DC DISCOMBOBULATED

The Mess (Hibernation Show)...

2011-12-05T15:02:00.000-05:00

... "I felt a great disturbance in the force. As if millions of souls suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened."

No Obi Wan, that was just the last show of the band "The Mess" - Hibernation Show!

An exercise in shutter drag, push/pull and twist focus at the moment of exposure. Thanks Mess - for being a constant in my life when I visit my home town. To me, this is what your sound looks like.

Click on the title of the post to view all 98 photos in Flickr.

Run with Dennis (H4W)...

2011-11-30T21:57:00.000-05:00

...Derek Hughes, wounded veteran and team member for Team Hope for the Warriors received a donated hand cycle by the Lt. Dennis Zilinski Foundation and Memorial Fund at the 6th Annual Run with Dennis on 13 Nov 2011 in Holmdel, NJ.

Click on the title of the post or go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcdiscombobulated/sets/72157628227917541/with/6433645581/

to view all 58 photos on Flickr.

To learn more about the amazing family and friends that make up the Lt. Dennis Zilinski Foundation and learn about their mission, visit:

http://www.runwithdennis.org/

USMC Wounded Warrior Ball...

2011-11-20T22:21:00.001-05:00

... shots from the 7th Annual USMC Wounded Warrior Regiment Birthday Ball celebrating the USMCs 236th birthday held on 04 Nov 2011 in Bethesda, MD.

Shot pro-bono for the benefit of the wounded hero Marines being treated here in the DC Metro area with the help of fellow photography friends Anasatasia Guseieva, Alex Rebo and Larissa Eichenwald. We four photographers wanted to fully capture the event, to include some formal portraiture and provide more modern/fun shots of the party after the formal ceremony.

I think we were very successful.

The shots above represent a selection of my photos that I felt fairly represented the evening. The Marines sure know how to celebrate one hell of a well-deserved birthday!

To view all 311 of my photos on Flickr, go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcdiscombobulated/sets/72157628065396439/with/6369525981/

To view Anastasia's photos of the formal ceremony, dancing and some portraiture, go to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcdiscombobulated/sets/72157628073335251/

To view Alex and Larissa's portraiture shots, go to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcdiscombobulated/sets/72157628067380995/

We (myself, Anastasia, Alex and Larissa) retain all rights to the photos on the links above but gladly extend shared rights to the USMC Wounded Warrior Regiment and anyone depicted from that evening - all we ask is for a photo credit when appropriate.

Visit the links above to download full sized photos suitable for printing.

Marine Corps Marathon 2011 (H4W)...

2011-11-07T22:10:00.000-05:00

Shots from Hope for the Warriors participation at the 36th Marine Corps Marathon. 20,895 finishers and over 130 of them wore the Hope for the Warriors colors.

To view all 207 photos as a slide show, click on the title of the post or go to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcdiscombobulated/sets/72157628073430430/with/6321328426/

ASA Run for the Warriors 5K (H4W)...

2011-10-23T12:21:00.000-05:00

Shots from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Run for the Warriors 5K held at the Chicago Yacht Club in Chicago, IL on 16 Oct 2011. ASA raised over $85,000 for Hope for the Warriors. It rained, rained hard and cold... but it was still a blast!

I love my Canon L series lenses but it was a little uncomfortable out there in the cold rain. I did not take as many chances as I normally would... too worried about keeping my lens clean and the water out of the camera electronics. I made a rookie mistake by shooting in the rain with flash and forgetting to switch to Second Curtain Sync. Now it looks like all the rain drops are going up instead of down depending on my shutter speed. Ooops.

To see all 117 photos on Flickr, go to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcdiscombobulated/sets/72157627835034253/with/6273017190/

Tunnel to Towers 5K (H4W)

2011-10-22T07:42:00.000-05:00

Photos from Hope for the Warriors participation at the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation 5K run in NYC. The Siller Foundation donated a hand cycle to Hope for the Warriors.

The run and cause is so amazing... read up on it at:

tunneltotowersrun.org/

It was a difficult event to photograph... very crowded and a lack of a "photo pass" got me kicked off the course so I could not get the photos I was hoping for. The race was over by the time I made it back to the finish line.

Regardless, I got some pictures of the Siller Family presenting the bike, to include Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Dennis Miller!

FDNY Fire Academy (H4W)...

2011-10-10T06:20:00.000-05:00

...Photos from Team Hope for the Warriors tour at the FDNY Fire Academy and Probationary Fire Fighters School. Hot stuff!

To see all the photos, click on the title of the post or go to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcdiscombobulated/sets/72157627732344467/

NJ Run for the Fallen (H4W)

2011-10-09T08:54:00.000-05:00

... photos from Hope for The Warriors participation in the NJ Run for the Fallen. 157 miles run from Cape May to Homdel, NJ. Each individual mile run was dedicated to a NJ hero with the team stopping at every hero mile-marker to present a flag to waiting friends and family. Team H4W participated in the run this year with a two-mile Run/Walk dedicated to them the evening before the race started.

The event started for H4W with a moving Flag Ceremony on Friday, presented to the mother of a fallen warrior. Friday's run that started the event was done in the rain and the H4W participated in the first 26 miles of the run on Saturday.

To see all the photos of the event, click the title of this post or go to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcdiscombobulated/sets/72157627727599933/

RIP Steve...

2011-10-07T15:58:00.000-05:00

... outside my Apple store in Clarendon.

Fitting this was taken by my iPhone.

Grape Festival Parade...

2011-10-02T16:32:00.001-05:00

... many a beautiful parade I have seen but none as down-home and community inspiring as Silver Creek's Festival of the Grapes Parade.

Thank you Silver Creek, NY!

All shot with the Canon 5DmkII with a tilt-shift lens to really skew the perspective. For the parade shots, I was on the grandstand elevated by five feet. Would have been nice to have been about ten or fifteen feet up, but regardless - an amazing parade.

To see a slideshow of all 137 photos, go to the set on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcdiscombobulated/sets/72157627678692559/

Smithsonian Intermediate Portraiture Class...

2011-09-20T19:14:00.000-05:00

... if you get the chance to take a studio portraiture class at the Smithsonian Institute... take it! Great instruction and hands-on experience.

Coney Island....

2011-09-10T13:14:00.000-05:00

... is beautiful through a tilt-shift lens.

I yearn to go back.

Can't get enough of NYC...

2011-09-08T17:41:00.001-05:00

... in NYC, you wander aimlessly with a tilt-shift lens and take your adventure where you find it.

American Museum of Natural History

2011-09-05T08:49:00.000-05:00

... had amazing Dioramas that photography great with a tilt-shift. Too bad the rest of the museum was so poorly lit.

NY Public Library...

2011-09-03T11:52:00.000-05:00

... The NY Public Library at Bryant Park

(aka Stephen A. Schwarzman Building)

is the eight magical place in

NYC.

At the top of the Empire State Building...

2011-08-30T21:06:00.000-05:00

... with a tilt-shift lens...

so you don't have to!

Your money for nothing....

2011-08-22T21:03:00.000-05:00

... and the chicks for free.

TL Ragtime (musical)...

2011-08-19T18:35:00.000-05:00

... Shots from Theatre Lab's Musical Theatre Institute for Teens production of Ragtime.

Perfect lights, sets, music and acting.

A delight to shoot!

Sexy Hipster Glasses...

2011-08-07T20:53:00.000-05:00

... Hipsters suck, but the glasses are cute. So are the Models. These are really 3D glasses with the lenses popped out.

TL On the Town (musical)...

2011-08-03T20:42:00.000-05:00

... shots from the Theatre Lab's Musical Theatre Institute for Teens production of "On the Town".

Show rocked... costumes, lights, dancing and a lot of kissing going on.

To see all 279 photos, view them on Flickr by clicking the title of the post above or visiting:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcdiscombobulated/sets/72157627351323326/

High Line Park in NYC...

2011-07-11T15:33:00.000-05:00

... as a frequent visitor to NYC, this was the first time we had heard of High Line Park.

Google it and then visit it.

An amazing green space above NYC.

A rock and a hard place...

2011-07-02T09:20:00.000-05:00

There is a story here and I am not going to tell you...

FDNY vs. NYPD Rugby Match (H4W)...

2011-06-30T21:10:00.001-05:00

... shots from the annual FDNY vs. NYPD Rugby match on Randall's Island outside NYC on 25 Jun 11 in honor of two military service members who died in Iraq. The money from the event went to the FDNY VFW who donated two cycles to Hope For The Warriors!

The awarding of the two bikes to H4W was filmed as part of an upcoming episode of Extreme Home Makeover pertaining to wounded veterans.

Click on the title of the post to get to the Flickr set to see all 68 photos.

The Great Smoky Mountains...

2011-06-29T19:17:00.000-05:00

... I went to Clingmans Dome so you don't have to.

This is the highest point in Tennessee, located in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, just outside Gatlinburg, TN.

LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph...

2011-06-28T19:50:00.000-05:00

... the best photography festival in the world. The second time I attended and... it was magical. I found a lot of inspiration in the Masters Talks and Insight Conversations this year but I missed the one by George Steinmetz. The finale show rocked and I discovered the Charlottesville Photography Initiative... which was a hidden find.

Love, peace and photography.

Click on the title of the post for all the photos on Flickr.

Smithsonian Portraiture Class...

2011-06-24T21:34:00.001-05:00

... shots of models and students from a recent Studio Portraiture class I took at the Smithsonian. A lot of great information was gleamed but I had the most fun with high key lighting and making things look a bit "fashion-y". Skin smoothing, eye sharpening and a touch of vibrance on the lips via Aperture 3.

Click on the title of the post to get to the Flickr Set.

TL Honors Conservatory May 2011 Showcase...

2011-06-18T07:50:00.000-05:00

... these acting students are about halfway through their year long acting program at Theatre Lab. This collection is images I found most compelling during their May Showcase. given that I had to shoot them during the actual performance and did not have a lot of freedom to compose.

Click on that title of this post or go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcdiscombobulated/sets/72157626864065941/with/5844569315/

to view all 134 photos.

Big Wheel Grand Prix...

2011-05-29T15:12:00.000-05:00

While at the Lyon Park Spring Fair, I saw the local neighborhood was hosting a Big Wheel Grand Prix. Adults and kids competed while careening down North Garfield Street for racing glory.

Fun to practice panning to capture motion.

The technology behind Big Wheels had not changed much since I was a kid.

It sure looked like fun!

Click on the title of the post to get to all 70 photos on Flickr.