president

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On October 17th, Washington DC held the 2020 Women’s March. I’m grateful to have been able to attend since my first one in 2017. A lot has changed since then. First of all, the women’s march in 2017 was in January and I remember it being pretty cold. People were walking on an icy reflecting pool and I even witnessed some people falling through the cracks. I remember crowds of people standing by the Lincoln Memorial but no one had any concern of social distancing or face masks. This was my first time attending anything like it before and I did not know much about protest/march/event photography.

For the 2020 March, I felt a lot more comfortable approaching people with my camera and I realize how my images speak louder than words. I tried my best to get unique angles while focusing on the crowd but concentrated on details that could be easily overlooked.

In general, it felt like this group of people wanted their voices heard and they were not going to back down from anything. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg passed a month prior to the march and soon after there was already a supreme court justice nominated as a replacement. These women were vocal about reproductive rights, worker’s rights, civil rights, and more.

The March started at Freedom Plaza with a kickoff rally and starting point for everyone to meet. Most everyone I saw there was wearing a face mask.

Before I knew it, everyone around me started forming into a line and somehow I ended up being at the very front of it. It was so cool how everyone just came together so quickly.

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One of my most asked questions I receive is “where is your favorite place to shoot in DC?” My answer is almost always, the Lincoln Memorial. I just say the memorial because it’s such a great starting point. Not only do you have the reflecting pool right in front, but to either side you have the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Korean War Memorial. So when you’re not feeling inspired by one, it’s so easy to go to the next. I love how easy and convient the Lincoln Memorial is. It is also a great place to photograph sunrise, mid-day or sunset. You really can’t go wrong!

But my absolute favorite time to photograph the memorial is definietly early morning. Not necessarily sunrise like you may think. I love when the sun has come up over the horizon for a little bit and it’s shining on the president himself. The glow, the shadows, omg everything is so perfect. There really is nothing better.

So if you’re interested in learning more about photographing Washington DC, all my tips and tricks, check my recently published book, Snap DC. All the knowledge and experience I’ve built up over the years, all in one easy to read book.

But if that’s not good enough, I have one last reminder about next Wednesday, July 18th. Geoff Livingston, Focus on the Story International Photo Festival and I will be hosting an evening workshop. We’ll be photographing the sunset at the Reflecting Pool and then practicing some street photography and monument photography at night. It will be a great time! Click here for more info.

Have a great weekend everyone! And a lucky Friday the 13th!

My camera settings for this image is F10 at 1/15th of a second ISO 250 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

 

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One super stormy evening at the Lincoln Memorial. Funny how it didn’t stop anyone from enjoying the sites. You can see all the little people there hanging out on the steps. That’s one thing about the memorial that I really like. People are free to just hangout for as long as they want without anyone stopping them. I could spend hours here.

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What an absolutely amazing week! It just reaffirms the fact that photography is what I’m meant to do in life and I could not be more appreciative to be doing what I love every single day.

With that said, I have a lot of things to be grateful for, so here are my top 3 for the week:

1. So thankful to have received such kind messages about this image I took 3 years ago at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

2. The pink sky from the image above is a part of the official movie poster for “The Choice“. I could not be more thrilled to have worked with Lionsgate Entertainment to bring this Nicholas Sparks adaptation to life.

3. Finally! My Sphere 2 experience will be opened next week in the Arcanum!!! I’m so pumped. It’s going to be absolutely amazing. The whole sphere will be about getting more attention from your landscape images and it’s going to be awesomes.