Surprise!

I like urban settings. I like capturing everyday occurrences in my photos. I don’t like wielding a camera in a way that disturbs the scene. My solution is to walk about with an enthusiast’s point-and-shoot, the Canon PowerShot S100. It has all the features of a dSLR including aperture priority, shutter priority, and ISO settings. I shoot from the hip, arm relaxed, camera cradled in my hand with my thumb on the shutter release. I use the 24mm equivalent wide-angle setting on the zoom lens and a fast shutter speed. The camera is capable of F2.0. I shoot on the move not wanting to be noticed. Between steps I pause ever so slightly and press the shutter release.

It’s easy to slip into the habit of taking photos from eye level, 5’4” in my case. How the world looks different shooting from the hip at the camera’s eye level of 2’6”. The technique truly is point-and-shoot.

There’s a sense of freedom from not having to look through a viewfinder nor look at a screen on the back of a camera. Just wander around concentrate on seeing and observing. A subtle movement of the wrist, a press of the thumb, and the moment is captured. Head to a café, have a seat, and be surprised with the results. Click on a pic for a slideshow view.

A police officer takes a report from a trolley driver

Shapes and colors by the fountain

Georgetown in Photos

I consider myself a flâneur. I thrive in the city. I like street photography.

Eugène Atget is noted for his photographs that document the architecture and street scenes of Paris from 1897 to 1927. There are many references that describe Atget as a flâneur - an urban explorer and connoisseur of the street. The French author Baudelaire saw the flâneur as having an important role in portraying the city. He wrote, “it is an immense joy to set up house in the heart of the multitude, amid the ebb and flow… to be away from home, yet to feel oneself everywhere at home: to see the world”.

Atget’s photos see the city as it is. He’s not trying to be abstract nor capture a scene simply for its graphic nature. He’s not up close and in your face. Atget, the observer, doesn’t want to be noticed, a characteristic of the flâneur.

M Street

I choose Atget for this project because he worked with a variety of subjects: architecture, street scenes, cars, bars, markets, storefronts, churches, and gardens. The Oxford University Press says that Atget has a tendency towards personal autonomy and free expression -- a description that I’d use for myself.

National Cherry Blossom Festival 2013

I am a Cartographer and a Geographer

This painting by Vermeer vividly expresses the pleasure of scholarly inquiry and discovery. The geographer, student of the earth, charts the good course for temporal life.

Vermeer

c. 1668-69; Oil on canvas, 52 x 45.5 cm
Stadelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main

Shuttle Discovery Flyover

Today the space shuttle Discovery flew over Washington, D.C. on its final voyage to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum at Dulles. I found a good viewing location at the Air Force Memorial -- a hillside overlooking the Pentagon, the Potomac River, and Washington, D.C. I took this photo with a Nikon D5100, 200mm, F5.6, and 1/2000.

Today is tomorrow

Phil, Bill Murray’s character, in Groundhog Day relives the day over and over. How much time actually passes, time spent learning how to live his life? According to Wolf Gnards, it’s 8 years, 8 months and 16 days. So it takes Phil a total of 3,176 days to get it right! This is one of my favorite movies and favorite movie endings.

Happy New Year 2012

The view from my table New Year's Day on the sidewalk at the Market Common Clarendon, Arlington, Virginia. The Apple Store is open as is Barnes & Noble.