Gone Golfin...

Well, actually I just tagged along with a few buddies while they golfed. Im trying to build up my sports photography portfolio. I think a few of them turned out pretty good.

Gone Golfin Photo Gallery

One of my pictures featured in Northern Virginia Mag

One of my DC Roller Girl photos was used in a story in Northern Virginia Magazine. To see the online version of the story with the photo...see this link:
http://www.northernvirginiamag.com/news/2009/09/21/dc-rollergirls/

Commonwealth Cup and Wine Festival

I had an opportunity to go watch a polo match at the Commonwealth Cup and Wine Festival, in The Plains, VA. I had never been to a polo match before and it turned out to be a pretty fun day. I was a tad bit under dressed in my Harley t-shirt and cargo shorts...but, oh well, it was hot out.

Commonwealth Cup and Wine Festival Gallery

My First Wedding Shoot: Mission Accpomplished.

A few weekends ago, I finally shot my first wedding. To be honest, it was the perfect "first gig" type of wedding. It was a pretty basic wedding, with some non-traditional things thrown into it. The people were great and the location was nice too. I think I learned a lot, but also feel that I did a pretty good job. The Bride was happy with the pictures...and that's all that matters.

Sarah and Keith's Wedding Shoot

Another Aug in WA State

I spent my 3rd consecutive month of Aug in WA State. I can't say its hard work...being since I'm there for work. I have to admit that I love WA State. It was my last trip until I move to Korea for a year. Hope you enjoy the pictures...

Aug in WA State gallery

Fun in the Iraq Sun

Last month I made a trip to Iraq for a week or two. I hadnt been back since my year deployment in 2004. I cant say much has changed...still a country trying to find its self.

I didnt bring my usual camera setup, but instead tried out my new little toy. I took all the pictures with my new Cannon G10. I didnt want to chance having my high end equipment get dusty or broke. This was a good option as its small has takes good pictures for the most part.

Fun in the Iraq Sun Gallery

Ive been busy lately...

Ive been pretty busy the last few months and haven't made much time for updating this blog. I have taken a lot of pictures, so I guess I will try and post them here shortly.

For now, here are a couple events I shot for my unit last month. The first, was our First Sergeant's PT(Physical Challenge). It had a lot of events and was pretty strenuous...Im glad I was asked to photograph it! The second set is from out unit's outgoing Battalion Commanders going away BBQ. He was a good guy and he will be missed.

1SG Extreme PT Challenge

BN Commander's Going Away BBQ

4th of July in WA State

I spent yet another week in WA State. Here's a bunch of random pictures from the trip...what a beautiful part of the country.

Here are all the pictures from the trip.

My First Paid Engagement Photo Session

I did my first paid photo session last month with Sarah and Keith. It was an engagement shoot, and I am also doing their wedding in September, which is also a first for me. I was pretty nervous. Taking pictures of still life as a hobby is totally different than posing and photographing people who are paying you.

We met down at the National Mall and did random shots for about an hour. I had fun and I think they did too, once we warmed up to each other. I learned that I need to learn how to talk and shoot at the same time. That's harder than you think it would be. I also need to experiment more with my flash and learn how to use it better.

Overall, I am happy with the results and so were the customers. I have lots of room for improvement, but for my first try at it, I think I did a descent job.

Here are some of the better shots from the engagement set...

Seattle and Mt Rainer

I was on a trip to Seattle last week, we also made a stop at Mt Rainer National Park. We stayed downtown Seattle and my room had a great view.

The best part was that it was about 75 degrees and sunny the whole week. Which, if you know Seattle, isn't normal.

Ill be headed back out to WA State a couple more times this summer. Hopefully I'll get some free time to explore some unexplored areas.

Click here to go to the full Seattle album...

Pictures from my parents visit to DC

My parents came out from Sioux Falls, SD to see my brother(who lives in Norfolk, VA) and I. It was their anniversary present from the two of us. We did the typical tourist stuff for a few days in downtown DC. These are just some pictures from the Newseum, US Capitol, Arlington Nation Cemetery, Library of Congress and Museum of US History and a few other places.

My parents DC visit photo album

Rolling Thunder 2009

I attended my first Rolling Thunder ride this Memorial Day weekend. Rolling Thunder is an annual motorcycle rally that is held in Washington, DC during the Memorial Day weekend to call for the government's recognition and protection of Prisoners of War (POWs) and those Missing in Action (MIAs). It was estimated that well over 500,000 bikers made their way to Washington DC this year to attend the festivities.

We started off Sunday's ride at a HD dealership bright and early. Along with 2000 or so other riders, we got a police escort into the Pentagon parking lot to meet up with the rest of the riders. This was the rally and starting point for the ride. The parking lot was packed when we pulled up. With this many people staged, it took about 3 hours to get everyone out of the parking lot. The actual ride was just a loop through downtown DC and only last about 20 mins.

It was a long and hot day, but in the end I am very glad I did it. It was for a really good cause and was really neat to see all the patriotic pride. It was great people watching and I got to take a lot of pictures. While I was riding my bike, my girlfriend Alicia, manned the camera on the back of my bike, she got some good pictures as well.

To see the 150+ pictures we took, click the link: http://www.framehousephotography.com/rollingthunder09

For more info on Rolling Thunder click here: http://www.rollingthunder1.com/

Candid Office Promotion Shoot

I was asked to shoot some candid(aka staged) office shots for Dare Mighty Things in Arlington, VA. I believe they will be used for a website or promo video. It wasn't too much fun posing people and the lesson I learned from this shoot was that it is hard to shoot people who don't want their picture taken. Most of the office workers weren't to keen on me taking their picture...which I don't blame them. All in all though, it was a new experience and am glad I had the opportunity.

Candid Office Shoot Album

The Dare Mighty Things Website

Some Miscellaneous Pictures..Odds and Ends.

This post is kind of like a clearance sale...a little bit of everything. Some of these were just test shots while messing around with my camera. Some were single pictures I have taken while I was out and about that didn't fit in anywhere else. Most, if not all were taken within the last few months. I wasn't sure what to do with them, so here they are.

Miscellaneous and Odds-n-Ends Gallery

Another Week, Another Post of Kickball Pictures

The weather was actually nice this week. Not much else to say....enjoy the pictures.

Click here to see the gallery: http://www.framehousephotography.com/dckickball4

DC Police Week Law Ride 2009

This week is National Police Week here in DC. This morning was the annual Law Ride, a motorcycle memorial ride for fallen police officers. This last year, 387 law enforcement officers died while in the line of duty.

I wanted to ride in it, but just wasn't feeling like getting up early to make it to the staging area, so instead I decided to watch it from the Capital. There were LOTS of bikes...more than I expected. I'd say easily a couple thousand showed up.


For more Law Ride pictures, click here: http://www.framehousephotography.com/lawride

For more info on Police Week, click here: http://www.nleomf.com/NPW2009/

DC Roller Girls Championship

I attended the 2009 DC Roller Girls Championship. It was between the Cherry Blossom Bombshells and the DC Demon Cats. I also brought my new 400mm lens with me and made sure to get a lot of use out of it.

The DC Demon Cats took the championship, but only by a small margin as it was neck and neck during the whole match. It actually was very excited and entertaining to watch. The crowd was certainly in to it. The only bad thing was the humidity...I was soaked with sweat by the end of the night.

The half time show was great too. It was a jump roping crew may up of local kids and they were quite good. They got a standing ovation at the end of their performance.

This concluded this seasons Roller Girls matches...too bad I'll be in Korea next year this time.I enjoyed going to the bouts. I wonder if they have Roller Derby in Korea?

Click here to see the rest of the pictures:
http://www.framehousephotography.com/dcrollergirlchamp

DC Kickball Weekly Recap Pictures

Once again, it was cloudy and rainy when game time came around. Luckily though, it was just sprinkles and didn't ever down pour.

I got to use my new lens for the first time. I was very impressed. Other than being HUGE and kind of hard to maneuver with, it took great pictures in the cloudy and dark environment.

I think I'll be home next Wednesday again and will probably have to check out the games then too.

Here's the rest of the pictures: http://www.framehousephotography.com/dckickball3

My New Lens

Most purchases fall into two categories..."needs" and "wants".

My new toy falls into a third category and that would be, "doesn't need it at all, but really really really wants it." I figured that I might as well indulge in my passion now while I can, since I am single, no kids and only live once. At least that is how I convinced myself to buy it.

I splurged and bought another new lens last week. I am now the proud owner of Nikon's 400mm 2.8 AFS VR. It will be great for sport photography and wildlife shooting. Its big and heavy, but is a super fast and sharp lens.

Florida Trip, Part 3: Along the Way and In Between

I did a fair amount of driving while in Florida while going from place to place. These photos are just pictures that I took at the random places we stopped at. Most of them were taken at a local famous mom and pop fruit stand, which also happened to have a road bike race nearby.

Click here to see all of the pictures: http://www.framehousephotography.com/alongtheway

Florida Trip, Part 2: Miami South Beach

We stayed the first night on Miami's South Beach district. This is the famous art deco and fashion area. It really isn't my type of scene, but it was fun to pretend I was a high roller, movie star type. The hotel we stayed at was pretty cool. It was a renovated 1940's hotel and was a very unique place to stay. The beach is literally across the street. We had a poolside bungalow room, which was awesome. The hotel is located next door to the Versace mansion which is where famed fashion designer Gianni Versace was murdered in 1997.

We didn't have a whole of time, but we did walk around and explore the South Beach area. We had some good Cuban food and I even saw my first drag queen show.

Too see the rest of the pictures, click here: http://www.framehousephotography.com/southbeach

For info on Hotel Victor, click here: http://hotelvictorsouthbeach.com/

Florida Trip, Part 1: The Everglades National Park

I recently went to Florida and made a day trip out of going to visit the Everglades National Park. I have visited many National Parks and I'd have to say that this one had the most wildlife I've seen...so far.

Lots of birds and gators to see...I think it might be one of my favorite parks to date.

To see the whole gallery of pictures, click the link:
http://www.framehousephotography.com/everglades


For more info on the Everglades, click here:
http://www.nps.gov/ever/

DC Kickball yet again...

Here are some new pictures of the DC Kickball league's game from this past Wednesday night.

The rest of the kickball pictures can be seen here:
http://www.framehousephotography.com/dckickball2

DC Kickball League

Last Wednesday I went down to the National Mall to shoot some of the DC Kickball league games. There's a lot of different sports played on the Mall. The usual team sports such as soccer and softball were no surprise, however, I was surprised to find out that there is a kickball league. It was kind of cool to watch the games with the Capital and various other monuments in the background.

Im gonna go back this Wednesday again...I was hoping to get some better action shots, but it got dark too fast the last time.

The rest of my kickball pictures can be seen here: http://www.framehousephotography.com/dckickball1

DC Roller Girls!

I remember watching bits and pieces of the Roller Derby TV show that was on in the 80's. It was a mix between American Gladiators and professional wrestling. My parents didnt allow me to watch it, along with Dukes of Hazzard. Needless to say, I saw it from time to time and also wondered why I wasn't allowed, it wasn't any worse than watching the WWF cage matches...I included a video of the 80's Roller Derby if you dont know what I am refering to.



It seems that the Roller Derby has slowly been reemerging. I know that many major cities have Roller Girl leagues. I think it is more of an underground sport with a cult like following, kind of like a bowling league, but with more sex appeal.

I somehow stumbled upon the DC Roller Girls website and saw that they had a match coming up and decided to check it out. It ended up actually be a good time and had a descent size crowd. At $12, tickets werent exactly cheap, but I suppose renting the DC Armory doesnt come cheap either. With player names like "Speedy Gonbraless", "Killary Hittin" and "Scarlet O’Snap", it was bound to be an interesting expeirence.

I had fun...time flew by and it was great people watching. It wasn't nearly as violent as the original Roller Derby, actually, it wasn't violent at all. All in all, it made for a good new experience. The only bad thing was the arena lighting...Im not a fan of using a flash and it made it very hard to get shots that werent blurry and in focus. I may have to go back for the next match and try a few new things out.

The rest of my Roller Dery pictures can be seen here: http://www.framehousephotography.com/dcrollergirls

Information on the DC Roller Girls can be found here: http://www.dcrollergirls.com/

Took a little nature hike today.

It was beautiful out today and I got done at work early, so I decided to go on a little hike on some of the Fort Belvoir trails this afternoon. I was pretty impressed with the wildlife I saw. I walked up on a wild turkey, but wasnt able to get a picture fast enough and for the record, turtles are hard to sneak up on too. I think I hiked about 4 miles total...I think Ill have to head out to Shenandoah soon for a real hike. Most of the pictures were taken with a 200mm lens and a 2X teleconverter. Most were also cropped, so the quality isnt as sharp as I wish they had been. I guess that just another reason why I need a 500mm lens.

All of the hike pictures can be seen here: http://www.framehousephotography.com/belvoirhike

Easter Baby Foxes

I went to my girlfriends parent's house for Easter. They live about an hour outside of DC in the country and have about 12 acres of land.

There is a Fox den in part of their yard and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to see three young Foxes out playing around for a bit. I didnt see the mother, so I am not sure if they snuck out of the den or if mom let them go out on their own.

I tried to sneak up on them and it seemed to work as I got pretty close. They seemed too busy playing to notice me. However once I started snapping pictures, I think they could hear my camera, but still didnt manage to spot me. Finally I walked up on them and they retreated back in the den. One guy kept playing peek-a-boo with me. He'd pop his head up and look at me and then jump back down. When I got about 6 ft from the den, they went back inside for good and didnt come back out.

I got some pretty good pictures of them. Ive never seen baby fox, I was surprised what they looked like. Id say almost a cross between puppies and bear cubs.

The rest of my baby Fox pictures can be seen here: http://www.framehousephotography.com/babyfoxes

I had an interesting day yesterday...

Well...it all started the night before with a bad stomach ache. I went to the ER and early yesterday morning I ended up having my Appendix removed due to an Appendicitis. Under the circumstances, I am feeling pretty well.

Then, while I was sitting in the hospital recovering, I got an email on my Blackberry informing me that my next duty station would be in Korea and I will be reporting there in November. So, needless to say, its been an interesting couple of days.

I am kind of excited for Korea...I'm just not sure about living there for a year. Then again, its only a year and I can think of worst places to be stationed.

A nice little visit to Great Falls National Park

I spent a few hours at Great Falls National Park, which is like 15 miles from downtown DC. I was hoping to see some green and budding trees, but it was again to early for that. Guess I'll have to stop by again. I did get some descent pictures of the falls and of the hovering hawks. I really need a Nikon 600 f4 lens....anyone have about $8k laying around, let me know.

The rest of my pictures can be seen here: http://www.framehousephotography.com/p506603941

Information on Great Falls can be found here: http://www.nps.gov/grfa/index.htm

Cherry Blossom Sunrise

So I got up at 5am this morning and made it downtown to the Mall by 6am...in hopes of beating all the other shutter bugs and tourists...and more importantly to find a good parking spot, which I did. The weather was great, not a cloud in the sky and a perfect sunrise was captured. Its not really all that amazing how many other people were out there at 6:30am too, it was gorgeous. However, it was like a Nikon and Canon camera convention. I only lasted about 2 hours before I got annoyed by all the people with their dogs, little kids and tripods blocking the paths. I did manage to get some pictures of the Mall at sunrise and some at the Tidal Basin with the blossoms.

You can see the rest of my photos here: http://www.framehousephotography.com/p458982164

For more info on the National Cherry Blossom Festival, see link: http://nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/cms/index.php?id=390

A bit too early for the Cherry Tree blossoms...

The National Cherry Blossom Festival kicked off this weekend(28 Mar - 12 April 09). In the 4 years Ive lived in the area, Ive never made it down to see it...basically because the National Mall turns into a circus of people and many of the monuments and pretty sites are ruined by all the people, port-a-potties and tents.

So, this year I decided to check it out early since the weekend weather was forecasted to rain both days and in hopes of avoiding the crowds. Needless to say, when I went out yesterday, the sky was overcast and the Cherry Tree's were not quite in the blossom stage yet. It was still nice to get out and walk around, but I was a little disappointed. I'm thinking about trying again on Monday or Tuesday.

I did get a few pictures...you can see them here: http://www.framehousephotography.com/p965736099

For more info on the National Cherry Blossom Festival, see link: http://nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/cms/index.php?id=390

Old Town Bald Eagle

Supposedly this Bald Eagle has been living near Old Town Alexandria, VA for a few years, but I never heard about it or saw it until a few days ago. Its located on a golf course right outside of Old Town just off of GW Parkway.

Anyway, a friend and I decided to try and get some pictures of it. It was around 5pm so the sun was setting. It made for a few good pictures, but nothing that special. I didnt quite have enough lens to reach it and get a really good picture, but I got a few good sunset photos of it.

A few more of my photos of the Eagle can be seen here: http://www.framehousephotography.com/p879274498

A night with The Reading Connection Read Aloud program.

I was invited to come photograph one of The Reading Connection's volunteer Read Aloud sessions last night in DC.

The Read-Aloud program was designed to make reading accessible and fun for children living in housing crisis. When children first enter the shelter, they receive Welcome Bags filled with new books, school supplies, a blank journal, and other reading incentives.

Read Alouds are held weekly at 13 participating housing sites. They are staffed by teams of committed, caring volunteers who give this time to meet, share books, and talk with the kids. The volunteers and kids also work on an extension activity geared to the session's theme. The goal of the Read Aloud is to get children to spend more time reading and talking about books so they begin to see themselves as readers. At the end of each weekly Read Aloud, children choose a new book to keep and add to their personal library.

My photos from from the reading session can be found here: http://www.framehousephotography.com/p1035113460

For more information and to learn how you can volunteer, see link: http://thereadingconnection.org/index.php

The Wild Horses of Assateague Island

I went camping last weekend up in Assateague National Seashore in Eastern Maryland. It was the first real nice Spring weekend we've had so far, however, it was still cooold at night.

Upon driving through the main gates, we encountered 3 wild horse on the side of the road. Even though they were considered wild, they were pretty tame. Throughout the next 2 days, we saw numerous small herds wild horses. Being able about to walk right up to them, made it a photographer's dream. Just be careful that the Park Rangers don't see you approaching the horses...or you will get yelled at.

Between the horses and the gorgeous scenery, Ill be going back to Assateague for sure.

One final note, just as a learning point, do not do as I did and leave a cooler full of various foods out on your campsite picnic table unattended...even if it is only for 20 mins. Chances are that the horses will infiltrate your camp site, knock over your cooler ans steal your food.

My photos from Assateague can be found here: http://www.framehousephotography.com/p605521886

For more info on Assateague National Seashore, see link: http://www.nps.gov/asis/naturescience/horses.htm