borrowed glass

Last weekend, a friend of mine handed me his Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 and said, "I thought you might like to play round with this. It's a little soft, but you should have some fun with it as long as it's not wide open." Fighting my allergies, I took it out for a walk around the neighborhood.
(ISO 800, f/2.8, 1/100s)

springtime

Crocuses are supposed to be the first flowers to bloom, often poking their heads up through a late-season snowfall. Since we didn't get any snow this winter worth shoveling, these guys were early to the dance and seem to be staying past closing. I'm okay with that this year.
(ISO 200, f/11.0, 1/30s)

year-round farmers

I love that my farmers' market is open year-round. Sure, there's a few less vendors, but the ones that come every week still see a loyal customer base. I'm quite addicted to Asian pears from one orchard and the cider from Toigo. How many months until I can get a fresh tomato again?
(ISO 100, f/1.8, 1/2000s)

hangin' on

Some of the leaves refuse to loosen their grip on any remaining chlorophyll. Upon reflection of the background, other deciduous brethren provide a colorful argument against that course of (in)action.

(ISO 100, f/1.8, 1/200s)

trying to find my way

Life's cycles sometimes get in the way of that which we love. My two passions, photography & climbing, have been usurped by the demands of my classroom this school year. The attack on photography really began last year, and I've struggled mightily to remedy it. This year's assault on my time spent climbing, either on plastic or outdoors, is really wearing on me. The graduate course I've been taking has eliminated a night that I always climbed and has negated any gains in ability or strength I made over the summer. I'm hoping the winter and spring are kinder to my passions.
(ISO 100, f/9.0, 1/50s)

vineyard vines, v2.0

Virginia is apparently becoming quite the oenophile oasis. It didn't take me long to find an industry page, and each winery I've been to toots their own horn quite loudly. I'm not well-versed enough in wine tasting to tell the difference, but I did enjoy most of the wines at Breaux last weekend.
(ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/30s)

vineyard vines

No, not funny colored britches with tiny embroidered whales!
(ISO 100, f/9.0, 1/125s)

cooled off

It was a hot day. Finding shady spots in the breeze helped. So did cool bottles of their crisp summertime whites.
(ISO 100, f/8.0, 1/125s, 4x close-up filter)

geaux-ing tasting

We took a trip to two local wineries to belatedly celebrate a friend's birthday. We spent most of our time at Breaux Vineyards in Purcellville, Virginia. Coincidentally, it was also our anniversary, and we were able to enjoy some time with friends who attended our wedding a year ago.

(ISO 200, f/8.0, 1/400s)

somewhere over the rainbow

Way up high...
(ISO 200, f/9.0, 1/125s)

groundhogs

If last week's snow is any indication, we're not getting out of this cold winter anytime soon. What say you, Punxsutawney Phil?
(ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/40s)

circular reflection

The red caboose really popped in the winter snowscape.
(ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/15s)

southern

I've often ridden by the caboose at Bluemont Junction on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. This fall, I resolved to visit it in the winter. I remembered.
(ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/100s)

iwo jima

On the last day of school before winter break, I got home pretty early. I decided to head to Rosslyn with my camera, walk around, then surprise my wife by picking her up at work. In a bout of photographic karma, I was blessed with some spectacular clouds on a chilly afternoon.

(ISO  100, f/10.0, 1/80s)

food for the soul

Live music is one of the things I miss most about Gainesville. If nothing was going on, we went to a show. Hadn't heard of the band? Didn't matter. We were there. Few nights pan out that way around here.

Last night, we wound up at Iota Club in Clarendon. We were treated to some awesome roots country, courtesy of Ruthie & The Wranglers. I'll have to keep an eye out for their shows when they're nearby. I felt a bit out of place in my bowtie, but my Chucks tapped along just as well as my boots would've.
(ISO 3200, f/2.0, 1/25s)

nose to nose

It was pretty neat to get up close and personal with some of the planes I grew up learning about. There was an SR-71 Blackbird, a Concorde, the Enola Gay, and a space shuttle. You could get up close and personal with some of them, but no touching. Too bad!
(ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/40s)

the planes, the planes!

Rainy Sunday. Perfect for heading out to a museum. We've been waiting for years to go to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. It's the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum with a lot more space. Located out by Dulles International Airport, we'd postponed going there for years. We were saving it for a visit from my uncle. He would have really enjoyed it. We miss you, Bob.
(ISO 800, f/4.8, 1/15s)