The Munchkin's Notebook

Today I went to the National Mall for the Annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival . This year the festival highlighted China and Kenya.  I focused on the China portion of the festival.   The first dance I saw was actually of a man dressed as a woman doing the traditional lantern dance; later in the program, he performed the male version of the dance with a female partner.  The man is one of the foremost traditional dancers in China.  Along with the lantern dance, performers also did dances that told the stories of flowers and trees.   I also was lucky enough to see the end of the lion cart performance.  The lion cart performance is dancing lion puppets controlled by a troop of 8 to 10 people.  It was fun to watch, once I squeezed myself into the crowd. The Lions in the Lion Cart Since these performances were held in outdoor tents, it was a slightly difficult to meter through the camera for some photos.  I mostly used either a 400 ISO...

Today I went out to a few parks around the Arlington, Virginia to see what they were like and if they would be suitable as photo shoot location and took a couple test shots.  I stopped by the Golf Branch Nature Center, and Bon Air Park. Both are lovely locations.  Golf Branch has some nice bridges, and an old log cabin that would work for some rustic photos.  In addition, a nice stream runs through the park that could work for some creative work.  The location is where I would love to redo the ranger shots I did back in April.   Bon Air Park has a beautiful rose garden with trellises. Here I could see doing some elegant princess shots or romantic photos in the sunset or sunrise.  It would also be a perfect location for engagement and wedding photos.  Now that I found some nice locations, I must find some models and refine the photo shoot ideas in my head.  At Bon Air Park At Golf Branch