule a socially distanced session with others.
But it still felt weird to be in front of the camera, so I decided to work on my dismal macro skills as well. What I learned from this is that I dislike doing macro photography to such an extent that I'd rather sit in front of the camera.
I felt that on one hand, I couldn't let myself succumb to dark thoughts and fear, but to completely ignore them would not be helpful either. And on the other hand, I knew that humor and a good laugh would help me through the days. The resulting self-portraits reflect those two conflicting thought processes: some photos are dark, some are silly.
» If so, is there anywhere online we can see what you've been up to? Links, images, etc…
Instagram is probably the best place to see my current work. I have two different accounts: One is @marco.catini.stories, where I focus on people. I used this account to post happy photos from my archives, which were mostly Special Olympics events, and some weddings.
The other account, @marco.catini.photo, is geared towards cityscapes, landscapes, and more. I used this account to post a series "Current Mood", which was mostly dark, but sometimes silly.
Having two different outlets gave me the opportunity to embrace the ambiguity of feelings during the lockdown.
» Any advice for people who are losing their minds and looking for new things to do/try?
Seeing other people's posts about their accomplishments early on led me to believe that I, too, had to revamp my website, restructure my fee schedule, learn videography, reorganize my cabinet, paint my living room, and bake bread.
But I didn't have the energy to start anything new, which at first was frustrating. Especially when I saw how busy my wife was, working from home. So I tried to finish some old projects and to start new ones. The drive to do so was extrinsic, and without proper enthusiasm and creativity, everything I started was destined to be an unsuccessful endeavor. After a while of doubting myself, I accepted the fact that I wasn't going to be as productive as others, and found my peace with it.
Long daily walks helped me with creating some structure for my days and made me feel better about my increased intake of cake and cheese. After a few weeks, I finally found intrinsic motivation, and I started my macro experiments and my self-portraits. I also started taking landscape photos during my walks.
I guess what I'm trying to say is this: It is ok to not be creative or productive for a while. Sometimes we do need a bit of an external push to start something, but without internal motivation, it will not be satisfying. Enjoy other people's work, read the photo books you bought but never looked at, read some mindless books. You never know what will kick off your creativity. You can search for the spark, but you cannot force it.
» Any tips on music to listen, books to read, film/tv shows to watch, anything like that?
I read a bunch of "Jack Reacher" books, which were a good escape for me. I also perused "The Soul of the Camera" and "The Heart of the Photograph" by David duChemin for insight and reflections. I then learned a lot from "When They Call You a Terrorist...", "How to Be an Antiracist", "White Fragility", and "So You Want to Talk About Race".
Most of my TV watching was limited to reruns of Big Bang Theory, and movies from the Marvel Universe. In hindsight, it seems that I was looking for the comfort of familiar stories and characters.
My music style is an acquired taste. At home, we listened to a lot of electronic and dance music, like Thievery Corporation, Wankelmut, Paul Oakenfold, etc. On my daily walks, I used to blast some metal, like Suffering Hour, SubRosa, Sepultura, Haarp, and Phobiatic.
» What are the best channels/social media for people to be following you?
My website is, as you may have guessed by now, still not updated. But I can assure you that I know how I want to change its structure and content once I start working on it. I post daily to Facebook and Instagram, with the latter being my favorite for photos. Here are my social media handles:
www.instagram.com/marco.catini.stories
www.instagram.com/marco.catini.photo
if you enjoyed this conversation, you may enjoy the other ones from the series by clicking here.