writer, photographer, web person from Washington, DC.
One of my photos is a finalist in Washingtonian magazine’s monthly photo contest. My pic is the first one:
http://www.washingtonian.com/blogarticles/10934.html
It’s a black and white shot from a Pink Line Project art exhibit that was held at an old auto dealership. Very arty – the event featured dancers in gold paint who posed like statues.
I snapped this pic at Co Co Sala, a high-end chocolate store on F Street near the National Portrait Gallery featuring tiny (but delicious) pieces of black gold. On the right side of the plate is a little piece of mint chocolate. On the left, the waitress gave me a free sample of chipotle chocolate, which had a spicy kick to it. I paired them with a double espresso. For $6, this is affordable luxury.
Preparing to take off. A skateboarder at the Fixation Show.
Has the DC art scene really left the underground and emerged into the light of day? That was the premise of an article in Sunday’s Washington Post. According to the piece:
Washington has a vibrant, under-the-radar art party scene that has long been visible only to those in the know.
While I’m no porkpie hat wearing hipster, I’ve lived in this city for a while, and am friends with artists and arts organizers. In other words, I’m “in the know” and I don’t believe that there was a vibrant art party scene that was only available to the initiated. Continue reading “The New DC Art Scene is Open to All”
Tomorrow is the last day to see the Contact/s: The Art of Photojournalism at 3333 M Street, NW, in Georgetown. This great exhibit is part of FotoWeek DC and features twenty-five contact sheets made since 1976 by the photographers of Contact Press Images. The contact sheets have been enlarged and hung from the ceiling so that you can really good a close look at the individual photos. Plus, the exhibit, which is in a former furniture store, also has tons of really cool books on photojournalism that can be perused at your leisure.
Last night, I braved the cold to attend a seminar entitled The Nature of Transition by photographer Steve Uzzell. It was part of FotoWeek, the seven day celebration of photography in Washington.
The theme of the seminar was on transition in our lives, how it is something to be embraced rather than feared. After all, as humans we’re constantly in a state of change as we live and evolve. Uzzell, who primarily shoots commercial work, got the idea for the presentation after hearing from clients that their organizations were in transition. As someone who received their last regular paycheck in 1975, he thought he had something to say on the subject – and he had the photos to communicate his message.
For lack of a better term, I’d call his presentation a “magical slide show.” After an introduction to set the stage, he turned down the lights and talked in a conversational tone about the universal nature of transition while he showed iconic pictures from his work over the years. We’re drawn to transition, for its promise of growth, movement and clarity. It’s the most dynamic place to be. But how do we get in transition and best take advantage of it? Continue reading “FotoWeek Seminar: The Nature of Transition”
I was out last Friday and just happened to run into this protest. Students poured up from the Dupont Circle Metro then marched down Massachusetts Avenue to the Embassy of Sudan. There were around a hundred protesters, some of whom carried signs with the names of Sudanese villages that had been ethnically cleansed. I followed along on my bike and fortunately I had my camera with me.
I like this picture because it shows the motion of the cab and the number of people at the protest. I took it with my Canon Digital Rebel XT with a Canon 55-250 IS lens. I ran it through the “aged photo” filter in Adobe Lightroom to fade the colors a bit.
I’ve been involved with the DC Shorts Film Festival as a film and screenplay judge for the past couple years. It’s such a good time. The movies are interesting, the parties are awesome and there’s a very friendly, constructive buzz about the whole affair. This isn’t Hollywood – these are real people, just like you, who make great short films
DC Shorts will take place Sept 11 – 18 and will feature more 100 short films from around the world plus parties, seminars and a screenplay competition. I was a judge for this year’s screenplay competition. From dozens of submissions, we selected six finalists – these are short scripts which will be read aloud at a staged reading during the festival. The audience will get to vote on the winner, who will receive $2000 to turn their script into a short film.
All the action takes place at E Street Cinema downtown and nearby venues. If you like booze, creative people and interesting films, then it’s an excellent festival to attend.
Here’s what interested me this week:
How to Shoot Events
I was an event photographer last night for Art-O-Sound at Artomatic. (Pictures coming soon.) This post had some good advice about taking photos without being a jerk.
Just a Govy
Getting government to adopt the social media tools that the rest of the world uses is really painful and difficult. Allies from other agencies are needed. Hence, I was thrilled to add Just a Govy to my blogroll.
.Gov Sites Should Focus on RSS, XML
The controversial ArsTechnica article that states that government web sites should ditch design and context and just serve up raw data in open formats.
The Butterfly Pavillion
Go see this if you’re in DC! Beautifully delicate butterflies fly all around, landing on shoulders, heads, everywhere. You’re even checked on the way out to see if any errant butterflies are clinging to your clothes.
Put down the laptop and have a look around.
Where do the digitally savvy roam? According to a new study, Austin, Las Vegas, Sacramento, San Diego and, coming in at #5, Washington, DC. Maybe we should be called The Digital District. It doesn’t surprise me at all. People here wuv their Blackberries a little too much. (Not like us iPhone fanatics, we’re the normal, well-adjusted ones.) DC is all about the trading of information for influence and our digital gadgets make these transactions so much more efficient.
Austin – I’m surprised by you. You’re a city of music, bars, BBQ, bike paths and “Keep Austin Weird” – you have much better things to do than play online.
Artomatic – it’s on! I made my first visit Friday night to sample a bit of this arts extravaganza. This year, Artomatic has taken over an entire office building one block from the New York Avenue Metro station. More than just an open art show, Artomatic features music, movies, fire dancers, life modeling classes, bars and creativity untamed by professional aspirations.
Here’s a first look at some of the things I found interesting/scary:
You can see more photos on Flickr.