Jazmin
[Image from my 01/28/12 "Open Studio" shoot.]
Model: Jazmin
Makeup: LaTonya Winters
Stylist: Roxy 5
Location: Studio B Old Town Alexandria, Va
Cram the Cube
[The Nissan Cube]
Shawcross
02/03/12 Author William Shawcross discusses his new book “Justice and the Enemy: Nuremburg, 09/11 and the Trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed” at the American Enterprise Institute on Wednesday evening. Shawcross is a former chairman of Article 19, a London-based charity and pressure group that defends the rights of free expression enshrined in Article 19 of the Declaration of Human Rights; a former board member of the International Crisis Group; and a former member of the High Commissioner for Refugees’ Informal Advisory Group from 1995-2000. His father, Hartley Shawcross, was Britain’s lead prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials.
DC Groundhog Day
02/02/12 DC Councilman Jack Evans reads a proclamation declaring February 2nd the first ever “DC Groundhog Day” on Dupont Circle Thursday morning. Somehow the dead, stuffed “Potomac Phil” predicted 6 more weeks of winter and 9 more months of gridlock in Congress.
Have You Tried The Duck?
01/31/12 I sampled the new menu at Napoleon Bistro in Adams Morgan on Tuesday night with a great group of friends – great conversation, wine and delicious food. Thanks Adra!
High Noon At McPherson Square
01/30/12 As the noon no-camping deadline from US Park Police passed, the Occupy DC protestors put a giant “tent of dreams” over the equestrian statue of General McPherson in the center of McPherson Square as they chanted “Let us sleep so we can dream!”
Lady In Red
01/28/12
Model: Sarah
Designer: Liz St. John
Makeup: LaTonya Winters
Location: Studio B in Old Town Alexandria, VA
Year Of The Dragon
01/29/12 The Year Of The Dragon celebration in DC’s Chinatown on Sunday afternoon.
Drew
01/25/12 Actress Drew Barrymore arrives at the AMC Loews in Georgetown Wednesday night for the D.C. premiere of her new movie BIG MIRACLE.
Not Just Desserts
01/23/12 A dish of pastries at Society Fair – a new bakery, market, cafe, wine bar and butcher in Old Town Alexandria.
Occupy K Street
01/19/12 Chanting “How does it feel?” members of Occupy DC ambush Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and surround her taxi as she leaves the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting at the Capital Hilton on Thursday afternoon.
They blocked traffic in the middle of 16th and K intersection before DC police shoved them out of the way.
[I call this one: "Elderly-looking-cop-shoves-guy-in-pajama-bottoms-while-dude-with-solar-backpack-shoots-some-vid."]
Snarked Street: Sarah in Georgetown
01/09/12 Look who I ran into on N Street in Georgetown last week! The subject of my 1st street fashion shoot of 2012 is Sarah Hillware . . .
Q. Who are you wearing?
A. I’m wearing white jean leggings by Express, which go very well with boots in the winter and sandals in the summer time. I try to buy items that are versatile, to avoid changing my wardrobe every season. My blouse and scarf are both from vintage boutiques in DC. In my opinion, the brand doesn’t matter as much as how you put clothes together to create your personal style. If I see a brand name item that suits my style, I’ll buy it, but I rarely follow “trends.” I like to look different and unique, so I shop at outlets such as Filene’s Basement and small boutiques around the city. I’m also the type of person who can relate to people from various backgrounds, but also am very firm in who I am and I think my fashion sense reflects that.
Q. Does DC have a particular sense of street style?
A. In Washington, DC, there are different styles depending on where you go. They range from retro to Bohemian to prep to grunge to classic. I find that people in DC tend to cross style borders and mix it up. You’ll see crazy sunglasses with a beret and an oversized sweater in one neighborhood and a trench coat with skinny jeans in the next. DC is all about diversity, culture and the arts. I think DC’s street style overall can be described as young, fresh and hip.
Q. Are there any style trends you notice all the time?
A. I notice versatility. People who live in DC are multitaskers. We are advocates for causes, we are politically-savvy, we are cultured, and accomplished. Therefore, we need an outfit that can be worn in the office and at happy hour. I see women in fancy blouses or chic work dresses and men in pastel-colored shirts.
Q. Which DC neighborhood is most fashionable?
A. Hmm… I’d have to say it’s a tie between Georgetown and the up and coming H Street neighborhood. In Georgetown, there are so many great boutiques, restaurants and shops. There is such a mix of old and new. When I walk down the streets of Georgetown, I see a nice variety of styles, with international and local flare. Georgetown was also chosen to be the location for last year’s Fashion Night Out. However, H Street is very vibrant, new and transient. The style is exciting and fun and very out there. I like H Street because its residents are open-minded and outgoing. They wear bright colors, ripped jeans, and daring shoes. Both neighborhoods are great places to go out and each has something special to offer.
Sarah Hillware is a student at The George Washington University, studying global public health in the Elliott School of International Affairs. She recently began hosting an online radio show entitled “The Sarah Hillware Show,” which airs every Wednesday at 8 pm online and showcases innovative community projects, small and medium-sized local NGOs and various awareness efforts. Sarah’s life revolves around service and advocacy. She serves on the national advisory board for MEDLIFE, is assisting in research at her university related to maternal health, and champions various local and global causes related to health, youth and empowerment. Recently, Sarah Hillware won the title of America’s Miss District of Columbia 2012 and plans on bringing awareness to her platform, which is “Knowledge Is Power: Empowering People To Be Their Own Best Health Advocates.”
For updates, follow her on Twitter: @AmericasMissDC or visit her blog: http://sarahformissdc.blogspot.com/.
The Hamilton Ribbon Cutting
01/09/11 DC Mayor Vince Gray (with the big scissors) at the official ribbon cutting ceremony for The Hamilton on Monday morning.
No Pants Metro 2012
01/08/12 It kind of sneaks up on us every year (click for my photos from 2010 and 2011) but Sunday afternoon it was that time again. Time for the no-pantsers to drop trow and ride the Metro. The twist this year was Metro doing track repairs all day so the panticapped were obliged to wait on platforms for 15 or 20 minutes. The usual experience of bystanders barely being able to say “What the hell is going on?” before the pantsless vanished was changed to a more close examination by citizenry not in on the joke.
Washingtonscape: Library of Congress Detail
01/03/12 One of the sculpted heads which adorn the Library of Congress on Capitol Hill.
SnarkInfested Xmas Party!
12/20/11 The Snarkinfested Christmas Happy Hour was held at Acre 121 on Monday night and it was a doozy! Fans of the blog downed a blue specialty drink called the Snark which had a gummy shark floating on the surface. The highlight of the evening was when the lovely and talented Ms. Kristin Johnson was crowned Miss SnarkInfested in a thrilling ceremony.
Game Face On
12/16/11 Rehearsal for “Night Before Christmas” fashion show in Silver Spring, MD on Friday night.
Hitchens
12/16/11 The great essayist and contrarian Christopher Hitchens died last night after a long battle with esophagel cancer.
He was a literate and passionate writer whom I enjoyed reading because he was quick to drop his line of argument and go straight for the ad hominem attack. He made a career out of going for the personal attack, actually.
I also think of him as being a good host. I made the above portrait of him in June 2004. He was being interviewed by a TV crew when I showed up at his huge apartment in The Wyoming that morning. I checked out his bookcases while he finished up. I remember PG Woodhouse and many books on photography and film criticism. He came over to greet me wearing socks and we immediately started talking as though we’d known each other for years.
I’d taken his picture before. Back in 1999, I was photographing red carpet arrivals for the premiere of the anti-smoking movie The Insider. It was held at DC’s art-deco movie palace, The Uptown and a lot of big wigs had been invited. Everyone was waiting around for one of the movie’s stars, Al Pacino to show up when I saw Hitchens walk into the movie house with a cigarette in his mouth. A couple minutes later, he was roughly escorted out with a goon at each elbow. It was like watching a scene from a silent movie. I told him how funny I thought it had been for him to tweak the crowd by walking into the theater smoking. He laughed but said he’d no recollection of it.
We sat down and had a whiskey. I took pictures as we chatted. His wife came in at one point and he introduced me. We talked about his forthcoming book on Jefferson and his tiff with Sidney Blumenthal and we talked about movies. We talked about a book called The Cruel Sea which I’d read because he mentioned it in one of his columns as being the best novel about the Battle of the North Atlantic. It’s 11 am and I can’t quite tell if he’s already blotto because he’s amazingly coherent on every topic we touch on. But then he lights a match and holds it in front of my face. There’s a longish pause. I don’t have a cigarette in my mouth to light. Makes me laugh. He offers me a smoke and I take it – you can see it in the ashtray above. “How did I know you smoked” he laughs. And then we drank some more.
New Work
12/14/11 Artist Kevin Paulsen installs his mural in the “speakeasy” room Monday afternoon at The Hamilton – a huge new restaurant and music venue from the Clyde’s group which is set to open next month at 14th and F Streets.
