Knitters on skates? Well, not really…

I can’t say my past weekend was terribly boring all considering. I spent Friday night at the Old Dominion Brew Pub watching the Caps with several new friends and had a great time…even though we lost. That’s right, ‘we’! I’ve never really been a fan of any pro sports, but the Washington Capitals seem to fit in well. How?

1.) I wanted to learn about hockey.
2.) They’re local.
3.) Most importantly, they ROCK THE RED!

As you have probably heard by now, the Caps just lost Game 7 and will have to try again next year. At least next year I’ll be able to enjoy the full season with plenty of meetups at the ODB and maybe even a few games in person!

Lots of flying umbrellas in the wind Saturday.

Saturday I had to miss the game for other obligations. I started out grabbing some breakfast at the farmers’ market and relaxing for a bit on my couch. Around lunch I headed down the orange line and ended up in front of the White House shooting photos of CODE:PINK protesters as they protested war all over the globe. There were plenty of women out and they were very kind in allowing me to wander around shooting any and all photos I wanted. These women weren’t nearly as crazy as the IMF protesters from a couple weeks back.

After a nice hot walk around the park, I decided to head back

BAD-ASSED WOMEN!

to the Metro and book it over to Eastern Market to chill at the Starbucks and recharge my phone. Next I headed over to the Nat’l Guard Armory to watch the DC Rollergirls Championship and it rocked! The house was packed and I took a ton of photos, but you’ll have to head over to flickr to check them out.

Sunday was fairly uneventful, but I did mow the jungle of a lawn we have. Holy hell, 10 days of rain make for 18in of grass and a full-to-the-brim trash can of clippings. This week I plan on getting the plants I have repotted, hitting the farmers’ market up again, and who knows what else!

Tourist Photography or “How to not take craptacular photos”

Ok, so being a photographer in my off time (it’s a great destresser) in a tourist trap (second only to NYC in the US prolly) I get to see countless people taking HORRIFIC photographs. This will only increase exponentially when I hit up the inauguration next week. There will be over one million people here taking terrible photos of President-elect Obama getting sworn in. God help my sanity… Nonetheless, hopefully this will help a few of you get a couple of good photos while you’re in town.

Usually when I’m out and about and see tourists photographing other it’s so obvious from their technique that I don’t even need to see the photo to know it’s going to turn out bad. It’ll be one of the tons your kids will see once in a blue moon as they go through the heaps of photos that will inevitably be left to them when you die. They won’t be printed, framed, or even cared for because they’ll look like every other touristy photo ever taken. I’ll try to keep this obvious and simple so that though you may not be Ansel Adams, you won’t be stuck with a photo of your family as a tiny spec next to only half of the leaning tower of Pis… oh wait, that’s the Washington Monument.

People don't need to look into the lense or pose.

1.) Your flash does not matter at 30ft.
Hell, it doesn’t matter at 10ft. When you’re taking a flash photo of someone ot something, be within 3-7ft of the object. Built in flashes just aren’t that powerful and are useless further away. If anything they could either make your photo ok strange with the ground in front of you lit up brighter, or fool your camera into compensating for the natural lighting incorrectly. This means DO NOT STAND WITH AN ACRE BETWEEN YOURSELF AND YOUR KIDS AT SUNSET AND TAKE THEIR PHOTO. It also means that using flash to light up a huge scene is ludicrous. Some things you just can’t take a photo of at night w/o a tripod.
A small piece of me dies inside every time I see someone take a photo of the Washington Monument…at night….with a flash….from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial….half a mile away…

2.) Use your feet, not your zoom.
Walking up to what you’re shooting instead of using zoom will provide you with a much nicer looking photo. Zoom will kill the depth of your photo (literally) and you’ll lose some of the drama. (By the way, if Obama looks like a small dot in your viewfinder he’ll also look like a small dot in your print.)

3.) Use a delay with your tripod at night.
Many people are getting better cameras and learning how to use the very customizable options that come along with them. As such, people are experimenting more. When you use a long exposure be sure to se the camera to a delay timer. Just using a 1-2s delay will kill camera shake from your pressing the shutter. This is important for having a sharper image in the end result.

4.) Rule of Thirds.

Social Dissent in DC

This is an easy concept and very important. This can be violated in amazing photography, but for a beginner it can help improve what would normally be a crap image. No need for me to explain it, they do a great job here.

5.) Large objects should usually be far away.
Want your photo next to the Washington Monument…don’t stand next to it… Get far enough away to a where your subject and the monument are similar sizes. Also, unless you’re doing the “I’m leaning on the monument” photo from a distance, it’s probably good if your subject is leaning on a tree or looking somewhat natural with the monument as the scenery. (Sitting or leaning on a tree is also a good idea.) Just one other thing: Don’t let objects stick out of their heads (No trees, light poles, monuments, etc.).

6.) Respect the monuments and memorials.
Seriously people, have a little respect. Not to say you should enjoy your time being a tourist, but there are times for laughter and carrying on loudly, and there are places for solemn observance. Be respectful, make your parents and grandparents proud of you for once in your life (yeah, they never forgave you for dating that person back in high school and doing that thing that brought all of the embarrassment and shame to your family for generations to come…good time to try to make up for that a small bit).

7.) Don’t just rely on me. There are plenty of great tidbits to be picked up all around the web: Just try here, here, here, here, and here.

(You should note that this post isn’t so much an attempt to be the cure-all to your amateur photography woes, but more of an encouragement for you to improve your awareness in your travels via my tips and more-so via my links. Good luck! Happy shooting!)

America’s history…stuffed into small rooms…

This is in front of the National Museum of American History...is that a...penis?!

Well, what a gorgeous weekend it was! Perfect for adventuring out to DC and also for the grand reopening of the National Museum of American History. Deciding it was well worth fighting the crowds to see, we (MarMar, Zach, and I) set off to see what all the newly renovated museum had to offer. I had high expectations considering the renovations too two years and it’s the one museum I’ve been wanting to see since I moved here. I mean, come on! How could a museum dedicated to our own country not be spectacular?

Well, it seems I quickly found out…

Upon entering from the Mall (very close to the Smithsonian Metro I might add) you are greeted by a spectacular artist’s rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. It’s gorgeous and definitely a gorgeous piece of work. Under it you’ll find a line…to see the real one. Granted, it was opening weekend, and thus I didn’t mind not getting to see it due to the long wait. I’m planning to return to see it later after the gloss has wore off the museum a bit. For those who did brave the line, there was a bit of entertainment in the form of reenactors. These were spread throughout the museum and some gave talks, performances, etc. It was a great touch to see them walking around and interacting (though we did spot an anachronism here and there, such as two Minutemen taking an escalator).

Made in Ame....wait...Nurnberg?

The collections are fairly eclectic, covering many aspects of American history. A good deal of space is allotted to achievements in electricity (lighting, generators, motors, power generation in general) and some select eras in American history, however the museum seemed to fail at getting the exhibits to flow from one to the other. You’d find small rooms here and there with exhibits on musical instruments, publishing, and pop culture.

In all seriousness, these smaller exhibits were either inadequate or confusing. They were mostly stuffed into small cramped rooms where the crowd couldn’t flow whatsoever, lacked direction, and even left out things that just completely threw me. For instance, the musical instrument room left me baffled. There is a machine that allows you to play selections of classical music (from many non-American composers no less) and it doesn’t even have Dvorak’s “Symphony for the New World”. Wth? IT’S THE SONG ABOUT OUR FREAKING COUNTRY! WHERE IS IT? *headdesk* Then in the neighboring pop culture exhibit there are random goodies, but only one baseball jersey? What? No mention of basketball, American football, or and ungodly amount of other baseball? Olympic dominance? Nothing?

One of the coolest exhibits: Julia Child's Kitchen...like...THE ACTUAL THING! Awesome.

Of course, the museum isn’t finished yet, as is obvious by the areas still under construction and exhibits yet to open. Which begs the questions, why are there exhibits that are unfinished after TWO YEARS of construction? How is Lincoln’s exhibit and the First Ladies’ exhibit not complete? Wasn’t the latter under construction before the entire museum closed? Ludicrous.

Overall I’m fairly disappointed with how this museum turned out. I desperately wanted to love it, but like a red-headed step-child I just wanted to beat it until I felt better about myself. I’ll be visiting again in the future and hopefully it grows on me some, but I’m unconvinced that I will ever love the museum enough to visit regularly.

Upcoming weekend = New posts!

Well, Marmar & Zach arrived at 3:30AM today and my sleep schedule is so messed up that I’m not even venturing any rest tonight. Nonetheless, plans this weekend will provide good fodder for upcoming posts! We’ll be hitting up the newly (yesterday) reopened National Museum of American History, Ray’s Hell Burger (YUM!), several wineries, and Eastern Market. Excited yet? Mouth watering? Mine is!

Turkey Day is coming together as well. I’ve got preliminary plans for a brine, possible injection and/or insertion, fry method, sides (mmm….sides…), etc. You’ll definitely get photos of the results pending my remembering to take said photos.

As for anything else, it may be a quiet weekend for me. With friends in town I’ll probably be too busy/tired/distracted to post. More next week!

Monuments with a different shade…

Yeah, you know what I'm talkin' bout.

Sure, everydamnbody sees the monuments during the day, but how about a nice walk in the brisk night with a close lover? What’s more romantic with that? Splitting a little bubbly over imported chocolates while you enjoy the amazing views of some of the greatest architecture in our nation? (Note: MEN! That is a freaking HINT! DO IT! YOU WILL GET LAID! (Ok, maybe not….but it sure as hell won’t hurt.))

Now, there are a few things to remember if you do hit up the sights at night. First, I suggest staying on the beaten path as it’s the safest place, even though I seriously doubt you’ll get mugged on the Mall. Overall it’s a very safe place. I do suggest heading out here around 8 and staying until around 12. Plenty of time to meander and see the sights.

Second? Drive. Come in I-66 right onto Constitution, turn right just after the Washington Monument, and then right just to the other side of the Mall. That’ll put you right around Smithsonian station where there’s plenty of parking at night. It’s also a prime starting spot to go Washington ==> WWII ==> Lincoln ==> Jefferson ==> Car. Easy enough to throw in the White House and Capitol, but that’s your call. I think the Jefferson is a prime spot to end, sit down, and enjoy the view with that special lady.

The Lincoln Memorial from the WWII Memorial

Third: Use the pisser at the Washington. It’s cleanest and the most well lit. I’m not sure how late the Lincoln and Jefferson bathrooms are open, but you want to stay away from the one next to the DC War Memorial. It’s overrun with homeless guys and probably not a place your woman wants to visit…it will MURDER the mood (NTM it smells HORRID).

Finally: Don’t take photos unless it’s close up or you have a tripod (with rubber tips). You’re supposed to be paying attention to your woman anyway! (And if she asks for a photo, damn well take it. It probably won’t come out, but that won’t matter until later.)

High atop a perch…AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!

Yeah, you're pretty damn high.

So you want to do the stereotypical thing and go to the top of the Washington Monument? Well, you’ve got two choices: 1.) Get up ass early, run to the monument, wait in line, hope you get a ticket. or 2.) Buy one in advance online (you pay processing and shipping). I suggest #2, and I live here. Really, who wants to get up that early on vacay? Fight the morning rush? No thanks. However, to get #2 taken care of you MUST do it early. I suggest 1+ months in advance, or as soon as you know.

Now, once you get there one of two things will happen: 1.) You ride the elevator up and get to see a few of the historic sights inside the monument. or 2.) You walk the stairs up on a tour and get to find out all kinds of info about the monument and the sights inside. To help your chances at opportunity of #2 do not go in forest fire season (summer) since National Park Rangers run the monument. (Yeah, the Mall is a national park (Yeah, this means you might run into a Barner like we did (HDANCN?).).)