Tag Archives: Featured Photo

Entertainment, Life in the Capital, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Helios, Eadweard Muybridge

Eadweard Muybridge, Horses. Running. Phryne L. Plate 40, 1879, from The Attitudes of Animals in Motion, 1881. Albumen silver print. Image courtesy of the Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon 2006.131.7.

Helios: Eadweard Muybridge in a Time of Change at the Corcoran is the world’s first, comprehensive study of the photographer’s influential and inspirational career. Reigning over the field of photography for much of the second half of the 19th-century, Muybridge was a pioneer of the visual medium – bringing together both science and art in a seemingly effortless fashion.  The exhibition includes over 300 elements, spanning from books – to albums – to stereographs (and even a Zoopraxiscope), all of which portray pieces of a process, establishing the foundation of the Muybridge legacy.

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The Daily Feed
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Now You See It, Now You Don’t

A topic often discussed in photography, especially with regard to buying and selling, is the archival quality of the print.  When you are purchasing a photograph, much like investing in a classic car, you want it to last as long as possible without any colors fading.  Most photographers or dealers will print on “archival” paper using “archival” ink and will frame it using materials such as UV glass, ensuring that the photograph lasts as long as humanly possible after it’s hung on the purchaser’s wall, oftentimes longer then 200 years (or so we hope).

Imagine if this idea were taken to the opposite extreme?  What if I told you that I knew of hundreds of photos that you couldn’t buy, you couldn’t hang on your wall, and that you would only be able to view for one hour before they were never seen again?  Well I do, and they’re part of a new project called One Hour Photo.

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The Daily Feed
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Mirror to the World Opening This Weekend


Seawall Shops, Galveston Island, 2008 by Timothy Hyde

A group of exceptional local photographers will be displaying their work at Photoworks Gallery in a show called Mirror to the World.  Curated by the group’s leader and mentor, Frank Van Riper, the show aims to show “stories of sensitivity and visual texture, and of course, photographs to linger over.”  Like most group shows, there will be an eclectic mix of photos ranging from natural devastation to Easter preparations at a Russian Orthodox Church, and of course they will all be for sale.

Opening Reception
Friday, March 19th, 6-9 PM

Photoworks Gallery
7300 MacArthur Boulevard
Glen Echo, Maryland 20812

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Photo courtesy of
‘the moon.’
courtesy of ‘erin m’

When I spotted this picture in the pool last night, I knew it had to be the featured photo for the week. As you might have noticed, we have a thing for the Statue of Freedom sitting atop the Capitol (if you haven’t noticed, look at the logo).

Erin has been taking pictures of the moon rising from and around the Capitol grounds for a few years now. Each is stunning, and in some ways iconic. We see a lot of shots of monuments and official buildings in our photo pool. Most are good pictures, even if we’ve seen the like of them before. But the moon rising over the Capitol dome is special, requiring dedication and timing to get. And we love rewarding good effort, around here.

Featured Photo
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Feature Photo

Photo courtesy of
‘Bender! On the orange line!’
courtesy of ‘Karon’

There’s a lot of snow out there. Lots and lots of snow. And there’s lots and lots of snow pictures in our pool. No, really, go look. Since everyone and their brother is doing snow, I thought we’d take a look at what wasn’t covered in snow.

Karon rode Metro for the 15 minutes it was running last week and stumbled across everyone’s favorite “alcoholic, whore-mongering, chain-smoking gambler” robot: Bender from Futurama!

But what was Bender doing riding our lowly Orange line? Was he here to make sweet love to the Metro fare card machines? Maybe he’s decided he needed a new form of transportation and is studying our advanced 6000-series rail cars?

Turns out, he’s just a costume for the woman that’s toting him around. She made him for Katsucon, which was held over the weekend. Anyone go? What’d you think?

The Features, Tourism
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Gone Hunting (for Photos)

IMG_69269Students at work in Adams Morgan by Corinne Whiting

When you think DC, you don’t typically think “safari.” (Heck, with Tai Shan leaving us yesterday, now even the National Zoo seems far less exotic to explore.) But thanks to local photographer-entrepreneur E. David Luria, locals and visitors alike get the chance to go on a different type of hunt: the pursuit for the perfect photo.

I’ve been lucky enough to tag along on two of David’s tours with Washington Photo Safari. One was on a very sticky day that attracted a lot of map-wielding tourists to must-see spots like the White House, Vietnam Memorial and Lincoln Reflecting Pool. The second, on a morning so cold that a few wayward students kept disappearing inside for long coffee breaks, drew visitors and locals to the lively Adams Morgan zone. I enjoyed both safaris for the spontaneous chats with curious city newcomers as well as longtime residents who gladly shared their shutterbug expertise. I also appreciated David’s kind encouragement, grandfatherly jokes and the way in which he made every member of our slightly ragtag, eclectic photography team feel included.

But my favorite part? The license these tours gave me to screech to a snail’s pace for a few hours, studying the details of my city as if seeing it all for the first time. I pointed my lens at monuments, memorials, doorknobs, tattered murals, cracking sidewalks, shiny car hoods and intricate African weavings, finding beauty in places normally eclipsed by my rushed daily routine. As a pro tip, I recommend you to carry one of these Hiking backpacks, which you can get from weather proof hunting backpack sales shop, to help you take everything you need.

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Featured Photo
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Feature Photo

Photo courtesy of
”
courtesy of ‘erin m’

The Shadow started with the immortal question, “who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?” Who knows? Well, only the Shadow, it would seem.

For some reason, that line popped right into my head as I looked at this almost sinister shot. Here is where the beloved Zamboni goes to plot its eventual smoothing of the ice. A place of rest, mostly dark and gloomy.

It took some plotting to get this shot: erin_m waited until everyone was distracted by the snow and snuck her way into the Zamboni shed at the National Gallery of Art sculpture garden skating rink. I think the effort and uniqueness, not to mention the sinister moodiness, qualifies this as a damn good photo.

The Features, Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 1/29 – 1/31/2010

Photo courtesy of
‘single snowman’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

While Saturday proved to be more than just a ‘dusting,’ it was still less than our Snowpocalypse of December. And when there’s light, fluffy snow and a sunny day afterward, it’s just natural to have photographers out in droves to capture the beauty created around the capital area.

Enjoy. Continue reading →

News, The Daily Feed
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National Archives to Ban Photography

Photo courtesy of
‘National Archives Document Lighting’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

This came to us as a special contribution of one of our photographers, Erin McCann

Via the Post comes word today that the National Archives has decided to ban photography. That means that after next month, unless you are a professional photographer, you’ll be forbidden from using a camera inside the building whose No. 1 purpose is to display the documents of freedom on which our country was founded.

Archives officials opened the issue for public comment last summer with an announcement in the Federal Register. (What? You don’t scour the register?) After two months, they had only three comments, all of which were against a change in policy. Despite this, David S. Ferriero, the chief archivist for the United States, wrote that the agency “does not believe that this rule will create problems for tourists. The agency believes this rule creates a better visitor experience.” Continue reading →

The Features, Weekend Flashback
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Weekend Flashback: 12/4 – 12/6/2009

Photo courtesy of
‘deck the house’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

So did you survive our “snowpocalypse” on Saturday? Fortunately, yesterday’s clear skies made up for the first half of the weekend.

For those of you who didn’t get out and about, don’t worry – our local photographers have you covered. Enjoy our look back at the weekend while you get your Monday rolling.

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Essential DC, Life in the Capital, The District, We Love Arts
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FotoWeek DC 2009: What to See


FotoWeek Projections by coolmarie

Before last year there was a huge void in DC’s photography world.  Despite being the home of National Geographic, the Newseum, the Washington Post, and many award winning photographers, we were missing an event to bring everyone together, to celebrate photography.  Sure, some of the galleries in town would have a photography exhibit or two, Magnum and Pulitzer Prize winning photographers would occasionally talk about their work, and local photographers would dork out hold meetups and go on photowalks throughout the year.  What we needed though was something big and annual like other major cities have.  Something pros, amateurs, and students could all participate in.  Basically we needed a big photography party.  Hell, if our neighbors in little ol’ Charlottesville could put together an international photography festival, why couldn’t DC?  In came FotoWeek DC.

But what exactly is FotoWeek you ask?  That is a very good question.  In fact if you asked ten different people you would probably get ten different answers.  Is it a contest?  Yes.  Is it a city wide festival celebrating photography?  Yes.  Does it celebrate only photography?  No, in fact two of this year’s contest categories were called “Storytelling” and “Experimental” that included works in multimedia, video, sound and graphics.  Why does FotoWeek spell the word “photo” with an F?  Your guess is as good as mine, my friend.  Why is FotoWeek held in November rather than in a pleasant time of year, say in June?  Because you must suffer for photography.

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Penn Quarter, The District, The Features
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Photowalking: Chinatown/Penn Quarter

Photo courtesy of
‘Scooter’
courtesy of ‘The Digital Story’

An intrepid group of 25 photographers met last night at the Friendship Arch in Chinatown to explore the neighborhood, take photos, and talk with visiting photo guru Derrick Story. It was a cool fall evening, but the light was good, and the company better still. Dig on deeper for the best of the bunch, or browse the whole tag at Flickr.

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Night Life, The Daily Feed
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Photowalk with Derrick Story this Wednesday

Photo courtesy of
‘China Town Arch’
courtesy of ‘rgb48’

We’re excited that this Wednesday night at 6pm, Derrick Story, author of Pocket Guide to Digital Photography and proprietor of The Digital Story, and We Love DC will be putting on a Photowalk through Chinatown and Penn Quarter. We will gather at the Friendship Arch (pictured above) from 6:00 to 6:10, and we’ll probably walk about 90 minutes, before finishing at RFD at 7:30 or so for a round of tasty beverages on me.

We’ve also got a feature slot lined up on Thursday morning to feature your night shots of Chinatown and Penn Quarter, so if you can get a rough cut of your shots from the evening posted to our Flickr Group before 8am on Thursday, that would be most excellent. Let us know if you’re coming, just put a comment in the thread, and we’ll keep an eye out for you Wednesday night.

Talkin' Transit, The Features, WMATA
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Talkin’ Transit: Eye Candy

Photo courtesy of
‘Inside the Metro Car’
courtesy of ‘Bogotron’

I was going to take today’s article and gripe about the “Follow the Rules” mandate now being enacted by most of the Metrobus drivers this week. But really, what’s the point? (And what exactly is their point, too, other than to make commuters surly and late?) So if you’d like to gripe or share your bus ride horror story, share in comments. I can’t really gripe, because I don’t ride the bus, but I offer you the chance to blow off steam.

Instead, I offer pictures.

Metro is the subject of many of our local photographers, including myself. So today let’s just take a grand look at some excellent shots taken by local and visiting photographers.

Sometimes, pictures are worth a thousand words. Continue reading →

Featured Photo
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Featured Photo

Ring Toss by Carly and Art
Ring Toss by Carly & Art

Ever since seeing the Edward Burtynsky exhibit and attending Saturday’s lecture by Dr. William Rees at the Corcoran, I can’t stop thinking about Man vs Nature.  As Dr. Rees explained (in a very eloquent and scientific manner), there are fundamental differences between our behaviors that make it virtually impossible for man to coexist with nature in a closed system.  At our current rate of population growth and resource consumption, the planet simply cannot sustain us forever.  To summarize his speech, unless drastic policy changes are put into place by our governments and we start to think globally instead of selfishly, well, we’re doomed.

This week’s featured photo is a demonstration of nature’s struggle against man.  Or is it?  Despite having several rings of concrete around its base, the tree is growing and doing everything it should be doing.  The concrete, as far as the tree is concerned, is only a slight annoyance.  I tend to agree with George Carlin’s philosophy about the state of the planet which is, “The planet is fine.” Continue reading →

We Love Arts
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Edward Burtynsky: Oil

Highway #1, Intersection 105 & 110, Los Angeles, California, USA, 2003. Chromogenic color print. Photograph © Edward Burtynsky

Highway #1, Intersection 105 & 110, Los Angeles, California, USA, 2003. Chromogenic color print. Photograph © Edward Burtynsky

Thankfully for those of us in D.C. who love art, especially those with a particular fondness for photography, we have Paul Roth and the Corcoran Gallery of Art.  Over the past couple of years they’ve had an amazing lineup of photography exhibits, showcasing a dream team of photographers including Annie Leibovitz, Richard Avedon, Ansel Adams, and William Eggleston.  All known for completely different styles of photography (although it has been argued that Leibovitz is “copycatting Avedon“), there’s been a genre on display for everyone.  Continuing their record of hosting world class and historically important photography exhibits, the Corcoran opens Edward Burtynsky: Oil on Saturday.

I don’t read art magazines.  I don’t read art blogs or subscribe to their RSS feeds.  I don’t have a degree in art history and I’ve never taken a photography class.  I prefer to learn about art by experiencing it first hand, by learning about it from others, or by pure coincidence.  About a year ago I was adding movies to my Netflix queue when I came across a documentary called Manufactured Landscapes.  I had never heard of Edward Burtynsky but was enticed by the description of this film about “an examination of industrialization and globalization”, a concept that has always been interesting to me as I tend to look at things from a 10,000 foot point of view.  Needless to say that when I watched this documentary I was immediately a fan of Burtynsky’s, not necessarily for his photographic abilities, but for what he was interested in showing his audience.  Leibovitz can show you glamorous photos of Angelina Jolie with perfect lighting and makeup, but no matter how impressive they may be, you are only left with feelings of lust or admiration.  On the other hand, when you see Burtynsky’s photo of three Bangladeshi men standing barefoot in a pool of oil, you are left with feelings of wonder, with sorrow, with relief that you have a desk job.  Burtynsky’s photos are not only beautifully executed pieces of art, but they make you think and want to know more, which takes his photography to the next level.

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The Daily Feed
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So Where Does Your illy Take You?

Photo courtesy of
‘Day 218: Andrea’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’

Okay area photogs, another contest for you to consider. Caffé at the Renaissance M Street Hotel is holding a photography contest in celebration of the upcoming FotoWeek. The contest calls for creative snapshots of where people have been with their cup of illy coffee, called “Where Does Your illy Take You.” Photographers are encouraged to explore and discover something new while savoring the unique flavors of illy.

The contest runs from October 1st thru the 22nd. The grand prize is pretty sweet: a weekend stay at the Renaissance M Street Hotel, including $200 in food/beverage credit, a full year of illy coffee at Caffé, two tickets to the FotoWeek DC gala, and a private car with picnic to visit various FotoWeek events. The winning photo and honorable mentions will also be framed and displayed at Caffé.

To enter, submit photos through the contest’s website, which goes live on Thursday. Winners announced on October 26th.

The Daily Feed
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FotoWeek DC Deadline Near

FotoWeek2

Attention photographers!  Have you heard of FotoWeek DC?  If not, you must not have been in a coma for a couple of years in which case a) I’m truly sorry and b) you can now consider yourself informed.  For everyone else, have you submitted your best photos yet?  With over $20,000 in prize money and the chance to be honored in an international photo contest, this is a great opportunity.  The deadline for entering your photos is September 13th, just over a week away!  So check out the contest categories, look through your collection of photos (or take some new ones), and submit them soon.

For those of you who love photography but haven’t a clue how to use a camera, you have an entire week to look forward to in November that will feature photography shows in galleries and embassies all across the city.  There will also be lectures to learn more about your favorite photographers and workshops to help you with your photography skills.  If you’ve got cash burning a hole in your pocket, the awards ceremony at the National Geographic HQ is a must.

I.  Can’t.  Wait.