Maryland

All photos available for print and licensing >

Happy Friday! I’m really looking forward to this weekend because I’ll be going to a place that I’ve been wanting to go to for a VERY long time. I’m talking years. I’ll tell you all more about it soon but be sure to follow along on my Instagram if you’re interested in knowing beforehand. It’s not far from the DC metro area, so we’ll just be there on Sunday evening. I’m so excited!

In the meantime, here’s an image I captured a couple of weeks ago at McKee Beshers Wildlife Management Area in Poolesville, Maryland. These sunflower fields are unfortunately gone for the season, but I heard Burnside Farms in Nokesville, Virginia may be looking good. I’ve personally never been to that one but have been to the McKee Beshers sunflower fields a whole bunch. What’s great about the sunflower field in Maryland is that there are multiple fields. So if one field hasn’t peaked, you could drive to the next field and hopefully get a different result.

This particular image was taken in the first field, right before they were about to peak. I love how all the sunflowers are facing the camera.

But this image is deceiving, they were actually taller than me. The tallest ones were at least 6ft. So easy to get lost in the fields. Lost in a good way though 🙂

Have a great weekend!

My camera settings for this image is f5.6 at 1/2000th sec and ISO 320 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm

All photos available for print and licensing >

I did it. I went back to the sunflower fields again. But this time, I went with IGDC. I was a little reluctant to go last weekend because it was just so hot and humid out but I’m so glad I did.

It was so great to see so many of my friends and going out and taking pictures with them. It made the whole experience so different. I felt like I was able to see the sunflowers in a different light. Instead of just concentrating on the blooms, I was more interested in the interactions of my friends with the sunflowers. While some people brought ladders and drones, others had props like picture frames and colorful umbrellas. It was pretty interesting to see the kind of shots everyone was trying to take.

At one point, I was asked to go out into the middle of the field with the umbrella to pose for some images. I agreed and my friend, Birch said that she would go in the middle with me. After my job as “model” was done, Birch and I took some time to just stay in the middle of the field to take some pictures of our own. Luckily, we brought out this ladder so we had an elevated view of the field.

But when it was Birch’s turn on the ladder, I thought it would be interesting to see if I could get a sun flair or something coming from her shoulder. I got some shots but then I ducked down a little bit and loved the way this super tall sunflower was framing her. I love how you’re able to get the sunflower petals on top of the image but also see sunflowers in the distance. A shot I probably would have never gotten if I kept on going to the sunflowers by myself 🙂

My camera settings for this image is F22 and 1/60th of a sec and ISO 200 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide-angle lens.

PS: click here to see this image on the Washingtonian

All photos available for print and licensing >

The third best thing about summer- sunflower fields!

The first is obviously the beach, the second being fireworks, and then comes sunflowers. LOL.

But if you’re in the DC, Maryland, Virginia area, I highly recommend stopping by McKee Beshers Wildlife Management Area. There are rows and rows of sunflowers, at times it can feel endless. Plus they have multiple fields, so if one isn’t looking it’s best or too crowded, it’s really simple just to hop to the next field. But there aren’t really any signs for the fields so be sure to check out this map before you go.

On this visit, I decided to try to get a little bit closer to the sunflowers. Not necessarily macro shots like I have done in the past, but using one flower to frame the other. This particular flower caught my attention because I liked how some of the pedals were folded in. I thought I’d use the flower in the foreground to sort of fill in that spot.

But while I was out photographing the sunflowers last week, I was just reflecting on all the times I’ve photographed these summer flowers. It’s crazy to think how many times I’ve been to this sunflower fields. Check out this video from 8 years ago! Talk about a blast from the past:

Yes, I miss my long hair too.

Yes, I still feel like running through the fields every time I go. LOL

I definitely want to go back at least one more time this season to try to capture some more of these yellow beauties.

My camera settings for this image is F7.1 at 1/1000th second and ISO 320 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom.

All photos available for print and licensing >

I checked another thing off of my bucket list. I have been eyeing this library for years. Honestly, I don’t even know how long because I’ve been wanting to visit it for forever. So after I was done photographing my work at BWI airport, I wasn’t ready to go home yet. I was still on this high that I felt like I wanted to take even more pictures. After a quick google search I found out that the George Peabody Library was 8 miles away and I was there.

I was a little confused when I drove up to it. I thought it was going to be this grand, stand alone building filled with people coming in and out with books in their hands. But it wasn’t. It’s actually a part of a larger multi-use building and it the library itself is a little hard to find especially when the doors are closed. To be honest, it was smaller than I envisioned but standing inside the library was amazing. The interior is absolutely breathtaking. You look up and there’s rows and rows of books. It’s an absolute dream.

At first I was nervous to take pictures because there were people there who were actually studying but they didn’t seem to mind. So I took my time and really appreciated the architecture. Unfortunately all the stairs were closed off so I couldn’t go up any levels. I would have loved to see what this place looks like from the very top.

Did you know that you can get married here? OMG that would be absolutely amazing! I also heard that this library was the inspiration for the library in Beauty and the Beast. Is that true? Or am I making that up? If you know for sure, let me know in the comments 🙂

My camera settings for this image is F4 at 1/80th sec at ISO 2000 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm.

All photos available for print and licensing >

I know I just talked about this on my last blog post, but I’m still not over it. The difference between now and then was that I was able to actually go see the Martin Luther King Jr memorial print in person! Shout out to Shane who runs the social media for BWI and who arranged and escorted me to the different terminals and even outside to see the hanging. It was so cool to see it from all different perspectives. While walking through the terminals all I could think about was how all the people around me were able to see my work. It was the coolest thing ever.

The image above was from outside. Honestly, I thought I was going to have to wear the ear muffs and bright vest that you see everyone else wearing and was a little disappointed that I didn’t have to. LOL. Oh well, this probably came out a lot better that I didn’t have it. But you can see the size difference between me and the print. I mean that thing is big!

The print is hanging outside of Terminal C which is American Airlines but if you go to Terminal B, Southwest, you get a very nice view of the print. This was taken in a little food court area. I’m not sure if this guy is actually looking at the art but I wanted to capture some images of people looking like they were 🙂

Baltimore-Washington International Airport, BWI Airport, baltimore-washington, international airport, exterior, terminal, new art, washington dc, martin luther king jr memorial, anne arundel county, maryland, md, bwi, holiday travels

And this last image was taken in the observatory. It’s a direct view of the image and I could not be any prouder.

Baltimore-Washington International Airport, BWI Airport, baltimore-washington, international airport, exterior, terminal, new art, washington dc, martin luther king jr memorial, anne arundel county, maryland, md, bwi, holiday travels

Also seeing a little behind the scenes of the airport was fun too. I love airports. It’s always so exciting going to one because you know an adventure is right around the corner.

Thanks again BWI airport for selecting my image and for Shane who showed me around the airport. Now I’ll be even more tempted to fly out of BWI for my future travels 🙂

All photos available for print and licensing >

Happy Friday! I have more good news 🙂 Remember this image from 2012? Probably not, but it was one of the first images I ever created of the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial in Washington DC. I remember when the memorial opened in August of 2011 at the Tidal Basin. Everyone was talking about it and it was just so exciting to go see. If I remember correctly, this image was taken at sunset. It’s hard to believe since there’s no one around. I just think that it was such a new memorial, not many tours were visiting it yet plus I remember it being pretty chilly while I was capturing it. So those two factors probably had a big role as to why it was so empty in the evening. If you go now in the evening, it would be nearly impossible to get a shot like this, no matter what the weather.

Well, fast forward 6 years later and this image is now hanging on the outside of the BWI Airport! AHHHH I haven’t been able to see it, mostly because it’s in the terminal and I would need an airplane ticket to go inside but it’s 22′ wide x 14.8′ tall. I heard it can be viewed from B Pier so if anyone is headed that way for holiday travel, please take a picture. I would love to see what it looks like in the day time.

Here’s an image that I received from the contractors who put it up.

BWI isn’t the usual airport I fly out of just because it’s further away from where I live, but I think I can make an exception for my next trip 🙂

Here’s one more view:

My camera settings for the original image is F8 at 0.3sec with ISO 320 with my Canon 5D Mark II and 24-105mm lens on a tripod.