Friday, August 29, 2008

Two Block Stroll in Georgetown

I take so many photos As I Walk the Earth I can barely deal with all the images I create. Tuesday night I had an APA/DC Board meeting at Renee’s studio in upper Georgetown. I parked about two blocks away arriving 1/2 hour early. Even in that two block walk I am compelled to shoot images of the world I see around me. I get so wrapped up in my own little world that I ended up at the meeting 1/2 hour late. Here are just a few from my two block walk . (click images to see larger)Years ago images like these (and the millions of others I have) would have had little “value”. They would have made me feel good when shooting but then be filed away with all the others. But, we now live in the wonderful world of instant worldwide global communication. I can build websites and successfully market my images around the world, myself. Success in this world is easy if you love what you do and are passionate about your work. Perhaps I am a bit to enthusiastic. There is a market out there for anything, any style of photography. Research, learn, and understand the market you choose to operate in. Constantly create images and make them available. Target market to a specific group and build an audience for your work. Realize the needs of your market and continue to produce work accordingly. Above all, passion, enthusiasm, and love are contagious, your market/audience will see this in your work. This Blog is just another extension of my desire to share my work and constantly remain creative and productive.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Charge your batteries!

Last night I took my kids to the outdoor Comcast Film Festival for a beautiful summer evening of watching Twister under a crystal clear starry night sky. As always, brought along my little Canon G-9 to see what I could see. Prior to leaving I thought of charging the battery but never considered that a mere camera battery would dare fail me as I went about the crucially important work of taking random photos of the world I see around me As I Walk the Earth. About 1/2 hour into it, just as the evening light was becoming perfectly beautiful in every way, I get a flashing message "charge battery". My trusty little G-9 closes itself up and says goodnight. Just shows to go ya that even fancy pros make stupid mistakes. Unfortunately, the best photos from last night are the ones I never took. Here's a few before total core meltdown. (click images to see larger)

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

30 Years Down the Road

Unbelievably, this past weekend I attended my 30yr High School Reunion, Robert E. Peary High School 1978. I can't believe that I am old enough to remember anything that occurred 30 years ago. Come to think of it, I actually don't remember a whole lot about those years anyway. My son Brady asked me if the movie Dazed an Confused was an accurate portrayal of those years. I told him it might as well have been a National Geographic Documentary.

I wouldn't even have known about it or gone if it wasn't for one of my best friends for life, Phil. I'm sure glad he motivated me to go. I had a great time. The reunion itself was fun but the best part was afterwards. It ended at midnight and afterwards quickly boiled down to a core group of those who still remember how to party succesfully. When you see your old friends, even after 30 years, it's almost as though no time has passed at all. Gathered around our cars in the parking lot, bathed in the warm loving glow of sodium vapor, it took us all of 9 seconds to break out our coolers and revert to our old selves. We eventually broke up about 3;30 or 4am. Only because we all had at least a 1 hour drive home and being the responsible parents we all are figured we should get home before our kids woke up. The next day, or I guess later that same day, it felt good after seeing that so many of my friends had made happy succesful lives for themselves and their families.

Friday, August 15, 2008

SummerTime in Chinatown

Yesterday my youngest son James wanted to ride the Metro. We've had just a beautiful string of SummerTime weather this August. Sunny low humidity temperate days and cool summer evenings. All the windows open at night with that cool Summer Breeze makes for great sleeping weather. SummerTime is meant to be enjoyed, work can wait, I'd rather go downtown with my kids anyway. We ended up heading down to Chinatown just to walk around, enjoy the craziness of the city, and have lunch. I love the architecture of the older DC buildings and there's still quite a bit left in the Chinatown area. Here's a few shots from yesterday, just for fun, all right at the corner of 7th + H, NW.
(click images to see larger)These little outings are actually "work". The last time we went to Chinatown, as anywhere we go, I took photos. One image of the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro ended up on the cover of Modern Luxury Magazine. Another image of the Chinatown Arch was licensed by the Washington Convention Center for their lobby, 6'x8'.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

A Beautiful Day to Rock

We played another party this past weekend. A good time was had by all, especially since the host provided us with our own personal quarter keg. To ratchet up the jam factor another notch we invited the incomparable Stevie Ray Van Nostrand to participate in the festivities (SRVN in the last photo). My friend Mike Olliver was kind enough to stop by with his very large camera and provide us with some photos. All Photos by Mike Olliver (click images to see larger)