Washingtonian Photo Contest Submissions
Recently
Washingtonian Magazine launched a new feature on their web site for photographers. It's a monthly contest where a topic is announced and photographers enter photos based on that topic. The editors then convene and select 5 finalists. They also select a handful of others they really liked. The public then votes and the winner's photo is printed in the print version of Washingtonian Magazine. It's a pretty cool little feature and great for local photographers to get some exposure. The basic rule is the photo has to be shot in the DC metro area. If the topic is skyscraper, you can't break out photos from NYC or Chicago...you have to go with what's available in this region.
Anyhow, I submitted a few images this month and wanted to share. The topic was architecture.
Labels: Architecture, DC, Urban, Washington
A Pause in My Daily Ritual
Each morning I walk to work. It's a daily ritual that doesn't change. Despite the cooler weather, the changing colors of the seasons and even an occasional rainfall, my walk is always there. It's that one part of my day where I can simply enjoy my little corner of the city and get much needed fresh air before I sit in an office for 8 hours.
My walk doesn't always follow the same path. One day I'll walk down Mass Ave. One day I'll head down 7th, 8th or 9th Street. Sometimes I go straight down 10th and cut through Chinatown on H Street. If it's 900 degrees outside, I usually pick the route that affords me the most shade. On mornings like today, I just followed the path of which walk signs allowed me to keep my pace.
The cool thing about this walk is I get to enjoy some of DC's most majestic buildings along the way. The picture above was actually taken a few weeks ago on my morning walk. It was just one of those mornings that I walked a bit slower enjoying the sights and sounds of a city waking up to a new day. When I walked through Mt. Vernon Square like I usually do, the old Carnegie Library just stood there as a testament to the vast monuments of our national city. She's off the beaten path of the national mall and doesn't garner the attention of other more popular buildings in DC. But she's a beauty non-the-less and something I cherish every morning I walk past her.
I haven't found another city on this earth that has left me speechless and standing idly as often as I do in Washington. Something as simple as a daily walk to work becomes a source for so much inspiration in ones life. Thank you DC!
Labels: DC, Urban, Washington
New DC Bowl Game Moved
In a move that surprised locals and fellow Nats fans, the Washington, DC Bowl Committee is announcing the first ever Congressional Bowl (we'll call it that for now) will be played at
RFK and not Nationals Park.
Let me get this straight... we get to see Navy. We get to see them play the 9th place team from the ACC. And we get to do this all from the friendly giant-sized toilet bowl known as RFK Stadium? Let me try to quell my enthusiasm for just long enough to ask... WHAT???!!!
With all due respect to the power that be, could you have not found a worse marketing nightmare in the history of bowl games? Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of a bowl game right here in our backyard. I've seen first hand the money and energy it brings to places like San Francisco for the
Emerald Bowl. Imagine college football fans dumping off metro at Navy Yard and littering our sports bars with their brightly colored sweatshirts and funny hats. Imagine the exposure our new ballpark would get on national television during a time when most have forgotten about the last-place Nationals and baseball in general.
But no, we get to invite the college brethren of Navy and the ACC to our fancy "old" stadium in a neighborhood that attracts more hotdog carts of death and empty parking spaces than actual sports fans.
Good luck selling that one to the public!
Labels: ACC, DC, football, Nationals, Navy, sports, Washington
The incredible waving squirrel
I've been meaning to post something on this for a few days now. Last week I grabbed some dinner and walked over to the National Mall to relax and watch the sunset at the Lincoln Memorial. It turned out to be an absolutely beautiful night to be outside and walking around this great city. Not too hot...but just right.
So here I am, sitting outside eating dinner when a little squirrel came wandering over. I figured he was used to tourist feeding him, so I tried to ignore his attempts to get my attention. Soon I realized that wasn't going to work when he came within 1 ft. of my food. At that point I knew I had to feed him a sun chip so he'd go away.
Five minutes later our little friend was back. So I waved at him. You'll never believe what he did next. The darn squirrel waved back. My friends didn't believe me until they turned to look and sure enough, he was waving again. Okay, okay...so maybe he was just imitating me. But if it wasn't the coolest thing to see.
The above photo was the best I could do. I tried to get one of him waving but he was more concerned with food and I had to keep my eyes out in case he tried to climb into my lap.
Overall it was a perfect evening to enjoy a picnic, the memorials and our little friend we now call "Chippy the Squirrel." The picture below was taken a few hours later after the sunset behind the Lincoln Memorial. I never get tired of all the great things to see and do in our nations capital.
Labels: Memorials, Random, Urban, Washington
