Thursday, July 31, 2008


213/366 Ready for My Close-Up, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

Today was my big move day. In the span of three hours, I got everything out of Mark's house short of my stuff in the fridge and freezer. It wasn't nearly as grueling as I had expected and it feels nice to have everything together in one place.

This is my last shot in George's bathroom mirror. I'm sure my adoring readers will sorely miss these.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008


212/366 Nightlight, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

The last couple of days (just ignore Saturday) I've managed to crank out some decent stuff. It's about time I had a throwaway shot. For the first time in a long time I just sat back and watched a movie.
Tomorrow, I move!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008


211/366 Strength, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

Today is marked with distinction because on this day George and I attempted to eat 50 hot wings. We failed. It is also (kind of) the anniversary of us getting back together in DC. At the Tulane Happy Hour for new arrivals last year, we both didn't have anyone to talk to. The rest is history - offset by about a month for the happy hour being late this year.

George is not an easy person to take pictures of. His eyes are rather inset (his brain is too big?) and he's always scowling. That said, every now and then he tilts the right way or I catch him in the right light and it makes for a good photo of the man. Look at my baby! He's so ambitious!

Monday, July 28, 2008


210/366 Welding, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

This guy was welding on my way to work. I thought this was going to be another picture of a guy looking angry at me for shooting him but instead is a kinda cool construction shot.

Sunday, July 27, 2008


209/366 Surprise at the Park!, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

This was supposed to be a ten minutes from home post for the Digital Photography School forums but I got distracted by this bench. There was a lovely band of gold right behind it which I didn't think was strong enough to merit keeping the photo in color.

Aside from that, I really like how my boobs look enormous.

Saturday, July 26, 2008


208/366 Control, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

Friday, July 25, 2008


207/366 Inside Joke, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

Watch out because I really like this one.

Thursday, July 24, 2008


206/366 Work Break, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

Maria is my favorite person at work and she let me take pictures of her today. She makes a really great subject because she is always doing interesting thing with her hands (not like in this photo).

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Tuesday, July 22, 2008


204/366 Secret Door, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

I must have seen this door a dozen times before but I never noticed how cool it is. What fascinates me is this path - do people really go through this tiny door?

Monday, July 21, 2008


203/366 Screen on the Green, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

Washington, DC is one of the best cities around. It's a heck of a lot better than Antioch, CA, the town I grew up in and you can't compare apples and oranges and such, but it is every bit as entertaining as New Orleans. We can argue cultural differences and values all day on the other matrices.

Screen on the Green is a perfect example of DC being hip, exciting, and free. Every summer, the Mall people erect a giant screen and show classic films on Mondays. You have to get there three hours early to grab a reasonable spot but it's a good time. Where else can you do something free and exciting every night of the week?

Sunday, July 20, 2008


202/366 Dry Cleaning Tailoring, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

More Fringing today, but this time viewing and not volunteering. I saw Children of Medea and MANIFESTO!, two shows for which I had worked box office. Medea was intimate and intense - the performer/writer really put a lot into it. MANIFESTO! was ridiculous and bizarre, which I believe is the point of Dada, whatever that even means.

This dry cleaning joint is in operation - it's not rotting or decrepit on the inside; they've just let their sign go to pieces. Naturally, cross-processed, vignetted, and "film grained".

Saturday, July 19, 2008


201/366 Festival, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

Left to my own devices, I will almost always find a way to be out of the house doing something or other. With George gone, I had little incentive to stay inside so I agreed to work a double shift at the Fringe.

Friday, July 18, 2008


200/366 Studio Lighting, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

This is hands-down the best self-portrait I have ever taken. The lights in the Studio Theater bathroom were absolutely amazing. I guess one generally uses them to put on makeup and such and therefore has to be brightly lit but it's also the most flattering light I've seen in ages. I wan to run back there and shoot all day.

Thursday, July 17, 2008


199/366 Dumpster, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

A freak thunderstorm rained all over the city shortly after I took this picture. It was just in time for rush hour to kill traffic and make a lot of metro/walking/biking commuters very angry.

For my part, I was at the Fringe again, staffing Children of Medea.

And then, I went to see Batman, which was incredibly awesome. There's not many movies that can keep me pumped at two in the morning but this counts among them. I'm not much for the comic book movies but I'll give it up for the original.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008


198/366 Garbage Problem, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

I thought I was wearing a different skirt, which would have given this picture a different feel, and would have allowed the picture to exist in color. Alas, my bright white was exchanged for big, bold plaid and had to be muted. This is the kind of attention to detail I have mastered.

In any case, I was thrilled to discover that my remote works at such a distance.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008


197/366 Cathedral Light, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

George works for the Navy and as such, some great number of things that he does are "classified." The works in a facility that doesn't allow entry to people not in possession of a special card called a CAC. Today, however, his entire office and guests were allowed entry to go on a tour of the facilities, including some really old books and telescopes. We even got to observe the Moon and Jupiter through a big old fancy telescope.

Monday, July 14, 2008


196/366 Strands, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

Sometimes your camera does some weird things with the auto-focus but you actually like it! Ideally, I wouldn't be so pimply for this photo but otherwise, I think it's slightly more interesting than the picture I intended.

Sunday, July 13, 2008


195/366 Fringe Festival, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

This is my second year volunteering for the Capital Fringe Festival, a blow-out theatre festival with about a million shows at 10+ venues across the city. Volunteer gigs are always box office and that means taking and selling tickets and dealing with all manner of irritated people. But for my good works I get a free ticket to a show. George and I saw "On the Sly," an adaptation of Taming of the Shrew. It wasn't half-bad and the actors were actually pretty good.

Saturday, July 12, 2008


194/366 Oh, Tap., originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

I never call Bodhi by his real name (which is Bodhi). Whenever possible, I like to re-name pets. I'm not sure exactly why but it's something I do all the time. This is Tap because his little tiny nails make him go tap-tap-tap all over the hardwood floors.

He, like George, is not a good photographic subject but he's warming up to the camera.

Friday, July 11, 2008


193/366 Objects in the Sky, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

Now I don't own a polarizing filter. I can't put any filter on my camera, actually. This is the result of simple high-contrast in the sky itself and use of a red filter. Taken on F Street as I was headed into work this morning.

Thursday, July 10, 2008


192/366 George by a Fence, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

I promised George I would say something nice about him if he let me take his picture again. Only none of these came out as well as the last one so I'm not inspired to write a little love note. Suffice to say that I think George is really, really cool and I wouldn't rather spend my time with anyone else.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008


191/366 Meetings, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

Today I spent about three hours reading in a Starbucks. With two appointments separated by 3 hours and a 15 minute walk between there and work, I figured I'd just get stuff done "out of the office." It wasn't as bad as it might have been.

I definitely feel the drag now - trying to come up with a cool idea every single day for a photo. Generally I try to find something that is acceptable, without even considering that it might be brilliant.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008


190/366 Inquisition, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

Monday, July 7, 2008


188/366 The Watcher, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

This cool thunderhead was just looming over Arlington. I dimmed it down a bit to give it more of an ominous look. And the bridge railings aren't parallel with the horizon and that kills me.

Sunday, July 6, 2008


188/366 Spin Art, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

About a year ago, I took a Spin Art kit I got at a thrift store for $1.50 to George's house but he didn't have D batteries and it was retired to storage until today, when we busted the thing out and made some "art." This was by far my coolest contribution.

Saturday, July 5, 2008


187/366 Bhutan, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall is by far the best outdoor (free) festival in DC. Each year, three regions or themes are selected and the Mall explodes with cultural learning, food, and music. This year, NASA, Texas, and Bhutan were featured.

This man was part of the Bhutan presentation and he was writing everyone's name in the ... language of Bhutan, which I have yet to google even though I've now referenced it twice.

4th of July, Friday, July 4, 2008


186/366 Old Town Alley, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

Thursday, July 3, 2008


185/366 Foyer, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

I want to blame my self-portrait failings on my camera. I really do.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008


184/366 Baby Spiders, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

Baby spiders on my beefsteak tomato plant.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008


183/366 Tulane, originally uploaded by AquaAmber.

Today is kind of the half-way point (we'll say midnight was) of this 366 project. I would have liked to have had a better picture for it but I did some shopping during the daylight hours available to me and I sort of forgot. It's a good time for me to do a bit of pondering my photography, though.

On this 183rd day of my 366 Project, I created a Portfolio of my ten favorite pictures I've taken so far. In some ways I am very proud and in others I feel I'm miserably far off from my goal of being a decent photographer. I worry that I'm too reliant on Photoshop tweaks and gimmicks. And certainly I'm still "finding" photos and not "creating" them. At times I feel I have no creativity at all and am merely just wandering around shooting things I find interesting.

On the other hand, I find more and more that I see the whole world with the "photographer's eye". Angles, colors, contrast, light - everything appeals to me in a slightly different way than it did before because I have my camera on me 95% of the time. I'm always on the lookout for the next photo, even if many of them end up being hasty throw-togethers at George's house.

I hope the next half of the year is as productive and fulfilling and that my pictures are even more pleasing. If I could cut my "crap" picture ratio in half, that would be fantastic. If I could take just one "fantastic" picture, that would be incredible.

Best of luck to all the other 366-ers out there. I hope you've been enjoying this as much as I have.