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Picture this: you’ve just landed the first national publication cover of your burgeoning career. You’re super excited, obviously, and can’t wait to get your hands on a hard copy of the magazine to hug it and frame it and keep it forever.
If you’re Seattle-based photographer Chona Kasinger and it’s March of 2020, there’s just one problem: the world is in the throes of a pandemic. So, as great as the feeling of landing the Bloomberg cover might be, you’ll have to wait a while for a hard copy to come your way.
This cover is my first national cover, and ironically, I still haven’t seen it in real life because everyone from the office was working from home and magazine distributors had largely paused deliveries to the few spots around town that sell magazines.
This shot from downtown Seattle — a haunting, “28 Days Later”-esque photograph — perfectly encapsulates the year 2020. Chona was in contact with Bloomberg photo editor Jane Yeomans and the two worked together to craft a shot that would speak to this very moment in time.
I had originally pitched the editor I worked with and she came back with specifics on the kind of scene setters and imagery they were looking for. I had already been collecting a series of shots for my own personal archives and went off her direction to get this shot. In my mind, I knew elevation was key, so I asked around and was able to get a great vantage of the eeriness below. When you’re high up, structures and streets that are so tangible and familiar at eye level take on this geometric, foreign quality.
Chona was very complimentary of Jane and Bloomberg, noting that the communication was key because of the magazine’s tight deadlines. Ultimately, Chona’s shot was chosen over a few others from across the globe.
[Jane] was efficient and clear — they work on an insanely tight deadline over there. For the cover (there were a couple different versions), they pulled shots from all over the world and this shot ended up being a good fit.
And that wasn’t the only high-profile assignment Chona locked down during quarantine. She also helped Adweek get shots of nine industry leaders who — like the rest of us — have to work from home while juggling a whole host of responsibilities. Chona photographed Alicia Hatch, the Global CMO of Deloitte Digital. Like Chona, Alicia lives in Seattle.
The editor I worked with, Kacy Burdette, was great and very transparent about safety and requirements leading up. I met with the CMO at her home, not far from my own with a very minimal amount of equipment and photographed her and her four boys in her yard and balcony.
The shoot was not to take longer than 30 minutes in order to reduce potential exposure and a distance of at least six feet was kept at all times. My 70-200 and apple box have been indispensable tools at this time. It’s different, but I will say it is a fun and uniquely challenging thing working around these parameters.
It’s been encouraging to see Chona continue to get good work during these uncertain times. The freelancer has been in constant contact with old clients in the hopes of landing more work when things start to open up again. With her résumé and work ethic, it won’t be too difficult for Chona to stay busy.
A couple prospects are still in the works and I’m keeping in contact with previous clients to make myself available for when things do slowly begin to pick up again. It’s hard to predict what’s coming next and important to realize we’re all in this unpredictable pickle together.
Check out more of Chona’s work on her website.
Credits:
Photo Editor, Bloomberg: Jane Yeomans
Photo Editor, Adweek: Kacy Burdette