Blog

The Innocents

2012-05-22T15:31:42Z

A piece aired yesterday on NPR that I found particularly interesting. What Happens if Justice Fails was a story about innocent men and women who were incarcerated for serious crimes that they did not commit. In the last 23 years over 2000 people have been exonerated and released as a result of new evidence (often DNA), changing witness testimony, admissions from those who actually committed the crime, etc.

It is a chilling thought - the prospect of loosing a decade or more of one's life as a result of a flawed process or by the word of a well meaning witness. In my mind it was also immediate material for a powerful portrait project ... and of course I was not the only/first person to think so. A quick google search guided me to the work of Taryn Simon and her book The Innocents.

Both the project and the commentary are worth the time. In all of Taryn's work I'm particularly struck by the way that her elegant photos are elevated by her intent as an artist.

"Ronald Jones" by the photographer Taryn Simon from The Innocents, 2002

A Headshot for an Improv Performer

2012-05-21T15:02:37Z

A few weeks ago I got together with local DC improv perfomer, Laura Westman, to work on a series of headshots for her comp card. We spent some time on a traditional headshot, and then I photographed her "in character" while she told me a story.

I posted her selects below - More improv portraits here.

Bobby Donaldson, B+J BBQ - Ledroit Park Oral History #3, 26 Mar 2011

2011-03-28T15:23:00Z

On Saturday Robert Sullivan and I visited Bobby Donaldson, owner of B+J BBQ on 3rd and RI Ave NW since 1972, and long time resident of Ledroit Park, to conduct our third oral history interview. Mr. Donaldson was humble and welcoming, and part of that might have been him thinking that this could be a good way to drum up some support for his eatery. I personally think it had more to do with his southern roots and a sense that he is proud of the life he was able to build for himself as a chef and business owner. "I knew it was a good corner when I bought the place." he said, telling us that he could have sold many times if money were the only thing he cared about. Mr. Donaldson's memory was a bit faded (or so he told us), and at times Robert was frustrated at not being able to direct the interview, but it seemed to me the photos and how he expressed himself would always tell much more than what he said. My favorites below - More photos here.

For the shoot I started with just available light, but I decided to add a small off camera strobe high and slightly left which I bounced off the ceiling to give a bit of separation between Mr. Donaldson and the background and just a bit more punch overall.

Black and White Street Photography - First Warm DC Days

2011-03-03T01:25:48Z

The weather is changing, and I'm working on getting the camera out and about - taking a walk to pick up the groceries instead of doing errands on my bike. The bike which is great for getting from point A to B but which is not condusive to street photography. Here is a selection of photos from the last couple of weeks, all taken with my Nikon F3. I don't think of myself as a street photographer per say, but it's great practice - making something out of nothing, taking the time to notice things, play with the sun and the angles, get out and sit still for a bit on a corner that one not might normally consider. What's the story today? It is a question that is always worth an answer.

Emma and Morgan - Portraits of Neighbors

2011-03-02T03:56:50Z

I've always wanted to photograph my neighbor Emma ever since we moved into our house six years ago. She's one of the elder Ledroit Park residents and has always been really wonderful to us, collecting packages when we aren't home and watching the street when we are away, and I like to think of photography as a way to say thank you, show respect or just 'hello'. But, any time I've ever gone to get the camera or had it and pointed it in her direction, she has always dismissed the idea with a chuckle or a smile and then a backwards wave of her hand. When the weather turned last week she was out on her stoop with her dog Morgan and I saw a chance - knowing that she loves her dog ! and if I told her it was a photo of her with her Morgan she would say 'yes'. And of course the dog didn't always do what she was supposed to be doing, so I was able to make a photo of just Emma too!

I had initially wished that the image was in color ... it's what I had in the camera on that day. She had lots of colors on, pink sox, yellow shirt, red flowered slippers, but I think there is something a bit more dignified about not reavealing all of that - probably the reason she doesn't like having her photo taken these days.

Hu's Wear / Shoes Print Ad

2011-03-01T16:35:48Z

This is my first print ad (photos not the layout) published in several area publications including the Washingtonian and Capitol File! Pretty excited about it, so keep an eye out!

Rooting DC 2011 - Urban Farming Workshops

2011-02-20T15:45:11Z

On Saturday I volunteered my time photographing Rooting DC 2011 at Calvin Coolidge High School in NW Washington DC. The day long event was focused on teaching ideas about individual home food production and urban farming and featured workshops on a variety of topics including planning and planting a small urban garden, nutrition, bee keeping, growing your own mushrooms, canning and composting among others. There were also cooking demonstrations and a seed exchange. No fees were charged at this well attended event, and all workers and presenters were on a volunteer basis. When Common Goods City Farm (friends and neighbors of mine here in Ledroit Park) asked me to donate my time, I had no problem doing so. Not only was it a fun photo opportunity, but I also learned a great deal about urban food production and about some of the amazing work that people in this city are doing!

Joe Bozik of the Franciscan Monastery Garden Guild shares bee keeping techniques for beginners.

Juliette Tahar (Healthy Living Inc.) prepares a dish of fresh collard greens and garlic.

Nazirahk Amen (Purple Mountain Organics) demonstrates how holes are drilled in preparation for growing mushrooms.

More Photos here.

The "Off Season"

2011-01-14T01:06:02Z

I started digging through the archive this afternoon, looking for some photographs that I could contribute to an exhibit that a friend is helping to organize and at the same time trying to fend off some serious post-holiday, winter blues - I'm cold and its dark, and I'm having a hard time remembering that I grew up on Cape Cod where they have been having this weather since Thanksgiving and right about this time of year the sun sets at 4:30 in the afternoon.

But I did grow up there, and I do miss it - maybe not the lifestyle or the living - but the land and the way everything eventually takes you to the ocean.

Growing up on the Cape I don't think you really experience the "off season". You are at the beach in the summer, and then you are in school, and the beach and the summer became memories, and that is the cycle. After I graduated from college, I started taking photos when I went back for the holidays., and I discovered the quiet deserted beaches, the bordered up summer homes, the empty restaurants with chairs tipped upside down - all of it.

These were taken on a particularly beautiful day - cold and foggy, a day when you arrive at the ocean and couldn't quite see that it, but you knew it was around you. Maria, looking over my shoulder, thinks that they look like old slides - maybe even sepia tones, funny to be nostalgic for something that you never experienced growing up. But I think that is the effect of visiting such a place and rediscovering things that you probably should have know all along.

Frank Smith - Ledroit Park, Oral History #2

2011-01-10T23:25:48Z

I've started working on an oral history project with a neighbor, Robert Sullivan, in the DC neighborhood of LeDroit Park. Although LeDroit is only just a handful of blocks (located north of the intersection of Rhode Island Avenue and Florida Avenue) it has a very long and rich history dating back to the late 1800's. The aim of this project is to document some of this history by making audio recordings (Robert) and photographing (my part) interviews with long time residents and then to develop a web site where excerpts of these interviews can be heard and where these photographs can be show. Until then ...

Frank Smith was the second of these interviews. Mr. Smith is a long time civil rights activists, a former city councilman, and is the founding director of the African American Civil War Museum. The interview lasted about 2 hours which allowed lots of time for me to photograph but also to listen - both equally enjoyable.

I photographed with 1 to 2 off camera flashes and small umbrella mods and also with available light. The later I converted to B+W, because the available light was a mix of fluorescent and regular incandescent bulbs that created a strange cast. More photos here.

Sh-o-o-o-o-es !

2010-12-20T23:58:03Z

A friend of mine found out last week that I do all of the photography for the on-line stores for Hu's Wear and Hu's Shoes, both located in Georgetown - I was flattered when she told me that she had just assumed that all of these photos came directly from the designers. So, to dispel any linger doubt, this is how I spent Saturday afternoon.

Did you all know you can make quick contact sheets in PS? Just look under File/Automate.