If only my house looked this nice

I recently finished shooting a home for Hailey Design. They completely redesigned the interior of an existing home. I think they did a beautiful job, and I hope the photos do the work justice.

The Reverend

I had a photo shoot scheduled for Friday afternoon at Ben's Chili Bowl in DC. I showed up early to scope the place out, and almost walked into Jesse Jackson. Rev. Jackson was not my scheduled job, but he was kind enough to pose. Sometimes you just get lucky.

Sant Ocean Hall

Yesterday morning I got a preview of the new Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian National Natural History Museum. The renovation of the hall was the largest in the museum's history, and opened up the 23,000 square foot space to it's original Beaux Arts design.

Much like the mammal exhibit, the museum made the Ocean Hall both beautiful and informative. There are 24 computer interactive stations around the hall that allow visitors to select videos, as well as touch stations for kids to explore.

At the center of the hall is a 45-foot model of a living North Atlantic right whale, named Phoenix. North Atlantic right whales are in endangered species, with only about 400 living whales remaining.

The exhibit opens to the public this Saturday, and it is really worth checking out. If you can't get there in person, you can visit the web site which has much more information. You can also see the rest of the photos over on DCist.

Jack be quick

This is Jack. I posted another photo of him a few weeks ago, so you may remember his mug. As of today, Jack is a permanent member of our home. I think his face sums up how happy I am about this new arrangement. I know all dog owners may think this, but Jack is the sweetest little guy out there.

You can expect to see more photos of Jack in the future. I know my husband Dave will be more than happy to share being in front of my shutter.

Welcome aboard little guy!

Seven Years Later

Last night I shot the public opening of the new Pentagon September 11th Memorial for DCist. It was a very emotional night for most visitors, myself included. This couple above is Brandon and Krystal, who live in the DC area. Brandon serves in the United States Air Force.

This is Sara Guest whose sister, Leslie A. Whittington, was on the hijacked plane with her husband and two children. Sara is reading the inscription on a book that four members of her sister's book club left at the memorial.

Leanne and Jonathan, of the DC area, are viewing the bench created in memory of Dana Falkenberg. Dana, who was three years old, was the youngest victim at the Pentagon. Her aunt Sara can be seen in the photo above.

Lastly, this is Danny Hosman, a nine year old from Utah, visiting DC with his family.

The design of the memorial was well thought out, and the Washington Post has a great interactive map to explore. You can also see more photos over on DCist.

Shoot is shot

One of my favorite photo blogs, Shoot the Blog, is finished as of today. It was run by Photoshelter, and long story short, they announced today that they are getting out of the stock photography business, and made some layoffs. I don't want to get into that too much here, I just want to say that the great editor of Shoot the Blog, Rachel Hulin, has started her own blog! I am excited to see where she takes it, so go check it out.

Yeah, what he said

I have tried many times to try to explain to friends and family why megapixels are not always the most important thing to consider when selecting a new camera. There are many other components that make a great camera, but every time I try to explain the technical mumbo jumbo I sound a little bit like Charlie Brown's school teacher. Luckily, Brain Tetrault has much more comprehendible explanation over on his blog. It is a great read for any level of photographer.

A little bit louder now!

This is one of the several thousand wedding photos I have taken in last few weeks. More to come soon.