Photography Archives - Page 232 of 331

August 28, 2013

Personal, Photography, Travel | 2 Comments

Jones Point Park

©TimeLine Media - DC South Boundary Stone

We have had a nice string of “chamber-of-commerce” days in the Washington, DC area. The weather really makes it easy to get out and make photos around town. On this day, we were interested in exploring a park that had been recently renovated after the completion of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge construction. Jones Point Park is located at the Virginia side of the bridge, and has plenty of areas for recreation from courts, bike and walking trails. The Potomac River also borders the park which provides nice views of the National Harbor, the District, and the plane traffic from Reagan National Airport. The park also sports lots of unique historical markers being so close to Old Town Alexandria, and Washington, DC.

Alexandria, Virginia

©TimeLine Media - Underneath Woodrow Wilson Bridge from Jones Point Park — ©TimeLine Media – Underneath Woodrow Wilson Bridge from Jones Point Park

From a previous post, you can see some of the background on the DC Boundary Stones. These stones are the oldest federal monuments which marked out the perfect square that cut Washington, DC out of land from both Maryland and Virginia. The first stone laid in the project was at the southern corner at Jones Point. Today, the stone is protected behind a sea wall right by the shore, adjacent to the Jones Point Lighthouse.

From here, there are lines and other markers that show the original borders. In the middle 1840s, the Virginia land that was part of DC was given back to the Commonwealth. Walking the park now, they have lines marking where the old border used to be showing DC, Maryland and Virginia. Even though you cannot directly view the boundary stone, they do have a nice see-through marker above the stone so you can look down on the stone.

So here comes the FUN part! You can see how close the shore is to the stone. The ground on the other side of the fence was very soggy, and not very stable to stand. I did not feel like breaking my ankle to get a photo of the stone in the wall, so how did I get this photo?

Please send your guesses to the TimeLine Media Facebook page, or to the comments section below. The first person to correctly guess how I was able to take this photo, I will send you a coupon for $50 of prints or digital downloads from the proofing site! I will post the answer in an upcoming blog post. Good luck!

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

August 27, 2013

Ballroom Dance, Event, Personal, Photography | 0 comment

Needs Improvement

In my corporate job, “Improvement Needed” or “IN” used to be the lowest rank you could receive on a review. Yes it does not sound good, and is in fact very discouraging. It was meant to be a sign to the person receiving the score that they are the lowest performer. Subsequently it will likely push them out the job to something else, or out of the company completely.

Work Review

As a freelancer, it seems like I do nothing but look at where I need to make my skills better. I look at things like photo shoot setups, camera technique, composition, post-processing, etc. Then there are business things – my contracts, marketing, website – it is really an endless list. Looking back on where we are now, it would be possible to think that everything is setup just as we like it. However, I am constantly thinking it needs improvement.

I do see a correlation between my view of my work, and the work that is done by my photography subjects. I revisit many venues and events. It is easy to see the progress artists put into their craft in between the times that we see each other. It inspired me to come up with new ideas. My setup cannot be the same as the last time. It would look like I am satisfied with where I am, and what I am doing. This pushes my photography to improve every time I go out on a shoot.

©TimeLine Media - American Star Ball - Professional Ballroom Dance Competition — ©TimeLine Media – American Star Ball – Professional Ballroom Dance Competition

Use weaknesses to push you off the plateau and get to the next level. Yes, a photographer needs to have good gear, but you need to have something in the frame that will hold viewer’s attention. For a singer, singing in key is the prerequisite, but singing something that people want to hear will bring you to the next level. More shoots are on the schedule, hopefully more improvements will be made!

©TimeLine Media - Blue Jupiter at SingStrong 2013 — ©TimeLine Media – Blue Jupiter at SingStrong 2013

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

August 26, 2013

Ballroom Dance, Event, Personal, Photography | 0 comment

Editing Monday

Getting back to editing in Lightroom today to edit lots of photos in the back log. I have a few shoots coming up too, so I want to get these done as soon as I can. I am excited to show you more photos from our weekend photo walk to a new local place that could be great for more portraits. More editing is needed for those. As a quick reminder, there is an event that is expiring today, the Marsha Bonet 2013 Dance Showcase. Last chance to view and share your photos from this event!

©TimeLine Media - Marsha Bonet Dance Showcase — ©TimeLine Media – Marsha Bonet Dance Showcase

Family and Friends

This weekend, there was a large gathering at my mother’s house. People came to celebrate the life of Liza who passed away on her 50th birthday last week. It was an amazing show of support and love from a community that lost a friend too soon. I was so proud of to be a small part of this extended family for the day. My wife ran around making sure everyone had what they needed, answered the ringing doorbell, and made room for all the food being shuttled to the tables.

At this time my mom generously offered her house as the venue, she made flower arrangements for the tables the day of and cleaned for a week beforehand. My uncle helped with the last-minute cooking, and had the house was ready inside and out for all the traffic. We had a busy day, but we did get to join the party a little and enjoy the company. Thanks also to my father, who designed such a great space to hold these gatherings with a large open space where no one can hide from all the activity. I hope Liza enjoyed watching the celebration – we all wished you were there with us.