The Munchkin's Notebook

I went to the McKee-Besher Wildlife Management Area to photograph the annual sunflower fields.  I did this last year and found I would lose track of where I set my bag, so this year I tied a balloon to it.  The balloon happened to be a large pirate balloon (I gave it to a little kid when I was done), which got me many stares from other photographers in the area.  One person came up to me and asked what the balloon was for; one I told him it was to mark my stuff, he was like that is a great idea never thought of that.  The balloon also worked as a great piece of juxtaposition within the sunflower field.  I got several nice shots of the field, not so many with the balloon since the breeze would make it dip down to low.  However, what I would love to do; is do a portrait session in one of the fields. I think a nice earthy shoot, with big floppy hats and breezy dresses or the earth child/hippy look would be perfect out in the field. The other thing tha...

On Saturday, I went to the zoo, because why not do that on sunny afternoon; plus the National Zoo is free.  While I was there the lion cubs were out in there enclosure. I got a couple nice shots of them, but they were not being overly playful because it was hot outside.  I did see the baby panda; however, he was napping with his back to everyone so instead I got nice pictures of the panda parents.   The wolves were very active, pacing around their enclosure.  I captured a few good picture of the grey wolf through the glass without glare.  I also got a nice picture of the sloth bear through the glass, which is usually difficult because the glass is usually very dirty.   Overall, I had a nice little adventure at the zoo.  ( Zoo Gallery ) Lion Cubs Panda   Grey Wolf

July Fourth in the Capitol Yesterday I decided to actually brave crowds to capture a better representation of fireworks in the Capitol.  I traveled to Rosslyn and walked the half mile to the Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial).  Once there I walked a bit further over to the Netherlands Carillon .  The Netherlands Carillon is where many people go to capture that iconic shot of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial and Capital in line with the fireworks going off above them.   I expected it to be extremely crowded, but it actually was no worse than when I shoot from the Air Force Memorial .   People waiting for fireworks The traditional shot I picked a location that framed the monuments between two large trees instead of trying to jostle for a position directly under the carillon.  If I had a press pass, I could actually shoot from the top of the carillon.  I captured some nice shots through the trees from my location...