Washington Portrait: Marion Barry
When Madame Tussauds’ Washington D.C. opened in October of 2007, part of the opening night gala bash was the unveiling of a wax statue voted for inclusion into the museum by the residents of DC. They voted for former Mayor-For-Life Marion Barry who was as happy as a kid in a candy store with his doppelganger. [This was my submission to JPG magazine's "Kiss" thematic challenge.]
Bars/Restaurants Food/Drink Photography
09/29/09 Last Monday, I was hired by a new restaurant in DC called Black Finn (above) to take some interior photos of the place. I am fascinated by how successful bars and restaurants run and I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of food photography so I thought I’d do a blog entry with some of my favorite pix on the topic.
Food shoot at Citronelle in DC for an ad which ran in Gourmet magazine.
Cafe Milano in Georgetown.
Crawdads and Abita beer at Frankie and Johnny’s in New Orleans.
Comedian Steven Colbert at K Street Lounge following the White House Correspondent’s Dinner.
Marcel’s in DC
Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D IL) speaks to the Society of Irish Women Dinner.
I took this image for a book (coming out next year) on cooking and making mixed drinks with Sherry.
Senator Tom Harkin (D Iowa), Irish tenor John McDermott and Former VT Gov. Dean sing the night away at J.J. Foley’s bar in South Boston on the night before the opening of the Democratic National Convention in 2004. [I like the blissful expression on the drowsing man at the bar behind them.]
Old Europe Restaurant to illustrate a story on who makes the best Brats in DC.
Chef Alex Ziebold of CityZen restaurant in DC’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
Shorty’s BBQ in Miami Beach
The famous four sisters: Lieu Lai, Ly Lai, Loana Lai and Le Lai of 4 Sisters restaurant in the Eden shopping center in Falls Church, VA
“Fresa” Martini (Belvedere vodka, pureed strawberries and Moet champagne) at the rooftop bar of Tabaq on U Street in DC.
Open Studio Re-Cap
09/27/09 I had a very productive Open Studio shoot yesterday. I’ll post more images shortly but here is one of my favorites.
Celebrity Chef Night
09/24/09 WUSA9 anchor Andrea Roane serves hors d’oeuvres on Celebrity Chef Night Wednesday at Teatro Goldoni to benefit the National Brain Tumor Society.
Z Burger Kate
09/22/09 Kate Michael doing a promotion at the Z Burger at Tenley Circle in DC. Anyone mentioning her blog “K Street Kate” got a free burger and shake.
Lasorda On The Wall
09/22/09 The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery installed a portrait of Tommy Lasorda, Hall of Fame manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, today. Painted by artist Everett Raymond Kinstler, the life-sized portrait measures 60 by 50 inches and was commissioned to commemorate Lasorda’s legacy as part of the Dodgers’ organization. Sept. 22 is Lasorda’s 82nd birthday and the first night of a three-game series between the Dodgers and the Washington Nationals in Washington, D.C.
High Dynamic Range in Woodstock
[HDR image - a composite of 10 photos - of a waterfall in the town of Woodstock, NY]
09/21/09 I attended a workshop on producing High Dynamic Range images at the Center for Photography at Woodstock over the weekend and I learned a lot. HDR is a digital technique that uses multiple RAW images (sometimes as many as 15 or 16 photos) of varying exposures and crunches them into a huge (32-bit) perfectly exposed image with detail in both shadows and highlights. It’s sometimes called “the Zone System on steroids.” The camera needs to sit on a tripod due to the long exposures and the need for the photos to match each other so the most common application for HDR is landscape photography. Not always though. My instructor, Dan Burkholder, produced an amazing book on the destruction caused by Katrina using HDR to document the wrecked interiors of buildings. He calls HDR “the most exciting development in photography since the zoom lens.”
Woodstock is just across the Hudson river from my family’s farm. I’ve been there a bunch of times over the years and it never changes. It’s become a Mecca for the tie dye crowd despite the fact that the actual concert which took the town’s name happened many miles away. I can remember seeing hippies bathing in the stream above during my first visit to the town as a young boy.
Behind the Scenes at Va Gov’s Debate
09/17/09 Virginia’s gubernatorial candidates Bob McDonnell (R) and Creigh Deeds (D) squared off in a much anticipated debate Thursday morning sponsored by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce and held at the Capital One Complex in Tysons Corner, Va. Here are some behind-the-scenes photos.
The moderator David Gregory, host of Meet the Press, gets a pre-debate briefing.
Bob McDonnell looks over the stage beforehand. When staff informs him that the candidates will come in front of the podiums to shake hands at the start of the debate, McDonnell walks over and rehearses shaking hands with no one.
Creigh Deeds tries out the podium before the start of the debate.
Robert Demeria [Manager, Gvt Affairs Fairfax Co. Chamber of Commerce - sponsor of the debate] explains the ground rules.
Gregory and McDonnell greet each other backstage. The organizers and the campaign staff were careful the candidates not see or talk to each other before the start of the debate. They were sequestered in rooms away from each other and each viewed the stage while the other was not there.
Creigh Deeds waits to be introduced backstage.
The debate begins.
Washington Portrait: Andrea Rodgers
DC Socialite Andrea Rodgers hosts the Capital City Ball Kick off Party to benefit Innocents at Risk at The Georgetown Club.
’09 Look Book Launch
09/16/09 Fashionistas like my friend Malinda (photo above) came out Wednesday night for the DC-based charity Fashion Fights Poverty’s ’09 Look Book launch party at L2 in Georgetown. FFP’s big event is a huge fashion show which takes place next Friday at the Mayflower Hotel.
BBQ at Walter Reed
09/16/09 Wednesday afternoon I took pix at an end of summer BBQ at Mologne House on the grounds of Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital sponsored by the National Pork Board.
This was a great event. America’s pork producers doing lunch for wounded soldiers, their families and staff. The volunteers from the National Pork Board grilled and grilled until they ran out of buns and then kept on grilling and serving wounded vets and medical personnel until they completely ran out of food. Before they started, I heard that they had enough to serve 2000 people!
Celebrity Chef Mark Salter of The Inn at Perry’s Cabin enjoys The Other White Meat as much as the next guy.
Checking the meat’s temperature.
The ladies are from the Washington Capitals’ dance team.
The Hogettes.
Lunch with President Washington.
Catch Up
09/14/09 How did I let a week go without photoblogging? Things pick up in DC as August ends. Congress gets back in town. School starts:
[09/09/09 Last minute primping before 1st day of pre-school for my beautiful niece Ella Rose.]
On Wednesday I was hired to shoot the opening of a new place on I Street called Black Finn:
[09/09/09 My brother Tim clowning with our friend KJ at the "First Look VIP Party" at Black Finn American Saloon 1620 I Street.]
[Victoria and Pamela bookend Jim Kimsey]
I covered a fashion event on Thursday night that involved a number of my friends. 3 teams competed in a fashion challenge at Neiman’s Chevy Chase.
[Model: Anna C.]
[Project Beltway's Rachel Cothran was one of the judges.]
[My friend Jade snaps a pic.]
[The winning team celebrates - a $1000 check went to the team representing Pediatric AIDS charity.]
Also on Thursday night, I made it down to Gin and Tonic for their 1st Birthday party . . .
So I’m all caught up now. Whew!
Washington Irving’s Sunnyside
09/07/09 Labor Day Weekend ended on a high note. I took (along with my sister Kelly and our friend Arnon) a roundabout way home from the farm, stopping to visit Sunnyside – the home of author Washington Irving – and then crossing the Tappan Zee Bridge and into New Jersey for a great dinner at a Portuguese restaurant in Newark, NJ. Who knew that Newark had an enclave of Portuguese and Brazilians? Not me.
[Sunnyside]
This was once the most famous house in America. After a lifetime of travel, author Washington Irving made his home at Tarrytown on the Hudson in 1835. Many luminaries visited him here – including 2 Presidents, Charles Dickens, Walt Whitman, etc. Though he is best remembered for 2 of his short stories – The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle – Irving wrote over 40 books and in many ways is still considered the Father of American literature.
[Somebody left some change by the bust.]
[Front gate. Sunnyside was at the forefront of romantic landscape architecture - a sort of a planned looking wildness to stand in contrast to the formal topiary and rigid grids of English and French gardens. The most important example of this style is Central Park in New York City, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted who got the job after a recommendation by Washington Irving.]
Georgia
09/06/09 Yesterday afternoon Georgia came by Ryan Farm for a shoot. We’ve been out of touch for a bit so it was great to see her and we took some cool images at various spots on the property. We shot until it got dark and the batteries in my flash and my portable strobe died.
Full Moon & Clouds
09/05/09 I drove from DC to my family’s farm in the Hudson Valley last night. I got a late start leaving and didn’t arrive until after 2 a.m. This is what I saw in the sky when I got out of the car.
Next Open Studio: Saturday 09/26/09
09/03/09 My next Open Studio shoot will be held on the last Saturday in September: 09/26/09.
I’ll be in studio all day taking fashion/beauty images. Professional make-up artist is provided and models can bring unlimited wardrobe changes. These shoots are for anyone needing images for their portfolio/comp cards but also if you just need an elegant headshot for work or your webpage, etc.
Contact me at hillpix@yahoo.com if you are interested.
Traficant Release Party
09/02/09 Bartender Jack Winston (far left) and revelers who wished to remain anonymous attend a party at the Axis Bar & Grill on U Street in D.C. Wednesday night to celebrate the release of former Rep. Jim Traficant (D Ohio) from 7 years in prison.
From the invitation. . .
You’re invited:
The Beam Me Up Committee sponsors a “Free at Last, Free at Last” party to celebrate former Rep. James Traficant’s (D-Ohio) release from the slammer, after several long, long, long years of incarceration. Hey, we’ve missed him!
Traficant is scheduled to be sprung from a Minnesota federal prison sometime on Wednesday.
The ever-flamboyant lawmaker was expelled from the House of Representatives in 2002, by a vote of 420-1. The lone ‘nay’ vote was cast by former Rep. Gary ‘Profile in Courage’ Condit (D-Calif.).
All men attendees should wear thin ties in lieu of toupees and Traficant’s trademark denim suits (which are just too hot too damn hot to wear in the summer). All women attendees should wear cowboy boots, cause he was always kinda partial to those.
All attendees will be forced to work on their boss’s farm or houseboat for free at a future date. No-shows will be kicked in-the-crotch.
The fun aka “Special Orders” starts at 7pm
Axis Bar, 1340 U Street NW
Health Care Town Hall
09/01/09 Faces in the crowd at Rep. Steny Hoyer’s (D MD) town hall meeting on health care reform for residents of the 5th Congressional District at North Point High School in Waldorf, MD. Many came spoiling for a fight.
