iphoneography Archives

Next Level Craft at the House of Sweden

InstagramDC recently got a sneak peek at the Next Level Craft exhibit at the House of Sweden in Georgetown. This beautiful embassy along the Potomac played host to an exhibit described as:

A mythical wedding, a demonstration, a carnival, a funeral procession, a fashion show or perhaps a combination of all these? A colorful parade of mysterious creatures wander through a fictitious northern landscape carrying unique crafted objects. Who are they and where are they going?

Next Level Craft is not your typical handicraft exhibition – it has its own soundtrack and music video. The renowned young Swedish artist Aia Jüdes has created a playful and different tale of craft, mixing voguing (a modern dance style characterized by perfect, stylized hand and arm movements, acrobatic poses and flamboyant fashion), street art, high fashion, pop culture and electronic music with everything from wool embroidery, weaving and felting to root binding, wood turning and birch bark braiding.

It was a surreal experience, a room filled with bizarre objects and an ever-changing lightshow. Adding to the strangeness was a trippy video of dancing Swedes. So much weirdness for InstagramDC to photograph, as the lights cycled from red to blue.

Best of all, photography was encouraged! It’s a very forward-thinking embassy for hosting this strange exhibit and for reaching out to local photographers to cover it. We had a blast taking pictures of these unique crafts and posing for photos in the weird lighting.

That was cool. But getting up on the roof was even cooler.

There was an amazing view of Rosslyn and the Kennedy Center, from a vantage point that few get to see. It was sleeting but no way was I going to miss this experience.

As a writer, it’s inspiring to see creative work. It’s source material for me. I wrote Murder on U Street, my novel about homicide in DC’s art scene, after having similar experiences. So don’t be surprised if a trippy Swedish art exhibit shows up in a future book 😉

DC Walkabout: Sunsets, Tulips and Barbies

I have a calf strain, a sharp twinge that occurred when I was playing soccer about a week ago. It’s prevented me from running. I can only go about a mile before the twinge forces me to stop and walk. The only remedy for this pain is time. Instead of running after work, I had to come up with a new activity.

I decided to do evening walkabouts, ambulatory strolls around downtown Washington. I started last night, just as the rain was tapering off.

My destination: the White House. There I discovered tulips, their petals closed up and sparkling with rain drops.

After taking some tulip pics, I headed for Farragut Square. The rain had stopped and the clouds had cleared in the west. Suddenly, the streets were suffused with a warm, golden light.

And then, in the sky over the office buildings, a rainbow appeared – a good luck sign, blessing the idea of evening walkabouts.

I continued my way up Connecticut Avenue to Dupont Circle. It’s a destination that I’m drawn to again and again. Not only is it a pretty spot, but it represents something to me – it’s where I first got a taste of urban life after coming to DC for college. It was where we went to eat Greek food at Zorba’s (still there) and drink in local bars (most of which are gone or changed names). The sun was just beginning to set as I arrived.

Listening to the Pixies, I headed east on Q St. There was one more destination I wanted to check out: the Barbie Pond Garden. This is a local institution that I have somehow missed. The owners of this house at 15th and Q decorate their garden with naked Barbies. This month’s theme was Easter.

It’s going to be a while before I can run again. The only remedy for pain is time. Instead of running, I’m going to walk in different directions – north, south, east, west – and write and take photos of what I discover in DC.

Photos Beyond the Monuments: Ten Years of Exposed

Congrats to Exposed DC, which recently marked ten years of celebrating photography in Washington, DC. They do so with an annual photo contest that highlights a city that most tourists never get to see – the DC beyond the monuments.

I was fortunate to be in the very first show back in 2006 with my photo “Rose Runs.” It’s the daughter of a friend of mine, captured as she was walking past a graffiti-covered wall in Stead Park near Dupont Circle. The park has since been cleaned up but I liked the contrast between the innocence of youth and the grit of the city.

The advent of digital cameras had drawn me into photography. I took “Rose Runs” with a Canon Digital Rebel, the first of its kind, costing more than $1000. Little did I know how much photography would change in the coming years.

That first show was in a series of rooms above The Passenger, near the Convention Center. The whole building would eventually be redeveloped but, at the time, it lingered on as a bit of old, rough DC. I missed opening night but came by later with some friends – including Rose herself!

What was great about Exposed (then known as DCist Exposed, and tied to the DCist blog) is that it introduced me to a community of digital photogs like myself, including Samer Farha, Jim Darling, Heather Goss, Jen Wade, James Calder, Pablo Raw and other great folks. I never thought photography could be social – until Exposed.

I love good beer. I love photography. I love meeting creative types. So every year, I went to Exposed, even if I wasn’t in the contest. The show moved around the corner and for several years was at Long View Gallery, where it attracted crowds that snaked down the block. And I began taking iPhone photos, with my iPhone 4.

In 2012, my photo of the Washington Monument being inspected for earthquake damage made the show. I had moved up to a Canon Rebel T2i, a faster and more capable camera than the original Rebel.

I had developed a fondness for black and white. And perhaps a tendency to get carried away with filters in Snapseed. For my interest in DSLRs was being overtaken by mobile photography, like most people. The iPhone had made photography easy, fast and social. Also, I won the Fotoweek Mobile Photography Competition in 2011, which opened my eyes to the value of iPhoneography.

The Exposed parties continued, drawing a huge crowd with delicious beers and treats in 2013, including DC-themed cookies. Exposed became a wonderful blur of drinking and talking photography.

In 2016, Exposed was at the historic Carnegie Library in DC, one of my favorite buildings in the city. I was glad to know so many people in the show, including Angela Napili, Holly Garner, Keith Lane, Noe Todorovich, Bridget Murray Law and Victoria Pickering. I didn’t even bring my Canon Rebel but instead just pocketed my iPhone 6 – it’s good enough. The triumph of mobile photography is almost complete.

Exposed DC has demonstrated that Washington is more than just monuments, revealing the real place beyond the iconic landmarks, as well as building a community of photographers. So, here’s to ten years of Exposed – and ten years more!

Cherry Blossom Madness

The pink petals of Japanese trees bring a mania to this city. It’s called Cherry Blossom Madness.

It leads you to do totally insane things, like run down to the Tidal Basin at dawn to get a glimpse of these trees in the warm morning light. And I am not a morning person at all. Yet, I left my apartment and ran through the purple pre-dawn light to the Mall.

As I reached the Lincoln Memorial, the eastern sky exploded in red, bathing the city in a scarlet glow. I haven’t seen a day that beautiful since the blizzard. The range of red and pink tones in the sky was jaw-dropping, proof that nature can come up with a better palette than any artist.

There were already crowds at the Tidal Basin, every photographer hoping for the perfect picture of the Jefferson Memorial, cherry blossoms and dawn. I snapped a few photos with my iPhone 6. I think there was some futz on the lens because they look a little blurry, like a Monet painting. The only editing I did was in the Photos app and that was pretty minor.

Then, after about five minutes, I headed home, leaving this transcendent scene for the mundane world of work. Here’s to next year and another round of Cherry Blossom Madness.

H Street Life: Photos at Sidamo

I’ve lived in DC for more than twenty years but until around 2008, I only had vague idea of what H St NE looked like. I knew it primarily as the “bad part” of Capitol Hill, a blighted corridor of check-cashing joints and wig stores. There was no reason to go there (unless you were looking for crack) so I never went.

The first time I visited H St was for a show at the Rock n’ Roll Hotel at 13th and H NE. The cabbie asked me skeptically, “Where are we going?” I told him that there was supposed to be a club on H as we passed block after block of boarded-up buildings.

Things look considerably different today. H St is now the hottest neighborhood in the city, sprouting apartments and condos while suburban kids flock to the street’s nightclubs and bars. Why there’s even a streetcar running down the street. While it’s more of a curiosity than working transportation, the promise of the streetcar helped fuel redevelopment, signaling that H St was safe to visit.

Gritty DC, as represented by streets like H, is rapidly disappearing. There’s very little of that city left anymore. It’s better, of course, but I do miss the run-down charm of the place some times.

Bridget Murray Law captures the changing city in H STREET LIFE, an exhibit of her photography at Sidamo. If you like black and white street photography go check it out.

I’ve been a fan of Bridget for years. She has a romantic vision of the city, capturing the quiet moments that happen between people in this busy metropolis. It’s not a side of Washington that you see much. Romance is not something you think of when you think of DC. Aren’t they too busy for that? Bridget demonstrates that even Washingtonians have time for love.

I was glad to attend the H STREET LIFE opening on March 18 at Sidamo Coffee. Below are photos from the event – in black and white, of course.

Snow Day! Tips for Photographers

SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!

While my Floridian relatives consider DC to be “the North,” a lifeless region of cold weather and colder people, the local climate is moderated by the nearby Gulf Stream. It takes a combination of Canadian air and Southern moisture to make snow pop here. We’ve had whole winters without a major snowfall.

But, when it snows, it is beautiful, turning DC into a pedestrian paradise, a living snow globe, a world turned white. It’s really a special city, without cars.

And, if there’s more than a couple inches of snow, the swamp shuts down. Before the storm, panic shopping. After the storm, people huddle inside with beer and snacks. Except for us photographers, who bundle up and head out the door.

It’s a great photo opportunity! DC is at its prettiest in the snow. While the city has gotten better at clearing the white stuff, a major storm will leave the streets car-free for a day or two. A quiet descends on the city. The only thing you hear is the soft sound of boots on uncleared sidewalks. Distant laughter from people throwing snowballs. The swish of cross-country skis on the National Mall.

If you’re willing to venture out, you’ll have the city to yourself. Here are my tips for how to enjoy the rarity of Washington, DC snowstorm. And how to take some good photos.

Where to Go

Here are the places I like to go in the snow:

Spanish Steps (22nd and S NW) – This is hidden gem in Kalorama, a small-scale version of the steps in Rome. It has a classic beauty and makes a really nice spot for a portrait. Look for the Hobbit House on R Street – the blue door of this unique residence makes an interesting photo. From there, you could walk over the P Street bridge to get a photo of Rock Creek Park and then continue on to Georgetown.

Logan Circle – The contrast between the red-brick homes and the white snow is really interesting. Also nearby are Riggs and Corcoran Streets, which are really pretty. And if you get cold, you can visit one of 14th Street’s many coffee places.

Meridian Hill Park – Modeled after a European garden, this is different than the wide-open spaces of the National Mall. It’s full of nooks and crannies, like the statue of Dante. And from the top of the stairs, you get an expansive view of the city.

Lincoln Memorial – The majesty of this monument is magnified by the snow, made more impressive after you trudge a mile through fresh powder to get there.

Smithsonian Castle – During a snowstorm, the Capitol fades from view. You can just make out the turret of the Smithsonian Castle. It’s chilly, but worth it, to get photos of cross-country skiers and crazy bike riders on the snow-covered Mall.

What to Wear

I want to take photos but I also don’t want to die of hypothermia. Here’s what I wear:

Snowboots – DC snows are very wet. Waterproof boots are essential. Nothing worse than wet feet.
Fleece-lined pants (snowpants would be a good idea).
Shirts (at least two)
Winter jacket
Hat (I took it off for the photo above).
Scarf
Two pairs of gloves – It’s hard to manage a camera in gloves. I have lighter pair when I’m taking pictures and then slip the heavier pair over them when I’m walking.
Optional: Thermals, long underwear, hand warmers, etc… I think it’s a good idea to wear one more layer than you think you’ll need.

What to Carry

I like to carry the minimum amount of stuff when out tramping in the snow. Here’s what I carry.

Timbuk2 Messenger Bag – Let me praise this indestructible bag! It’s comfortable to wear, easy to access and, most importantly, it’s water-proof. The rubber liner will protect your valuable gear from the rain and slush. Worth every penny.
Canon Rebel – I’m on my third Rebel. It’s an easy to use DSLR.
iPhone
Jackery Battery – Every iPhoneographer should have one of these. While battery life has improved, if you’re out all day your battery will get low – particularly in the cold. Freezing temps will kill off your battery more quickly than you expect.
Food/Water – There are no food trucks during a snowstorm. Most restaurants will be closed. Make sure you have some food with you.

What to Shoot

When I’m out wandering the snowstorm, this is what I look for:

Landscapes – Snow turns workaholic DC into a Currier and Ives print, transforming busy city streets into an enchanting frozen landscape. Take photos of a city shut down by Mother Nature.

Activities – There’s no such thing as bad weather but bad clothes, right? I like to take pictures of people doing stuff in the snow. Look for the big snowball fight that’s become a DC snow tradition. I admire the hardy cyclists of this city and like to get photos of them. And two years ago, I saw snow kites on the Mall, which was mind-blowing.

Weirdness – Snow turns the ordinary strange, like a mailbox buried in snow, icicles dripping off buildings or statues covered in the white stuff. Or a snowman contest.

Contrast – Snow has a uniform quality to it that can look boring on film. Look for contrasts, like red berries in the snow or the bright colors of a skier.

Tip: It can be tricky to get photos of snow. Your camera has a hard time with the white balance. Here are some tips from Angela Kleis on how to adjust your camera settings to get that SnOMG photo.

How to Get Around

What’s the best way to get around DC during and after a snowstorm?

Walk – Put on your boots and go! You’ll have to climb over snowbanks and trudge down snowy sidewalks but that’s part of the fun.
Metro – Once the storm arrives, the government will shut down. And without passengers, Metro works really well. The underground portion of the system almost never closes. If you can get to a station, you can get around.

All other forms of transportation are problematic. Buses will be running limited routes. Uber fares will be double or triple. If you’re driving, you risk getting stuck on unplowed streets. If you bike, you’ll need studded tires and some good health insurance.

Tip: I like hotel lobbies to warm up in. While everything else might be closed, hotels are always open. They make good places to hang out and upload some photos.

Stay Safe

While it’s not exactly the frozen tundra, DC during the snow can be dangerous. Proceed with caution.

Watch your step. It’s easy to twist an ankle or trip over an obstacle in the snow – look where you’re going. Keep an eye out for ice. Also, those metal sidewalk grates can be really slippery in the snow.
Watch the weather. During Snowmageddon, I got stir-crazy and wandered out to go watch an EPL game at the Lucky Bar. While I was inside drinking, the blizzard resumed. My walk home was like a Jack London story of survival. That might be a little dramatic but make sure to check the weather before you go out.
Alcohol is not an insulator. Snow days are synonymous with drinking. Drunk people wander off and die every winter – don’t be that person. Do your drinking at home.

Summary

I hate winter but love the snow. Without a paralyzing snowstorm, DC is boring and cold in January. Snow livens things up, turning the city into a winter wonderland.

But it doesn’t last long. Within a few days, the snow will be dirty slush. Don’t miss the opportunity to capture some great DC snow photos.

The Year of the Capital Weather Gang

2015 was the perfect storm, in which my love of digital photography met the opportunity to be featured in the Capital Weather Gang. I was already wandering around the city taking photos so why not submit them to the Washington Post’s weather blog? By the end of the year, my photos were appearing about once a week on the site.

Here are some of my favorite CWG photos, along with notes about how, when and where they were created.

This photo was featured in a roundup of snow photos in February. It was one of the first photos I took with the iPhone 6 and it stunned me. There is such a qualitative leap from the iPhone 5 to 6. The 6 is so good that it’s become tough for me to distinguish DSLR shots from iPhone 6 shots. Especially when you get soft, bright light like under an overcast sky with fresh snow. I kept taking photos until my hands froze.

While we didn’t get much snow, it was a very long and cold winter, the year of the polar vortex. When spring finally arrived, I had tulipmania. Everywhere you looked, flowers were blooming, like this photo I captured for an April CWG forecast. Landscape photos look better with people in them so I waited until someone biked by on 15th Street – this is just a block from the Washington Post building.

And more flowers and bikes on the following day.

You tend to return to the same spot for pictures, like this photo from May. I like this spot along the cycletrack, especially when flowers are in the foreground.

This Instagram photo from May is one of those moments that you never forget. It was a Saturday and I was returning from Glen’s Garden Market. I was on my bike and had a six-pack of beer in my backpack. I passed this cinematic scene on 19th Street and turned around and came back to get a picture of it. The faded brick, the overgrown vegetation, the funky yard sale – it’s everything I like about city life in one photo.

I take a lot of pictures of bikes. Most of my CWG photos were taken either while running or biking around the city, like this photo from June. It’s from the end of the Capital Crescent Trail in Georgetown.

Little-known fact: I work for the National Weather Service. (Ironic/fitting that I have so many photos in CWG? A little of both.) I’m a contractor in Silver Spring. I am not a meteorologist nor do I play one on TV. This is from the 18th floor of NOAA Building 2, looking toward the Discovery building, on a very hot day in July.

I don’t take a lot of black and white but, when I do, it’s architecture, like this photo of the Wilson Bridge from September.

It was a long and lingering fall, starting in mid-October and stretching nearly to the end of the year. This is the car-free 1600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, home to you know who.

This is a non-iPhone photo. Can you tell? Late in the year, I got a deal on a refurbished Canon Rebel SL1 and took this photo of the Key Bridge in November. The camera can do things the iPhone can’t, like zoom, it’s sharper, better exposure, etc… but it can’t fit in my pocket.

I have a rival. It’s Mary Gersemalina, the Coffeeneur! When she’s not organizing bike/coffee challenges, she runs and bikes around the city taking photos. Her trademark is something I can’t do: jumping. For a while toward the end of the year, Capital Weather Gang was the Joe and Mary show, with one of the other of us every week. After she posted a photo of blooming blossoms by the Washington Monument, I took this Canon SL1 photo of cherry blossoms in December.

I’ve been asked more than once: do you get paid for your shots? I do not. Then why do I do it? I enjoy wandering the city and taking photos. I’m doing that no matter what. Submitting the photos to Capital Weather Gang is easy to do via Flickr. And I like seeing my photos in the (online) paper.

Also, I enjoy sharing my view of the city. I want to show people that there’s a Washington beyond the monuments.

There’s a lot of bikes in my photos. You take photos of what you enjoy. DC is a city that bikes – from tourists tottering on red Capital Bikeshare bikes to the flood of commuters down the 15th Street cycletrack every morning. BikeDC we call it, a two-wheeled community of people who bike. I’m happy to create images that share this community with the readers of the Washington Post. And I plan on continuing to do so in 2016. Here’s to the new year!

Photo Obsession: The Wilson Bridge

This photo was in the Capital Weather Gang recently. It is an iPhone 6 shot, edited in the Photos app on the iPhone and with the Noir filter applied. Thinking of submitting it to the Capital Weather Gang, I used the Noir filter because I didn’t want the sky blown out. I wanted to keep those wispy clouds – CWG is a weather blog, after all.

I don’t take a lot of black and white but I think it works really well on architecture because it allows you to focus on the clean lines of the Wilson Bridge. It’s like an entire city’s worth of concrete in this structure stretching over the Potomac.

And it seems indestructible, unlike other pieces of transportation infrastructure (I’m looking at you, Silver Spring Transit Center). Maybe we still can build great things.

Bike trail under the Wilson Bridge #bikedc — Mount Vernon Trail as it runs under the Wilson Bridge.

windy trail - seen from Woodrow Wilson Bridge — Cyclist rides toward the bridge.

It’s also a great place to stop if you’re biking along the Mount Vernon Trail. Under the bridge, it’s shady and cool and there are bathrooms and water fountains. From here, you can continue on to Mount Vernon or cross the bridge to National Harbor.

National Harbor is kind of mediocre – it’s just a bunch of shops tucked into a swampy cove along the river.

But, if you bike over the bridge, you get a great view looking upriver toward Alexandria and DC.

Potomac from Woodrow Wilson Bridge — A muddy Potomac filled with boats, with the Capitol Dome in the distance. I used my “real” camera, a Canon Rebel and zoom lens here.

Road to nowhere — View of the Wilson Bridge from the Maryland side.

I look for symmetry in photos. The long horizontal and vertical lines of the bridge are irresistible to me, especially how they end in a “vanishing point” where they seem to converge. These long lines really draw you into the photo. Which is why the Wilson Bridge is one of my photo obsessions.

Under the bridge — Lines extending into the vanishing point under the Wilson Bridge.

Friday Photo: Perfect Weather Edition

It’s not often we get such lovely, cool days in July! I liked the clouds and the softball players in the foreground so I took this iPhone photo as I was running/walking around the Ellipse. I enhanced it a little bit using the Photos app and cropped it to zoom in on the players. I also put the monument off-center to make it more visually interesting. The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang used this photo for their PM update.

Here’s to more great days like this one!

Art, Coffee, Bikes… Frederick?

I’m kinda old to be a social media hipster but I was recently selected to be part of Enterprise Carshare’s #CarShareDC crew. Guess they liked my Instagram shots of beer and bikes.

As a member of the crew, I get to take three free day trips this summer courtesy of Enterprise. Anywhere within 100 miles of DC is within my domain. In return, I have to take photos and share them on social media. I’d do this all on the iPhone, of course.

For my first auto excursion, I went to beautiful downtown Frederick to have lunch with my talented photographer friend Mary-Kate McKenna.

Here are some pics from the trip: