"An endless sea of sunflowes"

Photography is something that allows an escape. It creates a reason to explore, venture into, and re-discovery of the neighborhoods and cities in which we live. It provides a different perspective. It allows for the photographer to express their perspective. But most of all, photography captures and re-tells a moment and glimpse of the beauty of life. 

After too much time away, I am picking the camera back up and getting back into it. My first venture back was a simple one-hour trip outside of DC into Poolsville, MD. Surrounded by an endless rows of sunflowers caught me in their beauty and grandeur.

"Callused"

 "Magnificence"

"The Artist"

"An Army of One"

"Chilling"

MLK

"Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope" reads the siding of the MLK Memorial. Etched so finely, this memorial exudes power and strength. These are the qualities that I most strongly tried to capture in these photos. Again a polarizing filter allowed me to bring out the depth and character to this memorial with various settings within the camera itself prior to the shots. You may notice that the color saturation is slightly different in these photos, especially when you scroll down to see the final photo of the Jefferson Memorial. This is a product of primarily the polarizing filter rotated to have a different effect on the photo. 

                                   

The Great Falls

A perfect day at the Great Falls will make taking notable photos quite simple. I tried using technical strategies to add to the photos, however. I wanted to capture the colors, contrast, life and intensity of these rapids in various ways. To get the rushing water I used a ND filter on the first, third and fourth photos and used a polarizing filter for all photos to increase the color saturation, contrast and reduce the photo from being "washed out". 

"Over-matched"

"The Falls"

The Flower Series

"In Bloom"

"A Desperate Reach"

Spring or Winter?

I know we all say this every year, but truly what a bizarre "winter" we are having. First, we have what I believe is a finch. Then I am going to turn to Lee Ann to give me the correction as I am sure that I am incorrect. As I do know many birds do not actually migrate, but I don't even think that any of them really needed to this year as I took this shot in a t-shirt and was quite comfortable.
The following photo seems much more like a winter seen to me. Man walking down the street somewhat bundled up while being observed from the comforts of a coffee shop. Making the seen black and white brings a different element of a chill to the entire photo. Then the sunlight adds a warmth and life to the coffee drinker. Finally, with one of my favorite features of any software: allowing one color to come to life. I had keep the iconic "Starbucks Coffee" in its traditional format. 

"Comfort"

The Trumpet Series

This is a series that I have thought about doing for quite some time. It has been in my back pocket for a couple months now and I felt as if it was a success. Though the composition was somewhat limited by "worn" spots on the trumpet, I felt as if the colors and detail in many of the photos made the series exactly what I wanted. 

                    

 

Another Light...

Even though my life is to work with people who have a new disablement of some kind, there is nothing like experiencing even the slightest disablement to serve as a reminder of how fortunate we all are to have the abilities to do what we do. Photography was one of those things that I thought would not have been all that different for me. However I've found that even just getting to a location to take a new photograph is challenging in and of itself. It has resulted in me thinking more creatively and I have started to bring my camera with me nearly all the time throughout the days so that I don't miss an opportunity.

This first photo is one that I have had on my mind for quite some time. Once again I took my neutral density filter to a light bulb. Without the filter all of the detail seen below is overpowered by the ambient light. What also allowed this to happen was the light bulb is nearing the end of its life as there are usually more pronounced filaments and therefore light.
(Heads up Lee Ann, we will probably need another light bulb soon)
The second photo posted here is of the Clock Tower at the Old Postal Office through the reflection of a nearby office building.

 "Tungsten"

"3:29"