During a break in photography assignments, we took a trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It is an easy drive from northern Virginia and is a nice break from our regular routine. Anytime you can be close to ocean waters you can really breathe a different kind of air for a nice recharge.
Creatively the ocean shore give so many possibilities.
This is one place where getting up early before the sunrise will yield fruitful
results for your photos. The far distant horizon will almost guarantee that you
will have some glimmer of morning light even during over overcast mornings. A
few mornings, I got up before the sun just to get a feel for what the light was
looking like. It was enjoyable just to be out there before the crowds arrived,
and when animals passed by both under and next to the breaking waters.
During our trip I found the beautifully set Bodie Lighthouse
a favorite subject. It had a minimal setting from where the structure was set.
The symmetry of the lighthouse and the clear backdrop made for some memorable images
that I printed for my walls at home. At night, we made a trip to the site long
after everyone else had left for the day. It was the perfect time to try a long
exposure photo. I got what I was looking for, but I left quickly after all the
snake warnings scared me from staying too long!
Staff and high school students at the Blue Roster office for GIS Day 2014
Arlington, VA
Last year, I covered the GIS Day activities for Blue Raster in Arlington, VA. GIS stands for Geographic Information Systems. Blue Raster is an advanced mapping technology company that uses satellite imaging, and data to help their clients find solutions. They have applications in health, environmental studies, financial impact, and other needs where mapping data can be useful for visualizing and conveying impacts for wider audiences.
On this day, they brought in a group of enthusiastic high
school students that are studying GIS as part of their course work. They were
able to talk to the developers and staff at Blue Raster to see how they use the
mapping data and make it useful for their clients. While we were there, a presentation
at the White House used some of their visualizations for a live address!
A demonstration of their capabilities was even tried in real
time as the students went outside with mobile devices. Outside the offices,
they were able to use the Blue Raster software to mark the type of trees in the
area. With teams working together, they were able to generate some interesting
data very quickly about the vegetation in the area. It was easy to see how this
kind of application would be helpful for those wanting to do something similar
to study farming, water resourcing, or any other application that would rely on
accurate mapped data that could not be found from satellite imaging alone.
While I was at their headquarters, I took some time to make some headshots of some of the staff. Luckily, they had some nicely colored blue walls to match with their corporate branding. With some lighting setup it was easy to get a nice consistent look to all of the photos for their website. It would make for a nice cohesive look to their staffing photos.
Thanks to the team at Blue Raster! I really enjoyed learning about the power of GIS data and I received a nice education on how it can be useful for solving larger problems. Viewing maps had been a hobby with mine. My father impressed the importance of reviewing things like maps for trips, and development for new buildings. Since the early internet, satellite imagery starting with the Microsoft Terra Server and onto the newest mapping apps that we have today has been useful not only for my business, but for my own curiosity. What an interesting job the people at Blue Raster have!
We covered another gathering of dancers for the Arthur Murray 2015 Spring Freestyles last week at the McLean Hilton in Tysons. With all of the students in one ballroom throughout the entire weekend, the crowd was LOUD! They were enthusiastically supportive of their dance friends as they danced through heats Friday afternoon to Saturday evening.
The craziest part of the event made for the best photos. That
was the hotly contested Potomac Cup Team Match. In these heats, students from different
schools will dance with students from other schools at their same level. Most
will have never danced with each other before. But because of the core syllabus
that is taught at all Arthur Murray studios, they can dance their figures
together. The competition is between the schools from Virginia – Alexandria,
Ashburn, Tysons Corner, and Virginia Beach – against the Maryland studios of Chevy
Chase, Columbia, Gaithersburg, Silver Spring.
There was a theme to the teams as well. Virginia came in
their best cowboy Western gear, while Maryland dressed as fairy tale characters.
This is a big departure from the ballroom gowns and suits all of the other
heats! In the end, Virginia was judged to take the Potomac Cup this time!
During dinner on Saturday, I was asked by some of the studios
to get some group photos. It is always nice to see their happy faces after having
all of their hard work pay off. Everyone is much more relaxed, and ready to
enjoy some social dancing and professional shows!
