Posts Tagged ‘McLean’

Tysons Corner Kids Club and Wegmans

The photos from today’s post are from another Kids Club event at Tysons Corner Center. In partnering with Wegmans grocery stores, there were some fun activities for children to take part. They had a station where they taught a safe and proper way to use a knife to cut up bananas. Another had a station with an example of a healthy snack – a smooth made from the bananas, strawberries, and yogurt. At the end of the Wegmans display was where parents could pick up a reusable grocery bag filled with more snacks, recipes and coupons for items at the store.

Tysons Corner Kids Club - ©TimeLine Media
Tysons Corner Kids Club – ©TimeLine Media

2004 was the first time that Wegmans had a store location in the DC Area. Since that time, they have made a huge impact on the market. In case you have not been, or are not familiar, these are not your ordinary grocery stores. They have very nice prepared food sections, bakeries, and spaces for visitors to eat in-store. My mom would even take out-of-town guests to the store as a destination – probably for the floral department that is always full of color.

Wegmans at Tysons Corner Kids Club - ©TimeLine Media
Wegmans at Tysons Corner Kids Club – ©TimeLine Media

There was also a talented face painter for the kids to visit, and a balloon artist that really made a lot of connection with those in line. The roaming emcee made sure that those waiting in line were also involved and entertained! He called those watching from the upper floor to join in the fun. It is always a nice photo assignment. Be sure to sign up at the Tysons Corner Kids Club website to be notified their schedule for events – I’ll get your photo when you are there!

Balloon Artist at Tysons Corner Kids Club - ©TimeLine Media
Balloon Artist at Tysons Corner Kids Club – ©TimeLine Media
Emcee and partner at Tysons Corner Kids Club - ©TimeLine Media
Emcee and partner at Tysons Corner Kids Club – ©TimeLine Media

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

Caricaturist and the Tablet

Caricaturist at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media

What does a caricaturist and photographer have in common with cutting edge technology? This blog has shown my growth in practicing digital photography in both professional and personal projects. The tech behind these new cameras has really advanced passed analog/film technology. Not long ago, this was not the case. There is a place still for film photography as an artistic choice in fine art and other personal work.

For me and most photographers, it is digital for client work. At ballroom dance events, we are able to send digital files to iPads for dancers to flip through themselves. They are not completely finished files, but they are good enough to show content. Also, it gives them a good preview of the images. We also have a running slideshow of our best images right out of the camera that can be viewed by many from afar. This has helped our business immensely! The immediacy of the photos means that dancers are excited to come back to the proofing website to view their images after the event has passed.

Tysons Corner Center

Microsoft Surface display at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media
Microsoft Surface display at Tysons Corner Center – ©TimeLine Media

In a similar fashion, I photographed a caricaturist at Tysons Corner Center that was making drawings of people in the mall using a new Microsoft Surface Pro. The tablet is compatible with more than just your finger, you can also control with a stylus. This allowed him to draw directly onto the tablet making it a very similar action to drawing on a pad of paper. With the tablet, Microsoft directly connected the tablet to a very large TV monitor. The monitor was a mirror of the tablet which allowed people walking by to see how the drawings were made in real time!

Microsoft Surface display at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media
Microsoft Surface display at Tysons Corner Center – ©TimeLine Media
Caricaturist at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media
Caricaturist at Tysons Corner Center – ©TimeLine Media

This made for a much larger projection of the drawings – and it drew quite a crowd. Just this little change allowed the artist to reach a much larger audience. There is only a few that can see him working on a traditional pad and easel, the large TV brought in more eyes, and thus, more portrait subjects! After the drawings were completed, the subjects could just enter their email address into the same tablet, and they were sent their drawing in a few seconds. Amazing! For these artists, though, I think there is still much more value in analog tools than with photography. I wonder what my architect father could have done if he had access to a tablet!

Microsoft Surface display at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media
Microsoft Surface display at Tysons Corner Center – ©TimeLine Media
Microsoft Surface display at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media
Microsoft Surface display at Tysons Corner Center – ©TimeLine Media

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

Cherry Blossom Display – Tysons Corner Center

National Cherry Blossom Festival Display - ©TimeLine Media

Seasonal Displays

Taking a little break from editing dance photos this morning! A few weekends ago, I photographed a beautiful display at Tysons Corner Center. In one of their large atriums, they have put up a beautiful display that is coordinated with the National Cherry Blossom Festival. With the trees just days away from their peak bloom, this is an especially good time to write about the activation. At this time, they feature a colorful cut-paper display that spans both levels of the mall.

Cherry Blossom display at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media
Cherry Blossom display at Tysons Corner Center – ©TimeLine Media

At the bottom, there is a large case that holds an amazing art piece made with different pieces of colored paper. The artist has cut the paper into the silhouetted shapes of popular destinations in Washington, DC including the Washington Monument, the National Cathedral, the Smithsonian Castle, etc. In addition, there are also representations of the Tysons Corner area with new, towering buildings that are currently under construction that are scheduled to be opened this year.

Paper craft buildings at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media
Paper craft buildings at Tysons Corner Center – ©TimeLine Media

Surrounding the display case are large pots with real trees that stretch to the overhead skylight. On the trees are more paper crafts with representations of cherry blossoms. If you are walking towards the display from one of the mall corridors, the blooms look real! This is probably the stage of the blooms at this point. They are just starting to pop out, but not the full light pink blossoms of the peak.

Display of Cherry Blossoms

Paper Cherry Blossom - ©TimeLine Media
Paper Cherry Blossom – ©TimeLine Media
Cherry Blossom display at Tysons Corner Center - ©TimeLine Media
Cherry Blossom display at Tysons Corner Center – ©TimeLine Media

From the floor above, there are very large paper fish hanging from the ceiling. In the light, airy section of the mall, they move slightly with the passing current of air. It makes a peaceful marker for the larger display below. Again using the fisheye lens, it is possible to get a view of the entire area from upstairs. The trees, paper craft display case, and the bending benches, it is a unique representation of the Japanese cherry blossom trees planted around the Tidal Basin in downtown Washington, DC. Maybe next week the peak blooms themselves will show up on the blog!

National Cherry Blossom Festival Display - ©TimeLine Media
National Cherry Blossom Festival Display – ©TimeLine Media

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

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