A warm December night in Washington, DC

Well I got the bug.  After reading about and seeing some HDR (High Dynamic Range) images, I had to venture out to try some.  The above image is a compilation of five images into one, run through Photomatix HDR Software for processing, and the effects are very cool.  Margi & I drove downtown so that I could give it a shot...The streets in DC were quiet on the Sunday night between Christmas & New Years.

You will not see this on January 20th, 2009

While sifting through mounds of old photos, I came across one from Ronald Reagan's 1st Inauguration on January 20, 1980.  I was working in downtown DC, about 50' off of Pennsylvania Ave.  After the swearing in ceremony at the Capitol, the procession began to the White House, down PA Ave.  I remember climbing up onto a an Army flatbed truck, setting up a tripod w/ a Nikon F2 (BD-Before Digital) Film camera with a 300mm f2.8 (BAF-Before Auto Focus) and making this image of President Ronald Reagan standing through the sunroof, waving to the crowds of people.  

Ya think this will ever happen again?  No way any trucks let a non-credentialed photographer climb up on it, and  No way President Elect Obama stands through the sunroof waving...

Times have certainly changed, and keep changing...Hard to believe that was 29 years ago

New York City - Happy Holidays

No matter if you are lighting candles for Hanukkah, or celebrating Christmas, New York City this time of year is about as festive as it gets.  I was in NYC this week for the annual NY Press Photographers Assn holiday party, so I walked over to Rockefeller Plaza and couldn't resist all the lights for images. A heartfelt Happy Holidays to all!

"Bedtime Stories"

Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington , DC had a few special guests today, visiting troops as part of the USO.  Adam Sandler with buddy Rob Schnneider made the rounds, and then surprised a full house at the AFI Silver Theater who were there for an advance screening of Disney's "Bedtime Stories", starring Sandler, with Schneider too (who announced "Don't blink, you'll miss me").  Adam Sandler was very gracious, came by, shook my hand, couldn't have been a nicer guy-

 

31st Annual Kennedy Center Honors

The 31st Annual Kennedy Center Honors was held on Sunday 12/07/08 in Washington.  This years Hororees included Barbara Streisand, Morgan Freeman, Twyla Tharp, George Jones, and The Who's Roger Daltry & Pete Townsend.  The red carpet was load with many famous celebrity faces, like Clint Eastwood, Jack Black, Beyonce Knowles, Joss Stone, Chriss Cornell, Dave Grohl, Rob Thomas, Quincy Jones, Queen Latifah plus many more.  The usual gang of red carpet photographers crammed into a smaller space than in the past, all pushing for the best vantage point possible.  I did just fine, cuz, "Nobody bother me" as Jhoon Ree used to say in the TV ads here in DC (now I'm showing my age).  More images can be seen here on my site:  Kennedy Center Honors 2008