This past Saturday, I ran the 2011 HCA Virginia 8K and surprised myself by actually running (well, jogging, let’s be real) the entire thing! Yay! Congratulations to all that ran the 8K, the half marathon and the full marathon!
After the finish!
Whilst browsing the interwebs looking for something to entertain me on this Saturday night when I’m not feeling too great and the boy is at band practice, I stumbled across this video made by some folks from the good ol’ RVA. It’s about Richmond and it’s completely silly and you’ve probably seen it before already, BUT I love it and wanted to share it with you. It really does represent the two types of groups you’ll find in Richmond, and it’s all done in good humor. Enjoy!
Speaking of RVA Music Fest, you have to check out my buddy’s interviews with Best Coast, The Diamond Center and White Laces! He runs The Cheats Movement and has a great blog!
RVA Music Fest: Backstage with Best Coast, The Diamond Center, & White Laces
Yesterday, our city celebrated the local and indie music scene with RVA Music Fest sponsored by RVA Mag. It was a wonderful time and even though we were exhausted from our trip to Raleigh, NC for Hopscotch Festival, we made sure we had plenty of energy. Jay’s band, White Laces, opened for Best Coast and Girl Talk and they had a meet and greet session recorded by WRIR. We also enjoyed a beer with Girl Talk’s Greg Gillis and the members of Best Coast backstage under the band tent. I hope you enjoy the photos and we look forward to RVA Fest next year! For more photos, visit My Facebook Page!
Girl Talk
I have long been a fan of karaoke nights at certain bars. It’s something about the courage it takes to get up and sing in front of a crowd of people that I find striking. Or maybe it is the real talent you end up hearing sometimes and everyone wonders to themselves why they haven’t really gone after that dream. Or maybe still it is the gritty atmosphere you find in a lot of those karaoke bars that reminds you to just keep it real. Whatever the reason, I have always enjoyed karaoke, particularly at Sticky Rice, a quirky little sushi joint in the Fan District of Richmond, ever since I first went nearly five years ago.
Since I started doing photography, I’ve been patroning Sticky (as it is affectionately known) regularly on Tuesday nights for their karaoke, the cheap PBRs and, of course, the tater tots with secret sauce. I have come to known nearly all the workers, the vendors (including the karaoke DJ), the fellow karaoke patrons and the owners. The place is basically my living room. I walk in and before I hit the bar, I have my drink of choice being handed to me by the bartender. No questions asked.
Recently, as they have learned more about my photography business, they asked me to be their regular Tuesday night photographer for karaoke night. I gladly obliged and here are some of my favorites over the last month or so:
It is amazing, as the eldest sibling in a somewhat large family, when you hear that your kid brother is getting engaged. Well, my brother, age 23, popped the big question to his awesome girlfriend on Wednesday, November 11 in the middle of a monsoon while looking at the elephants at the DC Zoo. Yep, that’s their style: silly, unexpected, and a little dorky (in a good way.) I was asked to be a bridesmaid (so excited!) and I was also asked to take their engagement photos (even more excited?) so I have a LOT to look forward to with this wedding! I am so happy for Jon and Jaime and, selfishly, I am stoked to have a sister-in-law.
We all gathered at my mom’s house this past Sunday to have a small celebration and of course I brought my camera. Here are my first photos of the newly-engaged couple, with many more to come in the future!
I love doing architectural photography for real estate clients. Here is the latest shoot that I did for Capitol Premier Realty in Fredericksburg, VA!
Saturdays are great days for relaxation, reflection, and daydreams. I have spent most of today going through old photographs and editing, re-editing, reviewing, etc. I ran across some things that remind of things that I love, so I am going to write a list today. Here are some things that I like:
1) Flying. I know a lot of people hate to fly. I actually love it. It’s safer than riding in a car and I’ve been doing it since before my first birthday. I don’t get scared, I don’t throw up and instead I whistfully look back on the days when airplane rides actually came with free soda and peanuts and not $20 bag check fees.
2) The Chesapeake Bay. I grew up near the Chesapeake Bay and have always had a fondness for nature, the water and wildlife. I love being out on the water. Even my dogs love the beach! It is truly the place where I feel at home.
3) Board Games. My favorite board game is a German game called Die Siedler Von Catan, or The Settlers of Catan. It is a great game that is kind of like a mix between Monopoly and Risk. I also love Scrabble, Monopoly, card games, Mancala, and more. My family grew up playing games and now family get-togethers on my mom’s side of the family usually involve poker games that last until 4AM and on my dad’s side of the family, we play “Settlers” in tournament format.
Well, that’s all for now! I’ll have some old photos up from past weddings I’ve shot soon that I recently uncovered. Off to enjoy the rest of my Saturday. I hope everyone has an excellent Labor Day weekend!
A while ago, I found a great website called Flickr that allows members to post and share their photos in this huge online community. Another great feature is the networking abilities which allowed me to create a group for photography fanatics in the Richmond, VA area called RFMUG (Richmond Flickr Meetup Group). What started with one lonesome member (i.e. Me!) has now grown to well over a hundred photography enthusiasts. We try to plan outings every month, but if I’m honest with you, we’ve been slacking lately. That is why I was excited to get together with a few of my favorite RFMUG friends and go to Maymont Park last Saturday morning. We walked around for a few hours enjoying the Japanese gardens, flowers, bird exhibits and general scenery. And, of course, we had to take a few silly photos of each other.
