A Mouth's Full

Well I am back on here again after several months of hiatus. I hope you all didn't miss me.

Takeoff

Good things come to those who wait. To get this shot, it had to be one of those days where the clouds form small clusters in the sky.  I went down to Dupont Circle that day and saw some birds perched on the fountain. I sat inside the empty fountain, waiting... and I then pressed the shutter button on my X100 as soon as one took off.

Zoo Lights '13

During the holiday season, the National Zoo organizes the lighting display, Zoo Lights.  I photographed the display previously in 2011 (see posting Zoo Lights '11). Last month, I returned to the National Zoo to recapture event. Like in 2011, my objective was not just to capture the lights themselves. The tools used to make the following exposures include my D7000 (with a variety of lenses), my X100, my SB600 speed light flash and a tripod.

Waiting...

The L2 Metro Bus, Northbound

The L2 Metro Bus, Southbound

Welcome to Zoo Lights!

The Couple (1)

The Couple (2)

The Couple (3)

Welcome to Zoo Lights!

The Directory

Viewing the Directory

Crossing

Making a Penny

Posing with Panda

Pandas For Sale

The Attempt 

A Foggy Night in Paris

To kick off this New Year of 2014, here is a photo taken five years ago during an evening walk in Paris on January 1, 2009.

Scaffolding Removal - Fall 2013

The Washington Monument has been closed for renovation since the DC earthquake in August 2011. Last month, they begin to remove the scaffolding surrounding it. When I checked today, a little less than half of the monument was still covered with scaffolding. I snapped this exposure at the beginning of its removal, at the peak of the fall season.

POLICE LINE

There was bus stop on Connecticut Avenue with broken glass. Somebody must have smashed one of the glass panels. Feeling an inspiration, I snapped this photo with me D7000 and my old manual focus 50mm 1.8 Series E pancake.  I stopped the lens down to f/5.6. I recently installed a KatzEye split focus screen on my D7000 which helps with manual focus lenses.

Golden Girl

I was expermenting with my x100 at the Georgetown waterfront when I captured this shot. I had pointed the camera down and waited for this girl to run into my frame. Intrigued by camera, she looked up as she was running past me. I missed the focus on the girl but stopped the aperture down enough to have fairly large DOF.