This past Saturday, I was a model instead of being the photographer. I could be all coy and say it’s not something I enjoy, but that’s a lie. I take too many self-portraits to even pull off the suggestion that I don’t like being in front of the lens. It was just a quick promo shoot for Burke & Herbert Bank’s 2011 calendar. I submitted a photo and it got honorable mention! I’m not big on landscapes and such (the majority of photos chosen), so this was a pretty cool little accolade. It would have been awesome to get my own month, but I take my small victories where I can get them.
George was really in his element today. I volunteered as a photographer for the USA Science & Engineering Festival, a massive science fair that basically took over all of downtown Washington this weekend. I cannot think of a single field that was not represented. I’m talking huge – this festival not only took up three blocks’ worth of the National Mall, but spilled with impressive size into Freedom and Wilson Plazas and over a sizable stretch of Pennsylvania. It was a sight to be seen.
One of the things I love about photography is its ability to turn something ugly into something beautiful. Better said, perhaps, is that photography can isolate beauty in a subject. I don’t remember who said it or if I’m even paraphrasing correctly, but some photographer said that there is always a spectacular photo within 20 steps – you just have to find it. I love that an image of something that might be considered ugly can become “art”. This is most obvious in photographs of “urban decay” (we photographers love this stuff) but also something as simple as weeds.