lightroom lessons

All my photographer friends have been telling me since I first bought my D60 that I should be shooting in RAW. It took the Lightroom 4 Beta for me to finally make that leap. Now all I need is some memory because I foresee my hard drive filling up much faster!
(ISO 800, f/7.1, 1/320s)

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)

sitting, waiting, wishing

On Christmas Eve, we took my parents to see the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in the District. While we wandered around, this pacing stranger nervously kept checking his cell phone for messages. It wasn't very warm out, and he was decked out for something important. After we'd walked to our car, we drove past him and his possible new fiancee walking past the Tidal Basin, both with impossibly large smiles. Mazel tov!

(ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/500s)

colored window

Last one from my snowy walk with Jack Frost.
(ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/125s)

kit and caboodle

Surveying the whole scene at Bluemont Junction.
(ISO 100, f/10.0, 1/80s)

post snow glow

ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/60s, 55mm

crossbucks

This sign looks a bit different than the one in Vienna.
(ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/200s)

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)

we're gonna need a bigger boat

I tried my hand at framing Georgetown's iconic spire in the arches of the Key Bridge. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get the right perspective. I think I need a kayak or canoe to accomplish it. The way the Potomac looks, I doubt it will be anytime soon.
(ISO 200, f/11.0, 1/100s)

keyed up

When I first got my Nikon, I took it for a walk in the city on a snow day. I somehow found myself in Georgetown, staring at the Key Bridge as sleet began to fall with a mile to walk either direction to a Metro station. I clumsily took a few haphazard shots and wound up with one of the best shots I've taken since moving to D.C. This time around, I had far more knowledge. Compare the two. Which do you like better?
(ISO 200, f/11.0, 1/125s)

the clouds roll in

It wasn't too long in the day before the sun dipped below the ridge line, and the clouds rolled in. It was not a particularly warm afternoon on the boulders. The friction was spectacular. Sending temps. I desaturated this final shot of the trio to give the cool, grey mood of the later afternoon. Which of the three do you prefer?
(ISO 100, f/22.0, 1/6s)

with time to caption

I spent Saturday playing amongst the boulders of Northwest Branch, a tributary that eventually winds into the Anacostia River. One only needs to visit this fallen gem in the summer to figure out why the water quality of the Anacostia is so dismal. According to a sign at the trailhead, it was once a favorite urban escape of Teddy Roosevelt during his presidency. It's hard to tell these days with the stench of runoff & graffiti on many rock faces.

(ISO 100, f/22.0, 1/3s)

first in a trio

(ISO 100, f/22.0, 1/4s)

gateway to the soul

She indulges me and acts as a model every so often. See others in my Portraits set on Flickr.
(ISO 100, f/4.0, 1/640s, eV -1.00)

shadows in the snow

Many of the shots turned out nearly black and white, just by virtue of the stark landscape. Clearly, this was converted to black and white, but aside from the blue sky and the brown fence, you'd have a hard time telling otherwise.
(ISO 100, f/22.0, 1/15s)

icicles

Getting under these icicles soaked me with drips of melting ice. The fast shutter speed still blurred most of the falling drops unfortunately.
(ISO 100, f/5.3, 1/640s)

a deserted park

In the summertime, Upton Hill Park on Wilson Boulevard is filled with the screams of children at the pool, the ping of the hitters in the batting cages, and golf claps on the minigolf course. It is a decidedly quieter landscape after nearly three feet of snow fall.
(ISO 100, f/22.0, 1/30s)

a snowy sunset

As the second major snowstorm wound down, those of us who emerged were treated to a beautiful sunset. It almost seemed like a mea culpa from God himself. I still see beauty in the snow, so I was doubly pleased.
(ISO 100, f/18.0, 1/8s, eV -1.00)

view from a puddle of snow

That strange photographer's eye came out again just as I was meeting a friend for lunch near Eastern Market. Shadows, reflections, an alternative viewpoint. Good times.
(ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/320s)

florida house

Reflected in the windows of Florida House on Capitol Hill is the back of the Supreme Court. Touted as the only state embassy in the nation's capital, I wish I'd known they give out free orange juice to Floridians, though I wonder how I'd prove it without my Florida driver's license. I may have acclimated to the winter too well to be believable as a Sunshine State native.
(ISO 100, f/8.0, 1/60s)