Dancing With Light

Last week Melissa was kind enough to come into the studio for some dancing photos.  Her graceful dancing motions were crying out for some lighting accents.  Enter the two flashlights - one in red and one in white.  This "painting with light" technique allows a flash to freeze Melissa at the start of her routine while the remaining 29 seconds of exposure only captures the flashlight motion. (click on photo for larger version)

Beauty in nature

It was warm and sunny today so I decided to grab the old camera and spend the afternoon at Glen Echo Park near Bethesda, Maryland.  The area was originally a giant amusement park in the early 1900's and has since been converted to an arts educational center.  Many of the original buildings are still being used for offices and classrooms.  There is a small creek that runs along the side of the park and feeds into the Potomac River.  This is where I spent much of the afternoon - precariously balancing on rocks in the creek trying to get the perfect shot without falling in the water and destroying my ankles or my precious equipment. 

This is the first time that I feel my nature photos actually do justice to the real thing.  Normally I photograph some pretty trees or water and it comes out looking flat and boring.  Somehow everything came together today to produce something that might even make Mother Nature proud.

DC Rollergirls Bout

Here are a few photos from the DC Rollergirls bout at the Armory on January 16.  I had spent a couple weeks photographing the rollergirls during their practices back in November so I was familiar with the league and the action on the track.  But I was not prepared for intensity of an actual bout.  The skating was fast and the blocking was furious as the two teams battled it out on the track.  At the end of the day it was Cherry Blossom Bombshells over the visiting Harrisonburg Rocktown Rollers while the DC DemonCats fell to Scare Force One.

I am currently working on a multimedia piece showcasing the DC Rollergirls and the craziness that is a rollerderby bout.  Stay tuned.

(click on photo for larger version)

Washington Wizards

I am now on month three of my Washington Wizards photo internship.  It's been an interesting experience.  These large sports arenas are like little cities, and just like any new city it takes a while to get used to the layout.   There are places I can go where no one pays attention to me, there are places I can go where I get a stern warning, and then there are places I go where someone immediately escorts me away under threat of violence.  Guess which places produce the best photos??  That's probably true for a lot of photography.  You gotta have thick skin for this business.

Anyway, my actual internship consists of photographing the scoreboard but I occasionally point my camera toward the court for a little variety.  Here are some samples... (click on photo for larger version)

CDIA Celebration

We had our last day of school on Friday.  It has been an awesome seven months with a great group of people and I'm sad that the program is finished.  Here are a few photos from our final class (thanks to Kristen Finn for taking the group shot at the end):