SDuffyPhotography.blog

Change (and a Press Pass) We Need

Last night, Senator Barack Obama made his last stop of the campaign in Manassas, VA. Since Manassas is only about an hour away from me, I decided that I would trek down after work with my camera. I was also lucky enough to finagle a press pass out of the Obama campaign, giving me access to the press area and risers. Not bad. I wasn’t in a great spot but, compared to the almost 100,000 people crowding the fairgrounds, I was sitting pretty. The best spots, of course, are reserved for television and Senator Obama’s press corps.

I would have liked to get more shots of people in the crowd but, from the looks of it, I wouldn’t have been able to maneuver very well in the sea of people that was rapidly gathering. So I stood, guarding my spot against various local and international media outlets. Finally, around 9:30 or 10, Senator Obama came to the podium.

All in all, it was a great experience. I am an Obama supporter but, I would have covered any rally this close to the election. It was great to immerse myself in the spirit of the campaign and get a feel for what covering the campaign was like.

Finally, on to the photos… These are just a few samples. I have a bunch more but I simply don’t have time to edit them today.

You can see the rest of what I’ve uploaded on Flickr here.

Tags: barack-obama, campaign, election, manassas, obama, press, rally, virginia

Another shoot in Great Falls

Yesterday morning, I did my second family portrait shoot in Great Falls, VA. The clients were friends of ours that are moving out of the country soon so they wanted some portraits before they left. I did manage to break my umbrella adapter but, luckily my girlfriend accompanied me on this shoot so she was able to hold the flash and umbrella exactly where I needed it. I’ll be picking up another adapter this week since I have another Great Falls shoot next Saturday. Anyway, a few of my favorites from this shoot are below…

Tags: family, great-falls, My Photos, portraits, virginia

Sunday Driving

My girlfriend and I were getting a little antsy this morning so we decided to take a drive all the way out to Middleburg, VA to walk around maybe take some photos since it was a beautiful fall day. On the way back from Middleburg we stopped at Sky Meadows State Park where we picked up two pumpkins for carving this week. A few shots below…

Tags: fall, middleburg, pumpkins, sky-meadows, state-park, virginia

Morning in Great Falls

As I mentioned last week, I did some family portraits in Great Falls National Park this weekend. Since the portraits were scheduled for 8:30am, I decided to get there as soon as the park opened at 7am so I could stroll around the trails a bit. It was gorgeous! There is hardly anyone else around and, when you’re walking through the trails, you practically trip over deer. It’s very peaceful… almost as if you’re peeking in on a world you’re not meant to see. A few of my photos below:

Tags: great-falls, national, park, virginia

A stroll through Great Falls

Next weekend, I am doing a family portrait shoot for an old high school friend and her husband in Great Falls Park in Northern Virginia. Since I haven’t been there in a while, I decided to go check it out yesterday. I normally don’t do HDR photos of nature, particularly when the sky is clear blue. But, when I began processing the photos, I converted a couple single RAW photos to HDR and I was impressed with the results. I still don’t have a neutral density filter (I know, I know… BAD photographer) so, for many of the waterfall shots, I dropped the ISO down to 50 and decreased the aperture down to f/32 on my 70-200mm, f/2.8 lens to get the motion blur of some of the falls. I think it worked out pretty well despite the sun shining brightly. Here are a few of the shots from yesterday:

Tags: great-falls, virginia, waterfalls

Saturday in Occoquan

This past Saturday, my father, stepmother, and grandfather came to town to go to the Occoquan Arts Festival. We drove down and met them in the afternoon, though we didn’t stay for very long. Despite that, I still managed to take a few photos…

Tags: arts, festival, My Photos, occoquan, virginia

First Worldwide Photowalk in the books!

Most of you know that Saturday was the first Worldwide Photowalk. Over 240 cities around the world participated. Chances are, there was one close to you!

Here in the DC area, we had two, both of which were led by Jeff Revell of PhotoWalkPro. Many thanks to Jeff for organizing such a great day of photography for all of us!

You can read more about the day at PhotoWalkPro, Photo Notes, or ScottKelby.com.

In the meantime, I thought I’d share a few of my images from Saturday:

More »

Tags: alexandria, hdr, photowalk, virginia, washington-dc, worldwide

Worldwide Photowalk - August 23rd!

Remember that DC photowalk I mentioned last week? Well, hold on tight! Scott Kelby is organizing the first ever Worldwide Photowalk on August 23rd, the day after our DC photowalk! Jeff Revell of PhotoWalkPro will be organizing the DC event in Old Town, Alexandria, VA.

If you don’t live in the DC area, go see if there is a walk in a city near you!

Stay tuned either here, or over at PhotoWalkPro for more details.

You can see the official Worldwide Photowalk page here.

Tags: old-town, photowalk, virginia, washington-dc

Question for Readers: Mounting on foam core board?

A few days ago, I mentioned that Springfield Mall in Virginia is actively looking for local photography to hang in the mall during their renovation. One of the requirements is that the photographer must mount their work on black foam core board prior to dropping off the piece. Specifically, the requirements are:

“Mounting: Photographs must be mounted on Black Foam Core Board

“Hanging: Photographer includes Foam Board Metal Hangers, and Mall provides nails to hang them up.”

One of our readers, Gyuri, asked a question that I had been wondering myself over the last day or so:

“Anyone know of a good place to mount photos on foam board? Or this something thats easy enough to diy?”

Based on some searching, it looks like it might be simple enough to find some adhesive foam core board and mount it yourself. You should be able to buy the equipment from an art store. But, considering that many of my readers are more experienced than I am, I thought I’d throw the question out there for everyone…

For mounting photos on foam core board, is it easy to do it yourself? Or would you recommend having a professional do it?

Leave your thoughts in the comments…

Tags: foam-core-board, mall, mount, question, show, springfield, virginia

DC Photogs: Hang your work in Springfield Mall!

A reader of the site, and frequent commenter, Gyuri, has notified me that Springfield Mall in Virginia is asking local photographers if they’d like to have their work displayed in the mall while they undergo some renovations. You’ll be able to hang as many as four photos from 8×10 to 20×24 and you’ll also be able to include a one page 8×10 biography where you can include your website, email, and/or details on how those interested can purchase your photos.

Full details below:

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Arts in the Marketplace

While Springfield Mall is undergoing renovation, empty storefronts that have been covered with drywall will be decorated with photography from local artists. We would love to include your work. Please review the guidelines below. We hope to see you April 6, 2008!

Size: Photographs must be between an 8”x10” to a 20”x24”

Mounting: Photographs must be mounted on Black Foam Core Board

Hanging: Photographer includes Foam Board Metal Hangers, and Mall provides nails to hang them up.

Amount: Individual Photographers may display up to four works of art.

Biography: Artist may supply one 8”x10” Biography mounted on Black Foam Core Board. Include in the Bio a website or contact information where photo’s can be purchased, if they are for sale.

Dates: Participants will bring their mounted photos on Sunday April 6, 2008 at 10am to the Customer Service Desk in Springfield Mall. Exhibit will be displayed until Sunday July 13th. Photos will be removed on July 13th. Artists can pick their photo’s up at the Customer Service Desk

Forms: When Artists Drop off Artwork, they will need to fill out an Inventory Form, and sign that Springfield Mall is not responsible for the safety and security of the photos. The Mall will provide the forms.

How: To participate in Arts in the Marketplace, please e-mail Stephanie.thompson@fcps.edu or call 703-971-3289 to reserve your space.

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I look forward to seeing some of your photos on display!

Tags: dc, mall, show, springfield, virginia, washington