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UPDATE – Early Morning Cherry Blossom Photowalk 2010

***Important Update***

Due to the faster than expected blooming period and the response from members to the positive, we are moving up our walk one week. The new date is April 3rd. All other information stays the same. I deeply apologize to those that cannot make this new date but we may not have any blooms to shoot if we stay with our original date.

Time to prove how much you love photography.

Last year local photog Shawn Duffy organized this walk and it turned out to be a great success. This year he’s allowing Photowalk DC to organize it. For some examples of the kind of shots available you can view last year’s event at Shawn’s Early Morning Cherry Blossom Photowalk/ Flickr group and my event wrap-up post.

PhotoWalk Details

Date:	Saturday, April 3, 2010
Time:	5:30am – 9:30am
Location:	1526 Maine Ave, Washington DC

We’ll meet up at 5:30 am in the parking lot of the Tidal Basin Boat House. From there we can find our spots, set up our tripods, share a cup of coffee and some conversation while waiting for sunrise (which happens at 6:25).

From our experience last year the crowds will start appearing around 7:00. After the early morning sun fades we can then break up in smaller groups and take a walk around the Tidal Basin to shoot different perspectives of the cherry trees.

Register

You can register on the Facebook event page or leave a comment here.

Bloom Dates

Bloom Watch released the following information AFTER we set our date.

Average Peak Bloom Date: April 4
2010 Peak Bloom Date Forecast: April 3 through April 8
2010 Blooming Period: March 31 through April 11

We’ve decided to keep our date instead of moving it up one week so that we do not conflict with Easter Sunday.   There should be plenty of blooms left on the branches for our outing.  Who knows, with our crazy weather this year we may see another crazy cold front which may delay the blooms for us.

If you would like to join in a group the previous weekend at the start of peak blooms, the Washington Photography Meetup Group is hosting the Photowalk: Cherry Blossoms @ night on April 3rd.

I’m looking forward to seeing shots from both events.

Tags: cherry blossom, Jefferson Memorial, photowalk, photowalk dc, Potomac River, tidal basin, washington dc

Wrapup – Photowalk DC at National Archives and Chinatown

Another great time was had by members of Photowalk DC last Sunday in DC.  Thanks to all the great photographers that came out.

Here’s some shots from the day that were added to our Flickr group:

And finally I leave you with this shot of me doing what’s necessary to get the shot (If anyone asks me I’ll swear that wall was at least 20 feet tall)

Tags: Chinatown, Chinese New Year Parade, National Archives, photowalk, photowalk dc, washington dc

Photowalk DC – National Archives and Chinese New Year Parade

Announcing our first Photowalk DC event for 2010

Event: Photowalk at the National Archives and the Chinese New Year Parade, Sunday Feburary 21, 2010 12:00 – 5:00

Part One – National Archives (Noon to ~1:30)

February 24th marks the last day that photography will be allowed in the National Archives. This photowalk is a chance for us to take advantage of the time left.  We’ll group up at noon on the steps of the National Archives (700 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest) and spend the next hour or so inside.  The Archives are easily accessible by Metro using the Archives – Navy Memorial – Penn Quarter stop on the Green Line.

Please come with a good attitude, some reverence for the documents we’ll be seeing, and a fast lens. I usually like to visit the locations of our photowalks beforehand but the weather lately has not allowed me to so my intel and times may be off some.  From the images I’ve seen inside the Archives there are places with very low light.  While photography is allowed until the 24th, flash is never allowed inside so please be sure to disable yours. I’d recommend a fast lens if you have it.  I will have an extra Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II I can loan to someone.

While public photography, or the lack thereof,  is a hot button issue for some please leave your opinions at the door on this one (we can all blog our opinions about it later).  There are good arguments on both sides concerning the National Archives decision.  I’d rather we spend our effort on this walk having a good time, getting some great photographs and dodge any drama.  Please remember the staff we’ll encounter at the Archives were probably not involved in the decision and are just following their instructions.

Part Two – The Hike (1:30 – 2:00)

After our visit to the Archives we’ll head North to Chinatown.  There are two options and we can make our decision during the walk based on weather conditions.  First we can walk, its a short 5 block route up 7th Street.  Metro is the second option taking the Archives – Navy Memorial – Penn Quarter station one stop up the Green Line to Gallery Place – Chinatown stop.

Part Three – Chinese New Years Parade, The Year of the Tiger (2:00 – 5:00)

The Chinese New Year festival is hosted by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association which is comprised of 30 Chinese-American organizations throughout the Greater Washington, DC area. This celebration is a symbolic of spring and it is tradition to wear red to ward off evil spirits.

The festival takes place in the heart of DC’s Chinatown and it includes an exciting parade, the Chinese Lion and Dragon Dances, as well as a five-story high firecracker that will be ignited at 3:45 p.m. According to the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce’s website, more than 4,000 red packets with key chain or lucky money will be given away during the parade.

The parade runs down H Street between 6th and 8th Street.

Part Four – The Wrap-up (5:00 – ?)

Those of us that want to stick around and share a drink or dinner we’ll find someplace nearby.  Expect good conversation and plenty of chimping.  There are plenty of restaurants in the area to choose from.

RSVP

Photowalk DC is open to all level of photographers, from point and shooters to professionals.  We enjoy a great group of regulars at each event and welcome all new comers.  Please consider joining our group on Facebook.

To register for this event you can leave a comment here or respond via our event page on Facebook.

Route Map

View Photowalk DC Feb 2010 Event in a larger map

Tags: Chinatown, Chinese New Year Parade, National Archives, photowalk, photowalk dc, washington dc

Photowalk Announcement: Arlington National Cemetery, Sept 19

Event – Photowalk DC #6

Location – Arlington National Cemetery.  Group up at the Visitor’s Center.

When – Saturday, September 19th, 2009 from 8:45am – 12:00pm

Lets gather at the Visitor’s Center starting at 8:45am.  At 9:00 we’ll move toward the Tomb of the Unknowns to view the changing of the guard at their 9:30 ceremony.  Until Sep 30th the changing of the guard occurs every 30  minutes so if we miss 9:30 we can catch the next one at 10:00.  From there we can branch out in groups around the grounds.  Just a few of the  items of interest include the Kennedy plots, Challenger Space Shuttle Memorial, and the Arlington House.

Directions – The Metro Arlington Cemetery station on the Blue Line is the best option.  If you would like to drive, directions can be found on the cemetery’s website here.

Cost – Entrance to the cemetery is free but there is a small charge for parking if you plan to drive.

Registration -  Reply on our Facebook event page or leave a comment here.

After – I’m thinking a metro ride to U Street and a couple half smokes from Ben’s Chili Bowl may be in order.

Tags: arlington national cemetery, Digital Photography, facebook, photowalk, photowalk dc, Virginia

Great Walk at Great Falls

Over 25 photographers from Gainesville to Baltimore gathered in the early morning hours for a photowalk at the Cheasapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park (aka Great Falls on the Maryland side) Saturday morning. I believe we even had a couple show up on the Virginia side as well (sorry George, next time I’ll do better at getting the proper directions out).

Along with many of the normal cast of characters from the Photowalk DC Facebook group we had a number of new faces  (we even had our first canine photowalker).  Though I’m glad to see everyone at these events I was especially happy to see Rob Jones and Mike Palmer.  Mike probably only showed up to get me off his back, I’ve been hounding him for the past two weeks to come out .

Unfortunately for me I decided to try my hand at the Billy Goat trail to try and catch up with some of our group.  The name is extremely applicable for this trail.  I spent over an hour climbing over and around rocks of all sizes with not a lot of photography to show for it.  I almost had my own great fall off a 40 foot cliff.  Not only that but I never caught up with the group so I spent too much time not being a good walk leader.

Here’s a sampling of some of the shots I took.  Be sure and check out our Photowalk DC Flickr group to see everyone else’s shots.

Tags: good company, good conversation, Great Falls, Maryland, Nature, outdoors, photowalk, photowalk dc, Potomac River