west wing

Before Christmas, we were treated to a tour of the West Wing of the 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue by a climber friend. It was pretty awesome seeing parts of the working White House that few see in person. Too bad my camera wasn't allowed to capture too many of them!
 (ISO 1600, f/1.8, 1/80s)

thinker

Texture is important. Without it here, this photo would be otherwise flat and dark. The light worked out nicely.

(ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/20s)

structured

Columns were first used by the ancient Greeks as an architectural element. In case you haven't noticed, they're all over D.C.
(ISO 800, f/5.6, 4/5s)

march madness

If psychics truly had extra-sensory perception, don't you think more people would employ them to fill out their tournament brackets? Mine's a mess; how about yours?

(ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/400s)

dupont circle

Prepared with my tripod, I was able to get some pretty cool long exposure shots. One guy stopped to ask us in Thomas Circle, "What are you shooting video of?"

"Nothing. These aren't video cameras."
(ISO 200, f/22.0, 5.0s)

perfect combination?

We walked over to Kramer Books in Dupont Circle to check out the neon sign and get some cool pictures of it. There happened to be a guy standing in the window wearing a red down jacket. Perfectly complementary to the neon, right? I couldn't get a focused shot to look the way I wanted. Bokeh won this round!
(ISO 800, f/8.0, 1/15s)

thomas circle

This is closer to the goal of the evening. Our last batch of shots from the berm of the National City Christian Church were uninspiring in camera. One small setting change in Lightroom made all the difference in the world.
(ISO 200, f/22.0, 2.5s)

panning

Long exposures were the goal of the night. Tripods are nice, but sometimes an old-school panning shot turns out awesome.
(ISO 800, f/10.0, 1/2s)

q street northwest

Half-hearted plans turned into another photosafari adventure with a friend of mine. It's always interesting to see how two different perspectives can make the same subject look entirely different.
(ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/20s)

a week late

As usual, I find myself with much to strive toward in capturing the beauty of fireworks. Perhaps it's because I like them so much that I find my photos don't do them justice. Or maybe it's because I see such great shots by Luis Gomez & Foggy Dew that gives me motivation to improve my own next year!

(ISO ???, f/9.0, 4.0s, 55mm)

arc de triomphe du carrousel

We never made it to the more well-known Arc on the Champs Elysees. We did see this one near the Louvre more often. We went to inspect a Ferris wheel and carnival that was set up near the Louvre on the other side of the Seine. I couldn't resist this shot.

(ISO 100, f/16.0, 20.0s)

backlog

So, with the busy weekend we had and the honeymoon to follow, I'm backdating this Fourth of July photo. I've got over 800 shots to go through from Paris. Happy belated birthday, America!
(ISO 100, f/10.0, 1.0s)

the replacement

When my uncle sold the family tavern in 1999, the Moose became the watering hole of choice for many of the displaced patrons. Lately, I haven't set foot in a pub, bar, or speakeasy in town. There's reasons, sure, but it'd still be nice to do something after my grandma goes to bed at sunset.
(ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/13s)

moonlight illumination

I believe I'm going to convert this one to black & white for a poster-sized print for our freshly-painted guest bedroom.
(ISO 400, f/10.0, 20.0s)

walking away

What I initially thought was a throwaway shot turned out to be one of the most vibrant from the night. Yes, the saturation is a little off because of the high ISO, but I still like it. Bright!
(ISO 1600, f/4.5, 1/13s)

la luna llena

My first attempt at photographing la bella luna. I've been told that I need to treat it as if I'm photographing the sun and adjust my settings as such. When I tried, all that remained in the shot was one lone dot with everything else in the frame black. This was shot with my 35mm prime; a longer focal length may be in order for starters. Any other thoughts?
(ISO 1600, f/2.8, 1/6s)

seafood, in neon

Commercial Boulevard & State Road A1A. Closed road, Elvis impersonator, eating ice cream outside in November. Gotta love Florida!
(ISO 400, f/3.2, 1/640s, eV -1.00)

halls of justice

Armed only with my 35mm, I had to be creative to photograph the front of the Supreme Court in the early evening. I couldn't fit the facade in any other way.
(ISO 400, f/11.0, 28.0s)

capitol late night

Little did we know Congress was actually in session on this evening.
(ISO 400, f/16.0, 10.0s)

sitting on the dock of the potomac

Last time I brought my tripod on a photo shooting mission to Old Town and the waterfront, it poured on us. This time, my battery ran low with what would've been the best shot of the night. King Street Blues were jamming in front of an alley near the Torpedo Factory. I need to make sure my battery is fully charged when I go out from now on. Here's a long exposure, using a wall as a makeshift tripod.
(ISO 400, f/16.0, 30.0s)