Georgetown (less cynical)

Georgetown Street Scene, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 35-70mm f2.8 AF-D at 70mm

iso 400, f5.6, 1/500 sec.

 

Shot through open passenger window while stopped in traffic.

 

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Walking Tour Itinerary and Plan - LHSA Annual Meeting - Georgetown, Washington DC, Thursday October 15, 2015

On Thursday, October 15, 2015, I will lead a walking tour as part of the program for the International Leica Society (LHSA)'s annual meeting. This year, the meeting will be held in Washington, DC. My tour will be a nice walk through Georgetown, and will last from 8:30AM to noon.

 

Here's the itinerary (total 2.8 miles walking), with likely photographic interests listed below each location:

 

8:30 AM: I will meet the group in the Marriott Lobby; we need to leave promptly at 8:30AM to catch an 8:45AM train at Crystal City Metro Station (8 minutes transport time). Fare is $3.20 (cash/fare card). For those who can, it will be very helpful if you can purchase Metro fare cards before the tour. A total of $6.40 per person should cover the Metro ride both ways.

9:00-9:20 AM: Begin walk from Rosslyn Metro Station across Key Bridge to Georgetown.

- nice views of the Potomac River, Roosevelt Island, Georgetown Waterfront from above

9:20-9:50 AM: Georgetown University (37th Ave NW from Prospect St North to O St NW).

- campus architecture, students

9:50-10:15 AM: Walk East on O St NW to Wisconsin Ave NW

- Cobblestone street, neighborhood architecture

10:15-10:45 AM: Walk South on Wisconsin Ave NW to Georgetown Waterfront

- people, street scenes, cross C&O canal

10:45-11:15 AM: Walk along Waterfront, up 33rd St NW to M St

- Potomac River, park

11:15-11:45 AM: Walk M St NW back to Key Bridge, back across bridge to Rosslyn Metro Station. Trains returning to Crystal City leave at 11:35AM and 11:47 AM (8 mins. transport time). Fare is $3.20 (cash/fare card).

- Street scenes

 

Here's a map of the walking portion of the tour:

 

 

The red dot in the image above is Rosslyn Station.

 

Here are some teaser images from my practice walk, to give you some ideas of what you may see on the tour:

 

Key Bridge:

 

Wisconsin Avenue:

 

 

Georgetown Waterfront:

 

 

Looking forward to seeing everyone in Washington, DC!

 

Reed

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The Tombs

The Tombs, by Reed A. George

Nikon FM2, Nikkor AIS 35mm f1.4 Lens

Agfa APX400 Film

 

Just a quick shot I made while having lunch with my friend, Charlie, at the Georgetown restaurant called "The Tombs." You can see the rowing crew motif of the restaurant by noticing the oars on the left.

 

For this shot, I set my Nikkor 35mm f1.4 manual focus lens to f1.4 and prefocused to the top of a small set of stairs. Even though I have to shoot the Agfa film at iso 200 instead of the indicated speed of 400, there was enough light in just this one spot.

 

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More Street Portraits With the Mamiya Universal Press (MUP)

Yesterday I wrote about how using the MUP rarely goes unnoticed by the people I'm photographing. Here are a few more examples of street portraits, these all taken on a morning walk in Georgetown, Washington, DC.

 

Morning Smoke, by Reed A. George

Mamiya Universal Press Camera, Mamiya Sekor 100mm f3.5 Lens

Kodak TMax 400 Film

 

This gentleman was enjoying a morning cigaretter, out in front of the tobacconist shop. I felt that the combination of elements - him smoking, the cigar store Indian, and the sign went together very well.

 

Waiter, by Reed A. George

Mamiya Universal Press Camera, Mamiya Sekor 100mm f3.5 Lens

Kodak TMax 400 Film

 

And this young waiter was more confused than concerned when I asked if I could shoot his picture. He didn't understand why I'd want to do that. It's tough to explain, I'll admit. I love the contrast in this image, and how the doorframe provides a nice dark background for his face.

 

Watering, by Reed A. George

Mamiya Universal Press Camera, Mamiya Sekor 100mm f3.5 Lens

Kodak TMax 400 Film

 

And this young lady was quite comfortable with me photographing her with probably the biggest camera she's ever seen. One thing I believe is that the MUP immediately identifies you as a camera enthusiast (who else would carry such gear around?). Because of that, and because you can't even try to hide it, people seem to worry less about you sneaking pictures of them for some other (nefarious) purpose.

 

A different style of street photography for sure, but I am enjoying exploring it.

 

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I Like Tea - and Found a Nice New Place to Drink It

I've been on a bit of a tea kick lately. There's so much variety in tea - green, black, fermented (Puerh), and from so many interesting locations. And, I'll admit, I like the more subtle caffeine boost, as compared to coffee (which I still love, too).

 

I also believe that social networking is not the only thing killing real socialization, at least not directly. Where I live (Northern Virginia), now that book, camera, and music stores are a thing of the past, there is a dearth of places for people to meet in person, especially any not associated with drinking alcohol. Well, I found such a place. It's called Ching Ching Cha, and it's located in the Georgetown section of Washington, DC.

 

(Click Here) to go to Ching Ching Cha's website.

 

My wife is from Japan, where public places to meet and have a hot beverage with friends are not rare at all. So, I didn't have a hard time convincing her to go have tea with me. I brought along one of my favorite cameras from the "Skeletons From The Closet" series of last year, the Minolta Autocord medium format TLR. Here are a few images I made there.

 

 

Ching Ching Cha Tea House, by Reed A. George

Minolta Automat, Kodak Porta 400 Film

 

For all but the second image, I used my Rolleinar 1 closeup lenses, which mount to the front of the Autocord lenses perfectly, as the Minolta shares the bayonet filter mount with Rollei Bay 1 cameras. The Rolleinars significantly reduce depth of field, which I must admit was a challenge for me. I didn't exactly nail the focus on the shots of my wife. But, it's pretty close. The big medium format negative is pretty forgiving.

 

I'm glad to know about Ching Ching Cha, and will certainly be a repeat customer.

 

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Self Portrait, In the Shadow

Me, by Reed A. George

Leica CL, Minolta Rokkor 40mm f2 Lens, Kodak Tmax 400 Film

 

There's one side of the camera lens that I distinctly prefer to be on - behind it. However, I did include myself in this image.

 

I loved the crazy shadow shape on the deck of this housing unit overlooking the Potomac River at Georgetown University. I can't decide if it looks like I'm ascending to that shape, or being oppressively threatened by it. It's graphic; you have to give me that.

 

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