Goodbye Hair Cuttery

What a great sign. I spotted this as I was headed down to the mall to try and get some pictures of the sunset today. The barbershop is located on K Street right next to the first school I taught at, RH Terrell JHS, which is now closed. I thought the neon was pretty bad ass.

Is it Spring yet?

It snowed off and on today in DC, and frankly I'm tired of it. So, I'm ushering in an early spring via Eckington Artworks. This picture is actually from summer, but irregardless. March is just around the corner, which means the official start of spring is less than a month away. As a matter of fact, we have 22 days left until spring begins to bloom. I'm curious to know, what ushers in that feeling of springtime for you? Let the countdown begin...

He who falls in love with himself will have no rivals.

This sculpture is just outside Christ Church in Philadelphia, where Benjamin Franklin is buried. I went to a page of famous Franklin quotes, and the man is really amazing. I'm sure he's not responsible for every quote attributed to him, but if even half are accurate he's brilliant and one of the most prolific writers in American history. My younger brother Mike is a big fan of Franklin. This picture was taken during Mike's visit last fall. It has inspired me to pick up Walter Isaacson's biography on Franklin, Benjamin Franklin; An American Life. Has anyone else read this?

Chicago Harbor Lighthouse

This is a picture of the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse. I took the picture while visiting my family last summer. My parents and I took a boat ride on Lake Michigan. I like this picture because of the perspective it gives with the stones leading up to the lighthouse.

Joan of Arc in the Park

I was inspired by the plethora of responses to the previous Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park responses that I decided to post another picture from the park. This is the Joan of Arc statue. If you look at her right hand, you can see that she is missing her sword.

Dante-Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park

From the Fall of 2009, this is a photo of the statue of Dante in Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park. There is a great article that details the renaissance of the park here. If you've never been there its a jewel in the city. The park has beautiful fountains, several statues, and a large green space right in between U Street and Adams Morgan. There is debate over the name of the park-whether it's name is Meridian Hill or Malcolm X. Not even the city has a clear designation. Do you have an opinion?

There's a little snow left.

I saw this tiny snowman outside the Yes! Organic Market in Brookland. The snow is steadily melting, but it's at that point where it's no longer white. The city is covered in this dirty, filthy sludge. Gotta love winter in the city.

I need a drink.

Congratulations to Christeve, on their engagement.

Mmmm...

I'm hungry.

Reasons why Jim Vance is the man #1. He tells it like it is.

This has nothing to do with photography, but I am a huge fan of NBC 4 anchor, Jim Vance. If you've ever seen his work, you know why already. If you aren't familiar with Mr. Vance, take a look at why this man is a modern American hero. Reason #1. He tells it like it is. My favorite quotes from this piece include "That had to hurt. That was uncool. That's embarrassing."
Enjoy.

Take a dive into the archive...

Tibetan prayer flags from a friend's house boat in Winona, MN. I took this picture two summers ago while visiting my friend Jamie Harper, who won a photo contest himself in December, and is one of the most fascinating people I've ever met.
As you can see I've stepped away from taking a picture each day but maintained posting pictures. I have thousands of photos that I have never posted anywhere and I want to share some of them.
That is all.

Sometimes I feel like this.

From the grounds of the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

Did some digging, and it had nothing to do with snow.

So I did a little digging into my picture archives to get caught up this week. I pulled this picture of Washington DC's largest mural, "From Edgewood to the Edge of the World." Let's face it, this blog needs some color. This is part of a huge mural that was completed last summer thanks to the handy work of dozens of artists in the city's Summer Youth Employment Proogram and an amazing group named Albus Cavus. Their work is appearing all over the city and it's really awesome stuff. There is a newer mural that was completed this winter at the corner of Barry Place and Sherman Avenue, NW.

Can we talk about something else?

Monday's Post, on Tuesday...I really liked this picture from winter break back home in Illinois, at Rock Cut State Park. It seemed fitting what with all the winter weather we've seen here in DC and the snow they have back home.

Behind the 8 ball

So, I slacked off a bit and I am behind the 8 ball. Eh, get it, see the picture... Ok, I guess only I find that to be funny. IRregardless, I will play catch up and get back on track this week. This picture was taken before Christmas at Laura's holiday party.

DC Rollergirls

I went to my first roller derby event on Saturday; the DC All-Stars vs. the Pittsburgh Steel Hurtin'. This is a picture of a member of the opposing team, the Pittsburgh Steel Hurtin', zipping around the track with a ref in the background. I am still working on mastering pictures in low light with lots of motion.

Delicious devastation

Happy birthday Casimir! I love crab.

The road sometimes travelled

The second storm in the Great Blizzard of 2010 has subsided and now it's time to clean up. As you can see our sidewalks still have plenty of cleaning left. I used the 'programmed exposure' setting on my camera, which I learned is basically an automatic setting on the camera. It gives a red hue to everything as you see on this picture and the picture of Violet from earlier in the week.

February's Most Prolific...

I didn't make it very far when I ventured out to take pictures today. Actually, I got as far as the front door and decided it was not smart to go outside. But I thought the image of the snow 'growing' from my planter's pot was a fitting image for the experience of the last 6 days. Whether you call it snoverkill, snowpocalypse, snowmageddon, snowgasm, snowmyGod, it's enough of the snow already. Time to get back to real life. If you only have the time and patience for one of the links, the last one is the best. But who are you kidding? More than likely you're on snow day number 4.5. So, you got nothing but time.

Big up...to all my haters...

Thanks for the comments on yesterday's selection. Nothing fuels me more than my haters. I mean that.

Tonight's selection is from U Street. I couldn't take pictures at the TAB show so I snapped this one on the way home. It's probably for the best that I didn't get to bring my camera in because I still have a lot to learn about taking pictures in low light. I did some reading but didn't get to experiment much today. That is a goal for tomorrow. If you are interested in pictures from the TAB show there will be some in the Washington Post tomorrow.

Galactic at 930

This comes from the Galatic concert at the 930 club. It was scheduled for Saturday, my birthday, but got rescheduled because of the blizzard. It was a great show. I took way too many pictures, 441 by the end of the night. I edited them down to 249, but I can't cut anymore than that. So that gives you a little insight into how difficult it is for me to chose one picture. This is Monday's submission, but since I got home after the witching hour, it is listed on Tuesday's date. TMI, this is supposed to be about photography. I'm working on taking pictures in low light with lots of motion. So I'll be reading up on that and trying out what I learn at a concert tonight. The picture for today, Tuesday, will probably be posted after midnight if the Trey Anastasio Band (TAB) show goes on as scheduled. Wish me luck, and thanks for checking these out!

Violet's First Superbowl

I took my time with pictures today, taking only a few on the walk to Ben's Next Door for brunch, then taking a few while watching the Superbowl. But I couldn't choose a more beautiful subject that Violet during her first Superbowl party. I had a hard time deciding between two pictures, but I really liked how sweet she looks in this one with mom's hands caring for her.

Birthday Blizzard

To start my 31st year out right I'm taking on a new project. For the next year I'm going to take a picture a day and post them on this blog. I took the idea from photographer on flickr, Dcstylezs. My goals are to become a better photographer, to compile a collection of photographs, and to take some time each day to seek out and capture something interesting, beautiful, and engaging.

It seemed appropriate to start out with a picture from this weekend's blizzard. This is a row of houses down the block from my place topped off with a little show and the sunset reflecting on the windows.