Color Me Rad 5k - Washington DC

This is my crew for the 2013 Color Me Rad 5k in Washington DC (actually run in Alexandria, VA).  This was my first time witnessing one of these events and found it lived up to the claims of being serious fun.  This is not a 5k for racers, but for those simply looking for fun and a smile.  I think the photos make this clear.

Spinning the Washington Monument

Spinning the Washington Monument from Craig Corl on Vimeo.

Here is the link to the full screen HD version:  https://vimeo.com/58307861

With a bit of free time on my hands this morning before the full onslaught of classes, I took the opportunity to make this little project.  The process is pretty simple.  Start by picking your subject then locate it on Google maps.  Take a screen shot, then draw a circle around your subject adjusting the size of your circle so you have clear views as much as possible.  Draw lines through the center point of the circle with intersections on the perimeter of the circle.  Your goal should be between 10 and fifteen degrees between intersection.

With your shots mapped out, start shooting.  Try to line up one of the focus markers on your camera to keep your subject in the same position for each shot.  Your distance from the subject should remain constant if you are able to stay accurately on your route.  This, coupled with maintaining a constant focal length will keep your subject at a constant size.  After each shot marked on your map, continue 7 paces around your circle and take another shot.  In my case, I ended up with 66 photos.

After your shooting is complete, import your photos into your photo processing software (Lightroom 4 in my case).  My first task was straighten each photograph.  Next I selected the photo with the tip of the monument closest to the top of the screen.  I put a sticky note on my computer screen with a small arrow and aligned the peak of the monument.  I then adjusted all the other photos so the peak of the monument was aligned with my sticky note.  Finally, I adjusted the exposure and toning on each photograph to smooth the transition between photos.

I next imported all the photographs into Final Cut Pro X and set the duration of each photograph to 3 frames.  And there you have it.

Craig 

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms 2012 Part 2

In my last post I shared a few landscape photos of the tidal basin cherry blossoms (Washington DC Cherry Blossoms 2012).  I enjoyed these photographs because I was lucky enough to be shooting in heavy fog.  Today's photos are from the same shoot, but feature some closeups rather than environmental shots.  Enjoy.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Washington DC Cherry Blossoms 2012

This year was a tough year for the cherry blossoms ringing the tidal basin in Washington DC.  With an extremely mild winter followed by an early arrival of spring, the blossoms were out well before expected. So far, these conditions are not a big deal, but when the arrival of blossoms is accompanied by high winds and rain, the blossoms were not around long.

With just a few short days to get some shots, I made two attempts.  My first attempt, shown here, was a foggy morning that provided a unique view of the tidal basin.  On my second attempt, a clear morning with a wonderful sunrise, there were so many people around the tidal basin, I could not find a parking spot and eventually gave up.

With a large portfolio of photos of the annual arrival of the cherry blossoms, I counted myself lucky to get these shots with a wonderfully foggy back drop.

I will be back soon with more of the blossoms in the fog.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Dragon Handlers at 2012 Washington DC Chinese New Year Parade

The Chinese New Year parade was recently held in Washington DC.  I arrived a bit early and found one of the Dragon teams practicing for the parade.  I should have known, but never consciously realized that the dance of the dragon is choreographed and requires dedication and practice.

Come back soon to see more from the parade.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Part 2

In my last post, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, MLK Jr. Day 2012,I shared some photography of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial taken on the holiday of his namesake.  Today I am sharing a few more photos from that shoot.

I decided to present these separately because the two groups of photographs are dramatically different and tell very different stories.  The previous set is an intense portrayal of monument and the man it represents.

These photos tell a partial story of how people interact with the memorial.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, MLK Jr. Day 2012

Today marks the first day visitors to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial can celebrate the legacy of civil rights leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. at his memorial which opened in the fall of 2011.  With the expectation of tremendous crowds, I decided to visit the memorial on Sunday.

Enjoy the photography, and take a moment to consider the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.


Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig

Scenes from Occupy DC

With the paying part of my life occupying much of my time along with all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I have yet to revisit the Occupy DC encampment.  However, I still have plenty of photos to share.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Occupy DC Black and White Photography

On the day after Halloween, I made my first visit to the Occupy DC tent city at McPherson Square in Washington DC.  I continue to visit the camp every couple of weeks to document the changes in the camp – like the next shot – my last visit found the University of the 99% was established.  I can’t tell you about enrollment or faculty.  Sorry.

I was intending to hold on to these shots for a while, then publish a series.  However, after reading the news yesterday, of the protestors building a two story wooden structure that eventually led to a conflict with the DC police and several arrests, I decided to share several of the photos.

The guys above and in the next shot were new additions upon my last visit, and had a nice new white enclosure from which they were able to talk to passersby about their economic perspective – and hand out flyers for their landscaping business.

The eclectic gathering of people that make up the Occupy DC protestors is quite interesting.  I was happy to find the Latinos were well represented.

I have a whole pocket full of photographs from McPherson Square.  I intend to continue shooting as long as they save.  Come back soon for more from Occupy DC.

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig

Plan B 3.0

Today is Thanksgiving - I  hope you all have a wonderful day and have the opportunity to spend it with your family as I am.  I chose the photograph for today because of the juxtaposition of our national day of turkey indulgence to this fellow engaged in a hunger strike to end carbon emissions in 2012 (or so his sign says).

I took this shot moments before sunrise as I was walking to the Occupy DC camp at McPherson Square.  It was the day after Halloween which accounts for the interesting lighting on the Whitehouse.  The West entrance and drive was decorated for Halloween with webs and other scary stuff along with the lighting which cast spooky shadows on the Whitehouse.

If the first shot is a Thanksgiving photograph, the next version is more aligned with the Halloween motif.  After processing in color, I decided to try another version in B/W to set a darker mood.

If you happen to be meandering around the Whitehouse today, hand this guy a turkey leg or some leftover Halloween candy.  You can also let him know that while dramatically limiting carbon emissions is a good idea, it is not likely to happen in 2012 – so have some turkey.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Lincoln Memorial – One Up, One Down

Living in Washington DC, I am often challenged with photographing and processing subjects I have seen thousands of times.  Frequently I find myself asking how can I make something new and interesting of a subject I have shot hundreds of times.  In the case of this photograph, I was wandering around DC on a foggy morning and had no intention of shooting the Lincoln Memorial.

As I was walking to another location I wanted to shoot, I looked over and saw these two men – one walking up the steps and the other coming down.  This interested me for two reasons; 1) rarely is the Lincoln Memorial so devoid of visitors, and 2) the juxtaposition of one man going up and another coming down.

I cropped the photo to this panoramic composition to further accentuate the two subjects in front of the memorial.  I am a firm believer in cropping to suit your vision – don’t be afraid to crop, and don’t feel constraints of “standard” sizes.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

Washington Monument in the Fog

It has been over a week since my last post.  My apologies.  I was working hard on finishing my eBook, Craig’s Grape Adventure – Loving Life with a Skillet and a Corkscrew.  I made the deadline, and the launch of the book exceeded my expectations.  With Christmas on the horizon, the book makes a great gift for the chefs and wine fans in your circle of friends.

With the book kicked out of the nest, I am ready to get back on my routine of photography adventures.  Today’s photo of the Washington Monument in the fog combines my attraction to minimalism with fog – two things that go hand in hand.

While mucking around DC in the fog, I also stopped by the Occupy DC camp.  I will be sharing some photos from the McPherson Square tent city later this week.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

The U.S. Air Force Memorial–Can it be Made Interesting Through Photography?

Among my friends, including many who are active duty or retired Air Force Officers, I rarely hear compliments for the U.S. Air Force Memorial located in Arlington Virginia overlooking the Pentagon.  On the contrary, I hear statements such as “too big,” “inappropriate location,” “inconsistent with other memorials,” and of course, “what a piece of post modernist crap.”

Personally, I am indifferent.  However, the one comment that draws my attention in small part is that of consistency with other military branch memorials.  Most people are familiar with the Iwo Jima Memorial, also known as the U. S. Marine Corps War Memorial.  This memorial honors the Marines who have died defending the United States since 1775. The Iwo Jima Memorial is located near Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC.

Maybe less familiar is the Navy Memorial located in Washington on Pennsylvanian Avenue NW between 7th and 9th streets.  According to the Navy Memorial website, “The United States Navy Memorial is home to the Memorial Plaza, which features Stanley Bleifeld's famous statue, The Lone Sailor. The Lone Sailor, a tribute to all personnel of the sea services, overlooks the Granite Sea, an exact replication of the world's oceans. Surrounding the Granite Sea are two fountain pools, honoring the personnel of the American Navy and the other navies of the world. The southern hemisphere of the Granite Sea is surrounded by 26 bronze bas-reliefs commemorating events, personnel, and communities of the various sea services.”

The Army is more complicated.  Apparently if the Army wanted you to know where the Army Memorial stands, they would have put it in one of their manuals.  The fact of the matter is that there is no single memorial celebrating the Army as a whole.  There are not one but two Army memorials near the White House. One depicts a winged figure of Victory and was dedicated in 1924 at 17th Street and State Place NW. The other is a gilded flaming sword erected on the Ellipse in 1936.

These monuments memorialize the exploits and soldiers of specific Army divisions: Victory honors the 1st Division, the sword the 2nd. Neither celebrates the Army as a whole, nor do any of the scores of other monuments at battlefields and Army posts across the country, which honor individual units or divisions.

Finally, we come to my proud service, The U.S. Coast Guard.  Similar to the Army, the U.S. Coast Guard does not have a single memorial celebrating the U.S. Coast Guard as a whole in the Washington DC area.  Rather, the U.S. Coast Guard is memorialized by smaller monuments, plazas, plaques and the like dispersed around the country and the world.  Included among these is a 36 x 32 relief at the Navy Memorial…thanks for the nod.  Like the Army, many of these memorials remember specific acts of heroism, historic events, or tragedies associated with a specific ship, aircraft, unit, or person.

Contrasting each of the service monuments to the U.S. Air Force memorial, those who taking the position of inconsistency may have a point.  I will leave the judgment to you.  For now, lets return to the starting point of this discussion.  If you are one of those in the camp who believe the U.S. Air Force memorial is a “post modern piece of crap,” I have included a series of photos here that will hopefully moderate your assessment.  Once again, I have to leave that to your judgment.  Stay tuned, I have a couple more to share later this week.

Have fun and go make some great photography.

Craig

Washington DC Waterfront

I am regularly amazed at the number of people, both area residents and visitors that are unaware of the DC waterfront.  In addition to the picturesque vistas such as the photograph above, the DC waterfront has a lot to offer.  Being a retired Coast Guard Officer, I am regularly drawn to the waterfront – maybe just a little bias.

Bias or not, the DC waterfront is a wonderful place.  With several marinas, a thriving live-aboard community, a fantastic seafood market, the Arena Stage theater, a metro station, shopping, walking distance to the National Mall, and easy access to the highway, the DC waterfront is convenient and an under rated area of Washington DC.

In my ideal world, I would (and may) move from my Capitol Hill row house to an condo or live-aboard barge home.  Why?  Well, I listed several of the many attractions of the waterfront.  But most of all it offers an appealing opportunity to simplify my life.  Being an empty-nester, I find that downsizing and simplifying my life a worthy goal.

If you live in the DC area or are visiting.  I highly encourage you to visit this interesting corner of Washington.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig

H Street Festival 2011 Washington DC

I started a new job this week and am behind on my normal posting schedule.  In the interim I am posting several photos from the H Street Festival 2011.  We had a great time eating our way through the festival and enjoying the never ending cast of characters.

Have fun, and go make some great photography.

Craig