hirshhorn

All photos available for print and licensing >

Back in 2018, my cousin gifted me with his old film camera. It was unexpected but I am so grateful for it. It brought back many memories of when I first started in photography. At that time, there was no digital photography. Everything was on a negative film. But what had initially sparked my interest in photography was being able to go out with my friends and capturing portraits of them with my SLR camera, point and shoot, and even disposable cameras. It was just something fun for us to do and I used to love seeing pictures I took on my friend’s bedroom walls or lockers. So from that point on, everywhere I went, I had a camera on me.

Obviously with a “new camera” comes new adventures so when I got the film camera, I was excited to start experimenting with it. It’s been a while since I have used film so along the way, I’ve learned to take my time with composition and framing. I learned that each frame is precious and should not be taken for granted, especially since a roll is film is just 24 or 36 frames. Photograph the moments that really speak to you. And practice patience in creating and developing the images.

But omg, that sound of the shutter too! It instantly brought back so many memories.

So I thought it would be fun to go through some images that I’ve taken in the past year or so with my Canon T70 and 35-70mm lens. By the way, none of these images on this post have been edited. I may or may not edit them in the future, but for now, it’s just fun seeing the results of the film.

My first set of images were taken in August 2018. I brought it on a peach picking trip with me and it was really just to see if the camera was working if there were any light leaks and a refresher on how to use film. I’m sorry to say that I forgot what kind of film these were captured on. I tried going through my Amazon orders and I don’t see any film listed. It may have just been some old rolls of film my cousin had in his camera bag. Although it’s a little fuzzy, this roll of film got me excited to start shooting again.

Delaplane, Virginia August 2018

Nowadays, I find myself researching different kinds of film and cameras, just to see what’s out there. I love watching youtube videos of other photographers getting great images with their analog cameras. I have to admit though, it’s a little hard for me to capture film images. I have my digital camera which I love, but it’s hard to balance the time between my digital and film camera. I spend most of my time shooting on my digital camera because I’m so used to it that sometimes I’ll even forget that I have a film camera on me.

It has helped to go on photo outings that are dedicated to just film. I’ll leave my digital camera at home and I love the feeling of roaming with such light equipment. Since I don’t have additional lenses or equipment for my film camera, it has been a nice change of pace to just have one camera with one lens.

Kodak UltraMax 400: San Diego, California January 2019

Kodak UltraMax 400: San Diego, California January 2019

Expired Film

I am extremely grateful for my friend, Jim. He was my photography mentor when I interned at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum while I was in high school. We’ve been able to reconnect through social media which was really cool when we found each other! Last year, he was kind enough to give me a whole bunch of expired Portra film 400 and 800 rolls of film. It has been so fun to try to go through all the rolls. I’m nowhere near completing them, but to see how the expired film develops has been super interesting.

Click here to read more

All photos available for print and licensing >

 

Confused by what sights to see on your short visit to Washington DC?

There are so many monuments, memorials, and museums. Where do you even start?

If want to know the absolute best of the best things to see in Washington DC, keep on scrolling. This guide is for you!

I’ve lived in the Washington DC area my entire life and in that time I’ve gotten to know the city very well. It has changed so much in the past few years that it may be hard to keep up with all the new and fun things to see. Sometimes I even think it’s hard to keep up with all that is going on. There have been new museums, memorials and points of interest that would be fun for a solo traveler as well as families all at the same time.

So in this guide, I will share some highlights of my favorite sights as a Washington DC native and photographer.

My 7 Favorite Must-See Sights in Washington DC:

 

Click here to read more

All photos available for print and licensing >

I’ve said it before but one of my favorite museums in the National Mall is the Hirshhorn. It’s so unique and different from all the other museums. I mean, even looking at it from the outside you can tell it’s different. It’s a huge circular building with a big hole in the middle. It’s so cool.

I am so grateful that a couple of weeks ago I was invited to the sneak peek of the Rirkrit Tiravanija exhibit, Who’s Afraid of Red Yellow and Green. The best part was hearing from the artist himself.

The whole exhibition is sort of a mixed media of art. When you first enter the space, you’re surrounded by these projectors that I recognized from grade school. They’re reflecting images of protest against the Thai government and you’re encouraged, as the visitor, to grab a piece of black charcoal and help fill in the piece. By the end of the exhibition, they are assuming all the walls will just be blacked out. So it will be interesting to keep on visiting to check on the status of the walls.

If you visit anytime Thursday-Sunday, you will also be greeted by food from Beau Thai. I had the green curry and it was delicious and not too spicy. A little further into the next room will be documentaries of everyday life in Thailand.

The whole point of this exhibition is to break down barriers between the object and the specator. It’s fascinating how some food, art and an afternoon in the museum really makes you think about the media and how everything is perceived.

Go and let me know what you think! It’s open until July 24th.

My camera settings for this image is F4.5 at 1/100th sec and ISO 1600 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

All photos available for print and licensing >

If you haven’t already, definitely, defnietly check out Pulse at the Hirshhorn in Washington DC. Besides Kusama, it has to be one of my favorite exhibits that I’ve seen in recent memory.

It’s sort of hard to explain because there are just so many different aspects to the exhibit, but basically it is centered around being human and your heartbeat. And to be honest, the Hirshhorn was the perfect place to exhibit this. I think the circular architecture of the building really added to the exhibit and made you look forward to the next room and what’s around the corner.

The image on top is of the first room you enter into. It’s a whole wall of fingerprints. At first it’s hard to tell what you’re looking at because of the variety of colors, but once you get a closer look it’s fascinating. The entire exhibit is dark so I thought it would be interesting capturing people walking past in a blurred motion.

LOL Here’s an image of me and my friend, Dave doing our best impression of E.T. in front of the fingerprint wall. I think my favorite part of this image is actually seeing Dave’s finger on the left hand side.

 

The last room of the exhibit is just lined with light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. At the end of the room is a stand with two electric hand holders where you’re supposed to wrap your hands around it and the lightbulbs in the room are going to flicker on and off based on your heart beat. It’s pretty cool to watch the patterns.

There is one room in between but unfortunately I did not capture any images from there. It’s similar to the last where there’s electric hand holders but you can watch your pulse as it travels through water. It’s pretty cool and you can see it in this video my friend, Andy of the exhibit.

So if you haven’t already, check it out Pulse at the Hirshhorn. You’ve got one more month to do so and you can read more information about it here on the Hirshhorn website. It’s definietly worth the experience.

All photos available for print and licensing >

Happy Halloween! I always look forward to Halloween. To me, it’s the jump off to all the holidays and I likes to eat! Pumpkin flavored everything? Yes please! I’ll take two.

What are your plans for tonight? I’ll be out with my nephews and niece trick or treating. Usually I don’t dress up for it, but this year I am. I’m going to be a shark and Frankie is going to be a piece of sushi. CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP. We’re going to look so cute together. But most of all, I’m looking forward to spending time with family and eating some chocolate.

This image was taken earlier this year at the Yayoi Kusama Infinity Mirrors exhibit at the Hirshhorn Museum. The entire exhibit was amazing but my favorite of all the infinity rooms was definietly the ‘All the Eternal Love I have for the Pumpkins’ room. The first time I visited the exhibit, the room was closed because someone sat on a pumpkin. I mean how does that even happen? I was so disappointed that I didn’t get to see it that I had to make another trip back. Luckily the second time I was there, I got to experience the room. I really don’t know what it is about a whole bunch of glowing pumpkins that make it seem so magical, but it’s soooo cool. It’s as if you stepped into a fairy tale or something.

Unfortunately the exhibit isn’t in DC anymore but if you’re in the Los Angeles area, definietly go check it out at the Broad. You won’t regret it. And from there it will be in other parts of the United States so keep in eye out for it.

The settings for this image is 1/125th of a second at F4.0 and ISO 2500 with my Sony a7II and 28-70mm lens.

All photos available for print and licensing >

This was my very first time in the Hirshhorn Museum. Isn’t that crazy? Every time I’ve tried to go it’s always been roped off for an event or it was just plan closed. I’m going to make it a goal to make it inside in 2017. I heard the inside is even better! LOL.