Editor’s note: What activities and practices have gotten us through the pandemic? What have we learned about ourselves during this dismal time? Baltimore Watchdog reporters wrote personal essays and interviewed people on this topic. Here’s what they found.
By Norma Sorto
Jenny Moscoso entered 2020 with a plan to take lots of portraits for a photography class she was taking at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Moscoso, 21, began her year in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where she took pictures for DMV rapper Frankie Steeze. She was working on his album cover for his latest single. Moscoso likes to work with local creatives to expand her photography skills. But all that changed at the beginning of March when everything was in lockdown and she couldn’t photograph outside of her house in person.
During the first few weeks of quarantine, Moscoso wasn’t motivated to take pictures at all. Moscoso has been into photography since she took her first photography class in her sophomore year of high school. She took photography seriously after graduating from Duval High School. Moscoso began to do client work as a side job for formal events.
As someone who loves meeting new people and traveling, Moscoso felt that being inside all the time negatively affected her creativity because she could not produce a lot of content like before. Then she started to do architectural photography.
“Architectural photography was one thing I always have been into and got more into it,” Moscoso said, “since it was safer to use as my subjects rather than people, and you can play with so many angles and get some incredible shots.”
For the past four years, Moscoso has improved her photography skills by experimenting with different technique and using a range of cameras that best fit her aesthetic. Her favorite camera to use is a Nikon D3200 because it was her first-ever camera. Moscoso uses Adobe photo editing software such as Photoshop and Lightroom. Moscoso likes to improvise as she takes her photographs without overthinking too much.
“When it’s my own work I get more laid back with it,” Moscoso said. “Once I set everything up and start taking photos, I’m already in that mindset of having fun, and let’s see what comes out of it.”
Because of strict lockdown guidelines at the beginning of March, Moscoso had to figure out a way to still do projects for her photography class. That is when she decided to take architectural pictures. With architectural photography, she could go outside and travel to different places on her own without the need to meet people. Toward the end of March, Moscoso created her photography series on Instagram called “Isolation,” which had two parts. The series involved her going to Washington, D.C, and taking pictures of apartment buildings, old corner stores and alleyways. She captures each building with different angles and edits them with a grainy film-like filter. Moscoso’s favorite place to takes architectural photography is Washington, D.C., because there are many old and new buildings ranging between modern and historical.
Moscoso has a lot of different styles of photography. She likes to venture out of her comfort zone by incorporating inspiration from movies, old vintage fashion magazines and other artists. She gets her inspiration from films like “Pulp Fiction” and “Kill Bill.” With her photography, her goal is to capture the moment straight out of a movie scene.
“I love photographing buildings that come in different shapes than the normal ones we see,” said Moscoso, “and combining them with portraits as backgrounds.”
Although the pandemic created uncertainty, she and her friend, Daniel, a fashion designer, launched their website, Xenos, to share their creative work. Moscoso was able to sell her architecture photography for a reasonable price. She hopes to expand the website by adding a feature for people to book her in the future.