Events

Accident on I-495

Ligia and I were taking a leisurely walk on Beach Drive last night (Friday), when we were confronted with the overpowering smell of spilled fuel. On our way there, we’d seen a fire engine, but we didn’t think twice about it. This time, I thought I’d inquire, camera in hand. After walking through 100 yards full of fuel fumes, we were both a bit nauseous, but I pushed on, curious. By this time a few police cars had gathered as well, and I could see that there were two fire engines and more policemen on I-495, which runs parallel to Beach Drive on that portion of the road. Something big had happened.

I walked up to a policeman’s car, waved, and he rolled down his window. “What happened?”, I asked. He lifted his eyes from the keypad of his laptop. “We got one death, and an overturned tanker,” he said, then looked back down at the keys. “That’s why the fuel smell…” offered I. “Yeah.” I thanked him, walked forward, took a few photos, then turned to join Ligia. It was then that the mention of death registered with me. Oops, I was more concerned with the stench of fuel than someone’s death… Shame on me. It’s sad how only the things that affect us personally register properly in our span of attention.

I don’t know who died up on that highway, and how he or she died, and truth be told, death always leaves me speechless. Don’t look to me for consolation when someone dies, because I won’t know what to say. I’ll just give you a blank stare, followed by an awkward pause and the usual, trite phrases.

What I did want to say tonight is this: please be careful when you’re driving. That person that died out there was probably on the way home after a long work week. They were probably looking forward to the weekend, perhaps spending time with the one they loved. Now, they’re not here anymore. When you’re out on the highway, barreling down the lanes in your car, upset that the people in front of you are too slow, think about that. It may be your mistake or someone else’s, but you may end up dead. Keep your eyes peeled, put that phone down, and drive safely.

Places

Swept away

I’m a sucker for light breezes blowing through any sort of swaying plants. They make for very interesting compositions. They’re a bit challenging to capture because the subject keeps moving, but if you get it right, the result is really nice. Taken at the National Arboretum in Washington, DC.

Places

The Watergate Hotel and the Kennedy Arts Center

Back in February, Ligia and I plus good friends of ours took a photowalk through downtown DC. Our objectives: the Watergate Hotel and the Kennedy Arts Center. I used my Exakta EXA Ia to take the photographs. It was a lot of fun to use it, as always. I still love to shoot on film, even though it’s fairly expensive and time-intensive to get the photos in digital format. I say expensive because I’m used to shooting a LOT. I’m not satisfied with a few photos. I use up rolls of film during a session. Then I have to develop them and spend hours scanning them in. It takes about two hours to scan 24 exposures at the quality I want. And then I spend extra time editing them. But the results are worth it, and of course, the experience of using a fully manual, quality-built, metal camera like the Exakta is a treat in itself.

Here are a few photographs from that photowalk. We started down by the marina, walked up the street alongside the Watergate Hotel, then passed the Saudi embassy (which is quite an ugly building btw) and crossed the street to reach the Kennedy Arts Center. It was a cold, windy day and we froze, but I really like the photos I got, so it was worth it.

A modern interpretation of Don Quixote adorns the front of the Kennedy Center, and may I say what an ugly beast it is… Looks like whoever designed it was out to scare people, not inspire them.

The day ended with a beautiful sunset over the Potomac River.

Places

A walk through Georgetown

I’m almost done post-processing a series of photos I took during a walk through downtown Georgetown back in February. I used my new WCR (wide color range) method as I worked on them.

The day of the photo shoot, it was a blisteringly cold winter morning, and even though Ligia and I were both bundled up, we froze to our very marrow. If there’s one improvement I could suggest to the EXIF data currently stored inside photos, it’s that it also store the outside temperature, including the wind chill factor. I think that would really help put a photo in perspective. But I digress…

In spite of the cold, I had a wonderful time, taking photos left and right. Ligia, not so much. She just froze and tried to put on a happy face in spite of the cold. She’s so sweet! She was basically there for my support, because she knows photography makes me happy. We walked up and down Wisconsin Avenue, which cuts right through the heart of Georgetown and goes all the way down to the Potomac River.

Georgetown is a wonderful little neighborhood, and its quaint, colorful architecture is what sets it apart from everything else around. It has kept that spirit of the late 1800s, and most of it is still composed of beautiful little townhouses, each adjoining the other but separated from it by color and design. I’d love to be able to photograph all of it and publish all of the good photos online. Because it’s somewhat small, I think that goal is attainable in the near future.