April 29, 2008 - Salute

It was a nice day outside, so on my way to the metro I snapped some shots of the Navy Memorial. My intent was to capture the day and the fountains and the awesome blue water but the plaques really caught my eye, especially this one of some sailors saluting.

converted to sepia tone.

April 28, 2008 - Going Vegan

Today was my friend Aaron's birthday. He's allergic to dairy - so instead of a regular cake, we have to get creative. There's a vegan bakery in DC called Sticky Fingers - up in Colombia Heights. The baked goods are also gluten free. So, these treats are good for his stomach and also good for the rest of us meat eaters as well.

This is the Cookies N Cream cupcake with a black background. Converted to B&W because the icing looks better this way.

April 27, 2008 - I Can Handle It

Dueling door knobs on Willard Street

April 26, 2008 - I <3 Sandals

I love when it's warm enough to wear flipflops. Today, even first thing, you could wear shorts and sandals. Spring and summer are here.

April 25, 2008 - In a Row

I got off my bus a stop early and it dropped me off right infront of my favorite group of houses in Dupont. I love that each one is a different color. I would've liked this shot from a better angle, but the sun wasnt cooperating!

Do you remember these??

April 24, 2008 - Hard at Work

Today, I found out I was nominated for a "Home Run Award" at work. To quote the email from BearingPoint - "You were nominated for this award by a colleague who thinks you hit a "home run" by exceeding expectations". Cool! I won 2 tickets to a Nationals home game!

In honor of this celebration, I took time out of my 'busy' day to snap a shot of me "working".

April 23, 2008 - More Willard Street Flowers

Another day, another shot on my block. These are some flowers by the end of the block. They're in a bunch and I knew that a bokeh would look great on these guys. I kneeled down and got this on my way to work.

April 22, 2008 - A nice ring to it

This is the ring my parents bought me for my college graduation. I cleaned my black desk and noticed this reflection that it made so I got my macro lens on my camera and snapped some shots. I put some cool tones on it in iphoto and here we are.

April 21, 2008 - 'Flash' Flood

It has rained a ton since yesterday and occasionally my block will get some great puddles. It stopped raining on my way home from work and I saw this reflection. Since there's some holes in the street on the side, there were some 'divets' in the puddle. I focused on the reflection rather than the water and this is what I got. Not bad.

April 20, 2008 - Sharpness

I've been having a lot of fun taking pictures of things on my block in DC. Now that it's spring, I feel as though I really dont have to take some anywhere else.

April 19, 2008 - Make a Wish

It finally really feels like spring - it's warm and the sun is shining and there's flowers all over the place. I stole this dandelion from a person on my block and started shooting around the street with different backgrounds. My macro lens doesnt have autofocus, so it was difficult to adjust my settings, hold the dandelion steady and keep it focused. But, I really like the colors and sharpness this one.

April 18, 2008 - Home Sweet Home

I am back home from training. It's glad to be back.

I live on the 1700 block of Willard St NW in DC.

April 17, 2008 - It's almost over!

Part of our training was to complete a presentation. We finally finished our presentation past 10 pm and we were presenting at 9 am on Friday Morning. So, you would think that I would go straight to bed? Ofcourse not. We hit the bar (that's why the picture kinda sucks)

FYI - the presentation went very well.

April 16, 2008 - Bathroom

There's not a whole lot of interesting things to take pictures of when you're in a hotel, but we had sweet bathrooms in our room. I took a picture of the way it looks after it's cleaned

April 15, 2008 - The Hotel

We finished our training early today - around 6 pm. So I took the opportunity to head outside and get a picture of the huge fountain and the reflection of the hotel in the pond out front.

April 14, 2008 - Living by a suitcase

So this week I'm at a work training session out in Herndon, VA. I'm about 3 miles from the Dulles airport. We are required to stay out in the hotel overnight, even though it's only 40 miles from home. So my photos may be a bit boring the next few days :)

Yes, my headboard is offcentered.

April 13, 2008 - Nats game

Johnny Estrada misses a fastball during the Washington Nationals 5-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

April 12, 2008 - It's getting warm

Today, we hit 80 degrees for the first time in 08. So, I went outside and took some flower shots. I took this one on my block of Willard Street. There are some sharp tulips. There are two insects on the foreground tulip. The background is a black SUV. I think it came out pretty badass.

April 11, 2008 - Stanley Cup Playoffs

Mike scored two club-level tickets through his work, so we went to the Caps vs Flyers game 1 at the Verizon Center. Unfortunately, my Flyers lost. But, the game was really exciting.

This was our view most of the game. The cameraman kind of obstructed us, but I got this cool bokeh shot.

April 10, 2008 - Staying in on a Thursday?

It was 70 degrees out in DC tonight and it's Thursday night - that could only mean one thing: have a drink or two outdoors. So - I went to Fox and Hound, but not before taking some photos.

I took this from my rooftop at dusk - it's the Washington Hilton Hotel. I love the geometric shapes it creates and the randomness of the lights. It's funny how much stronger some room lights are than others.

April 9, 2008 - This Cant Be good (100 photo milestone)

So I was walking through the alley behind my apartment today and noticed these exposed wires and circuits. This cant be a good thing, can it?

April 8, 2008 - Foodie strikes back

mmmmm

turkey burger
cheddar cheese
ketchup
whole-wheat bun

April 7, 2008 - Repeal of the Prohibition of Beer

Happy 75th anniversary of the repeal of the Prohibition of Beer Day.

Celebrate accordingly.

April 6, 2008 - Starry Eyed

One thing I love about living in the Northeast are all the row homes. They have a lot of character.

This past Sunday, Mike and I went for a walk to Georgetown so I could buy some new jeans. Ofcourse, I brought my camera. These metal stars are on a lot of houses and I believe they are only for decoration (correct me if i'm wrong because I'd love to learn about this).

These were not the original colors of the houses - I added blue tones in iPhoto. The originals were a grey and gross yellow - I think this is just a bit nicer. But, with the editing - the paint detail and the detail of the rust really come out in the star. I cropped the photo in a square format and centered the star.

Here is one of my other favorites from the day.

April 5, 2008 - Springtime

It was supposed to rain all weekend long. But, this was taken Saturday morning around 830 am. I had an ultimate game at the Polo Fields on the Mall at Independence and Ohio Dr SW. I was expecting the game to be cancelled or at least cloudy and drizzly. I got this last shot of the cherry blossoms before they turn green. I cant believe that at such a crowded location during the festival there's no people here.

In the center is the Northrop Grumman building in Rosslyn. On the left is the John Ericsson monument (who!?) and the pink trees are the Cherry Blossoms.

April 4, 2008 - April Showers bring May Flowers

Lots of rain this april, looks like we're going to get a lot of may flowers.

Raindrops on a white unbloomed flower. The red background is a bokeh of the brick sidewalk on willard street. This photo was cropped heavily.

April 3, 2008 - Two Tones

My friend Mark from UDel was in DC for the day for work. We met up for dinner and went to Rosa Mexicana. It was my first time there. On the way out, I noticed the cool two-toned blue ceiling in the atrium. A wide-angle shot didnt look so great, so I did an abstract close up.

April 2, 2008 - Cherry Blossom Festival

Tonight I met up with a few other photogs and went down to the Tidal Basin to take some shots of the Cherry Blossoms before they disappeared. This is my favorite of the bunch. I love the tilted horizon and the beautiful starburst that came through the blossoms. You can still make out a slight pinkish tone in the blossoms as well.

This might be the last day of nice weather for the Cherry Blossom Festival this year. I think this photo captures the sunset and end of a great thing pretty well.

I suggest taking a look at the rest of the set because they came out beautiful.

April 1, 2008 - April Fools

Well, it may not be a traditional April Fools type shot, but what I did was do a trick of perspective. Because of the depth and the angle I shot this, it appears that the street light is taller than the buildings.

I know it's a stretch, but whatever :)

March 31, 2008 - Last Class

Today was the last day of my photography class at the USDA. I love the way the USDA Building reflects the DoT onto the front. The metro station roof adds a little bit of perspective as well.

Believe it or not, this shot really was a test of what I learned. Putting this on auto, caused the sky to be blown out. I had to manually adjust my shutter, aperture and ISO to get this shot how I wanted it. This one was slightly underexposed.