NW DC

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I still have a ton more images from Taiwan to share but taking a little break from them with some images I captured even before I left. I almost forgot that I spent a little time walking around the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts one cloudy afternoon in Mid-November.

It’s great how the Kennedy Center allows visitors even when there are no events or performances going on. You are free to roam the interior around the Hall of Nations or even the exterior on the rooftop terrace. It’s a great place to just sit and appreciate just how great Washington DC is. Everything is just so grand and awe-inspiring in this venue. Just thinking about all the people who have walked through the halls and how many performances have taken place here is amazing.

As I was walking around the outside of the building, I noticed this woman walking very fast. I have no idea where she was going, but she matched perfectly with the gold exterior and fall colors. She was just screaming to have her picture taken at this moment.

My camera settings for this image are F7.1  at 1/640th sec and ISO 500 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

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I live within walking distance to a metro station but that doesn’t mean I ride it very often. If I had to estimate it, I probably ride it about 3-4 times a year. Once for DC fireworks for the 4th of July and then all the other times will be for random events where the roads are closed in the city or if we have a lot of snow and I want to capture it all. Otherwise, I will rather be driving.

Recently I had to ride the metro and get off at the Federal Triangle station. This was my first time taking the metro to this station and it was a long enough ride that I had to find a bathroom almost immediately after I got off. So I ended up wandering around a little bit and found this great walkway. It was especially nice in the mid-morning light as it was coming through the columns and casting these great shadows. I waited around just enough to capture these two people walking. I made sure to capture them while they were in the light and that you could see their own shadows along the wall. I love the way this turned out with so much repetition going on. This would probably be cool at night when the lights above are turned on.

My camera settings for this image are F6.3 at 1/1250th sec and ISO 320 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

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This image may be my favorite in the series I captured at Rock Creek Park. I like it because of how monochromatic yellow it is. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know I love those monochrome colored looks.

You may also know that I enjoy going out with other photographers to take pictures too. But once in a while, I find so much peace going out on my own. Especially in Rock Creek Park, a place I am not too familiar with, I loved exploring the area and finding little corners like this. However, this was one time I wish I was out with another person. I think this would have been really cool if there was a person standing there with an umbrella or something. Oh well, there’s always next time.

My camera settings for this image are F6.3 at 1/13th sec and ISO 500 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm.

All photos available for print and licensing >

Officially home from California and could not be happier. Our trip to San Diego was a blast. I had such a great time being on the west coast. I spent everyday but one (when it was raining) photographing the city and I loved every minute of it. Now, I have so many images to go through. I’m pretty sure I took almost a thousand if not more. LOL. So get ready for some foggy ocean images coming soon 🙂

On my way home I picked up two copies of the Washingtonian Magazine, one for me and one for my mom, because I have 2 images published in the January issue! It’s their “Our Favorite Places” issue and they’ve highlighted some pretty cool places in the city. One of them being the image above, Dumbarton Oaks. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that I went there for the very first time this past summer. I can’t wait to go back again in the spring. I know that place will be flourishing in all kinds of beauty.

The second image I have on there is on page 76 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial I took back in 2012. It’s a full page image and was so excited to see how well it turned out! You may remember it because I captured it at the same time I took this one.

So if you haven’t already, pick up the January issue of the Washingtonian and let me know if you think they’ve left out any places that should be on the list. And a big MUCHAS GRACIAS to Washingtonian for publishing my work. It’s always such an honor to see my images in print.

My camera settings for this image is F/7.1 at 1/30th of a second and ISO 80 with my Sony A7II and 28-70mm lens.

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Sometimes finding a new point of view can be difficult. Especially if you’ve visited the same location multiple times. That’s always the problem that I have visiting the memorials. How can I make it look different from all the other times I’ve shot it. Sometimes I try to go at different times of day, other times I’ll make sure the sky is really unique or different. I’ll shoot high or I’ll shoot low. But I always try to make the memorials that I love so much different in each of my posts. So when I saw this puddle I was super excited. It was just this gigantic puddle in the middle of the grass/dirt. I got some crazy looks from people when I kneeled down to get closer to it, but I think it was all worth it in the end. There were people who even stopped next to me just to get down low to see what I was looking at. LOL. Some people may not get it but these puddle shots are quickly becoming some of my favorite to shoot.

The camera settings for this was F7.1 at 1/100th of a second at ISO 160. It was a pretty cloudy day. A storm was expected to hit a few hours later (and you know how I can’t resist shooting in storms). My main focus was to get everything even and symmetrical. I think my favorite part about this image is the tree leaning over. When you’re standing up you barely notice it, but I think with the reflection in the puddle the curvature is a little more exaggerated. It really acts as a leading line to bring you through the whole image.

Anyways, hope you all have a great weekend filled with fun, amazing light and beautiful views. We’re celebrating my brother and my grandma’s birthdays tonight with some Turkish food!