writer, photographer, web person from Washington, DC.
Author: Joe Flood
Joe Flood is a writer, photographer and web person from Washington, DC. The author of several novels, Joe won the City Paper Fiction Competition in 2020. In his free time, he enjoys wandering about the city taking photos.
It was Save the Date, a performance art piece at the Corcoran Museum. Kathryn Cornelius married and divorced seven different people on one day in August. It was the busiest I’ve ever seen the Corcoran, as tourists joined with members of the wedding party to celebrate one marriage after another.
What did it all mean? For suitor Eames Armstrong, the message of Save the Date was marriage equality.
But to me, it was about marriage absurdity – why are weddings so big, expensive and overproduced? Weddings these days seem less about love and more about impressing friends and family with your wealth and taste.
If there ever was an American institution deserving of mockery, it’s the modern American wedding. Save the Date demonstrated how bloated and silly these matrimonial performances have become.
This is an iPhone shot of the gorgeous Leica store in DC, where they were showing an exhibit of black and white photography by Peter Turnley. It’s a beautiful space, like an Apple store for photographers.
I would love a Leica.
But the iPhone is the Leica of today, a camera that is small, easy to use and non-intimidating, traits that make it ideal for street photography. iPhoneographers like Greg Schmigel highlight this trend.
Ironically, and perhaps maddeningly for photo purists, this Instagram pic was used in a blog post about the Turnley show by the Leica curator.
Of course, an iPhone can’t do all the things that a $7000 Leica can do. But it can still make art.
For the “Man Up!” issue of On Tap Magazine, I had a chance to interview Suzie Robb of Boobs Bacon Bourbon, a web site that covers these important male interests. Given her web site, I thought she’d be perfect for the dude-themed August edition of On Tap.
If you live in DC and are on Twitter, sooner or later you will meet Suzie. She’s like a female Kevin Bacon, connected to everyone. I met her at a show of iPhone photography at Fathom gallery. She knew all the photogs I knew and everyone else in DC, it seemed.
Given her ubiquity in the local Twitterverse, it’s not surprising that she was given the opportunity to talk to the Social Media Club of DC about her approach to blogging and new media. Her advice is practical – be real. Write about things you’re passionate about, even if it’s your morning commute.
But what I like about Suzie – she just went for it. Most people, after waking up sober the next morning, would dismiss the idea of web site devoted to boobs, bacon and bourbon. Not Suzie and her friends. She registered the domain name and got to work, enlisting people to write content, installing WordPress and scheduling the launch party.
Web sites sometimes get planned to death, with Gantt charts and Microsoft Project replacing what is, essentially, an artistic venture. It doesn’t have to be this way, as Boobs Bacon Bourbon cheekily demonstrates.
Suzie Robb: One of the Guys
By Joe Flood On Tap Magazine | August 2012 Issue
You know that girl with the food issues and the unfathomable neuroses? Suzie Robb is the opposite of all that. As the founder of the Boobs Bacon Bourbon web site, she’s a guy’s girl who enjoys nothing more than pitchers of beer and rowdy friends.
On Tap: Were you born this way?
Suzzie Robb: I’ve been a “guy’s girl” my entire life. I have two brothers that I’m very close with and always had male friends growing up. I don’t dislike women, I just relate more to the drama-free lifestyle of guys. Plus, they never borrow my clothes.
OT: Any advice for the women of DC?
SR: Tone down the crazy, learn to love bourbon and stop sending me hate-mail.
OT: What’s next for Suzie and Boobs Bacon Bourbon?
SR: The web site has taken on a personality of its own and become something I never predicted it could be. I’d love to host more events and find ways for readers to be able to interact with each other. What’s next for me? Beyond a glass of bourbon on the rocks, I have no idea.
How do you get consumers to learn about new products and build engagement with your company?
Photography.
Lured by the promise of an open bar and the chance to wander the city taking pictures, I attended the GE Lights Photo Walk. Sponsored by GE and organized by iStrategyLabs, the idea was to have a couple drinks at a downtown bar and then take photos and videos of Washington’s monuments at night. Using Instagram and the video-sharing service Viddy, participants were to tag content with the hashtag #GELights. The event was limited to 250 participants and the prizes were two trips to London and a “re-lamping” of your home.
One missed opportunity: at Penn Social there was no information on GE Lights. Handouts, swag and some actual GE Lights to look at would’ve been a good idea.
After two hours of drinking, staff from iStrategyLabs gently herded the well-lubricated techies toward the door, so that they could get pictures of the city at night.
I headed toward the Navy Memorial. I didn’t want to get the traditional night shots of Washington landmarks. Since the contest was about lights, I wanted to get pictures of bright lights, with lots of lens flare, something I knew the iPhone and Instagram were well-adapted to do. I got this:
I like the flags whipping in the breeze and the fact that it takes a moment to realize that you’re looking at the mast of a ship.
I tagged my photo in Instagram with #gelights and headed home. It was really fascinating to watch photos from DC and around the world get uploaded to Instagram with the #gelights tag.
What’s next? The photo with the most “likes” on Instagram wins a trip to London.
Would you sit through a commercial on GE Lights? Not if you could help it.
But attending an event that is fun, social and with just a slight bit of marketing is a much easier commitment to make, especially if it involves playing with our favorite gadgets. An open bar is not required.
Instagram is a powerful way to connect with consumers, because it is participatory. Rather than passively watching a commercial, consumers are actively involved in creating an experience.
While GE has been a leader in using this social photo-sharing service, it’s not the only company creating some awesome Instagram marketing.
The era of the 60 second commercial is over. The future of marketing is prizes, experiences and audience participation.
As seen on DCist. I took this iPhone pic right at sunset, when the last light of the day illuminated the Jefferson Memorial. Notice the moon on the left. The photo was processed in the Sutro filter in Instagram.
I had a chance to interview Morgan Spurlock for On Tap magazine. The director of Super Size Me discusses his new documentary Mansome, which explores male vanity in modern America.
From beard contests to the epidemic of manscaping, being a dude has become a lot more complicated.
This is kind of scary. According to a NASA analysis of recent satellite readings, it took just four days for nearly all of Greenland’s surface ice to melt amid an oppressive heat wave a couple weeks ago.
Reading this, I thought, “The ice cap has disappeared from Greenland.” All of Greenland’s surface ice has melted away over four days.
But the reporter got it wrong. If you read the comments from the smart readers of DCist, you discovered the truth. The chart above only indicates what’s melting on Greenland. Everything right now is melting on Greenland but it’s still covered in plenty of ice and snow. It’s like an ice cube that’s sweating but is still plenty big.
How could this information be communicated better? Should reporters receive more training in interpreting scientific information? Is this graphic from NASA confusing and easy to misinterpret? Should public affairs officers “dumb things down” even more?
In this iPhone photo, morning commuters ride the escalator down into the Dupont Circle Metro. I used Slow Shutter for the long exposure and then modified it in Instagram.
This photo is available as a canvas print from Instacanvas.
I was a Game of Thrones skeptic. When I heard George R.R. Martin described as an “American Tolkien”, I scoffed. This struck me as heresy. Lord of the Rings is one of my favorite books of all time. How could some contemporary American author match the artistry of the Oxford-educated Tolkien, a master of linguistics, a scarred veteran of World War I and a brilliant stylist?
And the HBO series didn’t help. While I still haven’t seen it (I don’t have the cable channel), the swords and sorcery epic seemed more about sexposition than anything else.
Seeing all the Game of Thrones books in the book store, so many of them and with tiny print on cheap pages, made me recoil. The books looked too long and too pulpy.
While I don’t think he’s an American Tolkien, he’s a good storyteller, capable of propelling a plot over thousands of pages. So many characters – it really changed my mind about how much readers can absorb and remember. The first fantasy novel I’ve picked up in a couple of decades, A Game of Thrones is good, dirty fun, filled with sex and violence of all kinds.
What makes his authorial vision unique:
Amorality – There’s no divinity guiding the characters, no Valar or Gandalf pushing the world toward good. No selfless men like Aragorn. The characters in Game of Thrones are just like us, with our desires for sex and violence. People who are too noble end up being killed while the most intriguing characters (Tyrion) are a mix of good and bad.
Plotting – Martin should write a book on plot. The action starts immediately, from the first page. Characters are placed in real peril and forced to make life and death decisions. There are consequences to what they do – nothing can be undone. Rarely do white knights arrive to rescue people and, if they do, it usually leads to greater peril. Martin cleverly alternates perspectives, challenging readers to keep pace with his breakneck story.
Game of Thrones is a tale for our times, for the readers of today. I wouldn’t call George R. R. Martin an American Tolkien. I’d call him a modern one.
This Dupont Circle to Georgetown photo walk is ideal for a late Sunday afternoon. Along the way, you’ll see historic architecture, cute Georgetown homes and find plenty of spots perfect for that classy DC portrait.
Where: Dupont Circle/Georgetown
What to See: Secret gardens, homes out of Architectural Digest and the best little bridge in Washington.
When to Go: 2-3 hours before sunset, preferably on a Sunday.
Time to Complete: 60 minutes.
How to Enjoy: Slow down! Take your time and really look around. Notice interesting door knobs and wrought iron fences. Take in the textures of the city – brick, stone, wood, glass, steel. Be in the moment.
Map of the Buffalo Bridge and Bier Baron Photo Walk
Dupont Circle Metro – Start here, at the Q Street exit of the Dupont Circle Metro. Be sure to get photos of the Whitman inscriptions on the Metro entrance. And if you’re into street photography, this is a great spot to get photos of interesting city folks.
Walt Whitman inscription at the Dupont Circle Metrocute girl, cute bike, cute @GoKateShoot
