Postcard from this Week

View an image gallery of more schooners and sailing images,
all shot that same day, click here: Schooners on the Chesapeake

If I have to explain . . .

Depending on your perspective (mine or Val's) I did something either completely and utterly impractical or exercised good sound judgement and did something that made perfect, well thought out, solid common sense. I bought a 1979 Camaro. Not just any 1979 Camaro, I got lucky, this beauty has only 54k miles, all original and absolutely tip top. I had my new friends at Fleming's Ultimate Garage build out the beautiful 350 small block up to around 325hp. New high-performance camshaft, 675cfm Holley Carb, Edelbrock Intake Manifold, Performance Shift Kit, Ceremic Long Tube Hooker Headers into true custom dual exhaust straight out the back, and more. Take the T-Tops off, hit the gas, it's a complete bad-ass, a blast to drive. Nothing beats the sweet rumble of hopped up genuine American made v-8 muscle. If you understand what I'm talking about then there's no need to explain further.

Postcard from Last Week

Postcard from this Week

Saturday Morning . . .

My trusty little Canon G-9 is so happy that Spring has finally come to our little corner of the world.
(click images to enlarge)

Saturday Morning . . .

. . . Walking the Earth with my Canon G-9, whistling a happy tune, sticking to the sunny side of the street. (click images to enlarge)

Haven't paid much attention to my little blog thingy lately and have missed it. Been to busy dog paddling in shallow economic waters. But, Spring is on the way, soon we'll all be back to the deep end, lining up for the high-dive once again.

Washington DC Architecture

I love the architectural details of Washington DC buildings and am constantly shooting more images than I can deal with and adding to my collection of Washington DC images. Had a nice little shoot last week at 12th and Constitution and afterwards took advantage of the wonderful gloomy weather to shoot some images of patterns and shapes that make me feel happy inside. Bad weather makes good images. I love the soft effect of dreary overcast light on interesting architectural details. Here are just a few from my stroll around the block. See a little gallery of all the images shot here: Gallery of New Washington DC Architectural Images.
(click images to enlarge) All images are either of the Old Post Office Pavillion or the EPA Building. You can always view my main gallery of DC architecture on dcstockimages.com here: Washington DC Architecture

Drinks at Mink's

Very few things in this world lift your spirits like walking into some random bar, downing a few shots, grabbing a guitar, and Rocking the House. That's just what Jimmy and I did the other night. On the way back from our friend Chris's Mother's Wake in Hagerstown, feeling a little down, Jimmy (my brother-in-law/attorney) wisely advised we stop in a bar we passed, Mink's Tavern, and have a beer or three. Having never steered me wrong regarding such matters, I have learned to listen closely to my attorney's wise and just counsel. Lucky for us it was open mic night so a few beers/shots later we were spewing forth our brand of entertainment to a cool and appreciative crowd. It was my kind of crowd, a good mix of down home hard partying folks. We walked in feeling low and walked out (several hours later) feeling high. Mink's gets five stars in my guidebook.
Thanks to Roger Ratliff for hosting the open mic and letting us abuse his equipment.
All photos by Roger Ratliff.

Saturday Morning . . .

. . . Walking the Earth, feeling the Love, letting my little Canon G-9 buddy capture images of the World as I see it around me. Art is wherever you are, so many good things to see if you look around. One of these days my head is going to Explode. (click images to enlarge)

Postcard from Last Week

Saturday Morning . . .

. . . a beautiful morning, Walking the Earth with my little Canon G-9. Random images of the World I see around me, things big and small. Hope you have a beautiful day too! (click images to enlarge)

Perfectly Perfect

Ever have one of those days where you just feel the magic of the World tingle down your spine? I did Saturday. I spent the day having my oldest Son Brady drive me around town to shoot various locations I had image requests for, but didn't have in my collection of DC images. After knocking out all the locations we stopped by Good Stuff Eatery on Capitol Hill to give it a try. Afterwards, walking back to our truck, and ready to head home, we were bathed in what some call the "magic light". I know it when I see it, knew something good was about to happen and couldn't let this pass me by. I had Brady quickly pull down and double park on the West Side of the Capitol, told him to sit tight, I wouldn't be long, this light will only last 15 minutes max. Well, the light just got better and better, one of those times where you really feel like you are moving through the world exactly according to plan. As I looked around, I was basically the only one out there (except for a few with cell phone cameras) shooting images of this fleeting moment. I felt like I was the only person on Earth , at that moment, feeling this beautiful scene before me. Maybe it's all in my mind but that's all that really matters anyway, that's where the fun is. I wish I could have shared that feeling with everyone I know. I can only share the images so here are just a few from that 30 minute perfectly magical window. (click images to enlarge)

Postcard from this Week . . .

Red Sky at Night

The Winter Storm passed through late yesterday leaving us with a wonderful blazing evening sky. The Crescent Moon poked it's happy self out, like a little smile in the sky. (click images to enlarge)

Snow Day

Yesterday was our first real snow of the year. The kids had off school so I decided to take a snow day too. We spent the entire day outside around a nice warm toasty fire. James made Smores and I drank dark beer. Just for good measure I cooked a pork shoulder all day to absolute perfection. Nothing beats sitting around all day, stoking a warm fire, in the snow, eating Smores, enjoying a tasty selection of dark beers, and topping off the day with mouthwatering pulled pork barbecue. As James said, "This will give me good dreams". (click images to enlarge)I think I'll do it again today.

Saturday Morning . . .

. . . Walking the Earth with my trusty Canon G-9.(click images to enlarge)

Hey Grace, Call Me

Well, the Inaugural is over and I feel hungover. Not that post-euphoric letdown sort of hungover, I mean the real kind of hungover. I ended up going to what turned out to be one of the best Inaugural parties I’ve ever attended, The Red Goes Blue Party at the Old Ebbitt Grill. The buzz on the street was the The Dead were planning to join Jackie Green and Grace Potter and play until sunrise. So, amid flying rumors and wild speculation I headed down with my brother David and his friends, who btw, are always a bad influence to my ever virtuous lifestyle. It was a cool partying crowd, excitement filled the air, spirits were high, there was open bar. In combination, this all schemed towards disarming the Moderation Switch in my brain. Once that switch is disabled, unfortunately I posses no Off Switch. But, as Mae West once wisely stated, “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful”. (click images to enlarge)Phil Lesh joined Jackie Green for Sugaree, and Warren Haynes (my favorite guitar player on the planet) sat in with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals for Down by the River. I sure wish Warren would have called me up to jam with him on that one. As it turned out, The Dead did not play until sunrise, but by that point it didn’t matter anymore. The music was so good. That Grace Potter girl rocks harder than most dudes can even dream about. And, let's face it, how many girls do you know who can thoroughly Rock the House in White GoGo Boots and a Flying V?

24 Hours in NYC

Had a chance last week to do one thing I always enjoy, a 24 hour run to NYC. I love New York, for me it's like the center of the Universe. I just love the city, the people, the food, the over-stimulation, the mass humanity of it all. I was lucky to head up with two of my bestest photographer friends Keith and Renee to meet with our new APA National President Theresa. Didn't get a chance to take many photos due to our action packed high-level executive type schedule. Also it was cold, I mean really cold, like sub-arctic cold. It was as if some hellish Nor'easter was blasting through the canyons of the city. But, we accomplished our mission, met some friends, and made some new friends. Sure wish I could do that more often, I had a thoroughly good time. But, it's always good to land back here at my happy home. Visiting other cities just reminds me of how good I have it here in my little world. (click images to enlarge)