Light and shadow. A never ending dance.
Category Archives: Washington DC
Back from brief hiatus.
Most of the last couple months has been spent exploring the city. As the weather warms I expect to be down there more and more. The other evening my wife and I were walking to the car past the monuments and the river and I don’t know if it was the evening sun casting long shadows and a warm glow or just the hint of Spring in the air, but we both remarked on what a great little city DC is. Of course we both always felt that way, but sometimes you need to walk down a different street, take a new route at another time of day… change your perspective and you see it all anew.
Disengage
Generation i
I once used my earbuds while on the train into the city. After making it halfway through the song I pulled them out and put the phone away. I couldn’t stand not hearing the world around me. The screech of the steel wheels on the rails. The goofy Metro voice warning the doors were closing. The giggling of high-school girls. The general hum of everyday life. I haven’t used them in public since.
The smartphone generation. Phone calls, texting, gaming, listening to music, surfing the web. Social engagement on perpetual hold.
Interesting phenomenon.
Washington DC with iPhone 5
Back on the streets again. From Capitol Hill to Georgetown. Looking for the soul of the city. What is Washington DC all about? Is there a defining characteristic?
I can’t say I know the answer yet… Even after all these years. I just keep looking.
Capitol Building
National Gallery of Art
In the Dutch and Flemish hall.
Window shopping, Dupont Circle
Walking past Kramer Books in Dupont Circle
Taking flight in Georgetown
Sun setting over the Potomac River
Friday Photo Tip: “Just take the Picture.”
Todays Friday Photo Tip is something from my friend and mentor David Alan Harvey.
“When the perfect picture situation happens, you may not have time to worry about perfect exposure and f-stop. Just take the picture. Don’t be afraid to experiment — especially in dark locations where you cannot use a tripod or flash. Brace your elbows on a table, lean against a telephone pole, or rest the camera on a fence post or a Coke bottle.”
Jessica in very low light.
Just do it
“If you want it, you get nothing. Just be receptive and it happens.” Henri Cartier-Bresson
I was just watching a documentary on the old man and this is the line that stood out. I have felt this for sure, but never tried to express it. And yes, it’s true. Going out with a preconceived idea of a photograph almost never works. No matter if I’m hiking in the wilds or strolling city streets.
It happens, most of the time, when I’m not looking for anything. Call it serendipity, call it luck. I call it keeping my eyes, mind and heart open. Being an intuitive observer. It’s almost unconscious. You feel it when it’s happening. And you begin shooting. Really shooting… like mad. Because at that point there’s no other way to shoot. It is a kind of madness. An instinctive, visceral condition with little control. And man it feels good.
iPhone photograph. Waitress in Washington DC tavern.
Washington National Cathedral visitor. Shot with iPhone.
And, by the way, Cartier-Bresson would love the iPhone. (or any other smart phone with a good camera inside)
Washington DC, Late November
Long shadows, short days. The masses bundle up, the trees stand naked.
Winter is near.
