Caught in the Act: New Series

Caught in the Act is my new series that I'm shooting, all based around a pink briefcase. I want it to be an action-oriented series that asks the question, what's in that pink briefcase?

I'm debating whether I'm in over my head on this series. My last series, The Lonely Road, was very personal to me so it was easy to do. This series is way out of my league as I know very little about mystery and intrigue besides what I see on TV. But I wanted to push myself to shoot outside my comfort zone. And it does that both stylistically and technically. I'm trying not to be so composed in my images, creating more of a snapshot feel, and I'm using on-camera flash with no modifier! Talk about a challenge.

People seem really interested in shooting this series. I have had a good response to my casting call. Too good really. I'm running out of ideas to shoot since the underworld is not my world!

Here are my first two shots.

I thank the models who are willing to go along with my crazy ideas. I couldn't do it without them.

Teddy Roosevelt Island

Theodore Roosevelt Island is one of my favorite places in the DC area and it's on one of my favorite roads, the George Washington Parkway. It's a beautiful place to go any time of year, but autumn is especially beautiful.

The main reason I love the island is that it's flat. No kidding. I'm lazy. I'll walk if it's an easy walk, but the minute there's a hill, I get a little grouchy. The other reasons include that DC is so close that you can see it through all the trees and you can get macros of nature while at the same time get landscape images of the DC area.

Here's a picture of Rossyln.

Here's the Key Bridge going to Georgetown.

Here's some ducks that let me sit with them for a while. 

Here's part of the swamp path. They put in a boardwalk so you don't have to get your shoes all swampy. But I did anyway, because I walked a little off the beaten path.

And here's a macro of a couple leaves. I love the textures out in nature. 

Go to the island if you can, but get there early, parking is very limited.

World is Still Gray, but in a Good Way

 I guess the white on white series was a way to explore the gray that is my world, but in a positive way. And since digital black and white always feels kinda fake to me, it was a strange challenge for me. And definitely doing all white images in black and white was a tonal challenge for sure. I'm not sure I always got it right, but it was fun trying. I enjoyed it so much I completed 26 shots in 8 days.

My favorite shot is this one:

Because, it's a self portrait of sorts. I'm wearing those men's underwear, inside out (at the time that was unbeknownst to me). And I even added a bulge for some reality. I have never felt so goofy, but I just couldn't NOT do it.

All of the shots were taken with one light and a lot of white paper used for fill light.

Lighting wise this is my favorite:

First, it took forever to find an all white toothbrush (Whole Foods to the rescue and I was only there because of a fluke). Second, that is taken in my bathroom with the toothbrush on the lid of my toilet. That doesn't sound amazing until you realize my bathroom is 5x8. I barely fit in there, much less me, a light, and a tripod. I'm surprised nothing caught on fire. And now that I think about it, I could have taken the lid off that darn toilet and put it somewhere bigger! But how authentic would that be? It's just one brolly box pointed straight down at the toothbrush. Well, as straight down as it could be before hitting all the walls!

And what's odd is, while I really like that picture, I think it has more to do with the design of the toothbrush then my skills as a photographer.

White On White

Whenever I get burnt out on photography, I start a 30 Days series. I pick some basic element of photography to focus on and I take one picture every day for a month. It gets the camera back in my hands and usually sparks that creativity in my brain that has been laying dormant for a while.

This time I picked white on white as a theme. Mainly because my friend Jen left me with a bag of cotton balls and q-tips that has been sitting out on my vanity for a month. I've been looking at it everyday and the other day, I just wanted to shoot something and that's what I grabbed. And while I've never been to photography school, I've heard that one class assignment is to shoot an egg on white. That's a great way to learn to control shadows. So for a month, I'm going to play with white. By the end of the month, I should really appreciate shadows and how they define an image.

Here are my first two attempts. I'm happy to say, I'm excited about photography again.

You will be able to see the series progress here:
White on White

Finally, New Photos

I haven't taken any images since my trip to Key West in May. When I returned to my home it was still full of grief and sadness and it's hard for me to take pictures when the world looks and feels gray. But I have been working through that grief and I believe that the color is returning to my world.

I took a trip to Jarrettsville, Maryland where there are acres and acres of sunflowers. The bees and butterflies were out as well as the tourists. I even helped a few get family portraits, tourists that is. I'm not sure if the bees and butterflies were interested in portraits.

On my way back, I stopped at the old Paper Mill Road Bridge (which is a stone's throw from the new Paper Mill Road Bridge). They are hoping to make it a footbridge someday. I hope they do because it's gorgeous.

Underwater Housing

I just received my underwater housing for my point and shoot. I am planning on taking all my pictures in water from now on. This one is bubbles in the sink from the underside! I'm so excited. Actually I got this for my trip to Key West so I can go crazy on the beaches and in the water, but I'm going to give it a good workout until then.

Perfect Sky

I've been waiting forever to take pictures of the Air Force Memorial, but it requires waiting for the perfect sky, because so much of it is in the sky. Today I lucked out. I went to take a picture of an abandoned pool. Those pictures were horrible, but on my way home the sky opened up and I remembered the Memorial. I had so much fun taking these.

I have to say the memorial is cooler than I thought it would be. I've always thought the memorial looks like knife edges coming out of the ground. I find them eery at night and I drive by it on 395 all the time. It's less eery when you are in the actual park. The space is very open and it you get a great view of DC. Actually before it was the Memorial, I used to sit on that hill to watch the July 4th fireworks.

I'm just happy I could make a picture of a landscape finally work.