Real Estate

January 27, 2012 by brandon | Leave a comment

This past Sunday I had the good fortune of attending a very sold out concert by Real Estate at the Black Cat.  Their set was a great mix of the fantastic tracks off their new album, Days, and some “oldies” from their first album.

I’m glad I was able to catch their set, and see these guys perform in such a small club.  The next time they hit the road they’re going to be playing much larger venues.

Here’s a sample of the song “Out of Tune” from their new album Days, and a couple of my favorite shots.  See the whole set over on Flickr.

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Like Birds On a Wire

January 4, 2012 by brandon | Leave a comment
Two birds sitting on a telephone wire

Like Birds On a Wire

When photographing certain scenes, I’m often playing back songs in my head (and sometimes singing them aloud too – though always off-key).  While photographing this scene, the song below was playing on my mind’s turntable.

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The Golden Hour

January 3, 2012 by brandon | Leave a comment

The second rule of photography (after “take your camera everywhere”) is to learn the ebb and flow of light surrounding sunrise and sunset.  Commonly referred to as “The Golden Hour,” the 30 minutes after the sun rises, and 30 minutes before the sun sets produces the most dramatic light of the day.  Light is warm, and shadows are strong, providing ample opportunity for strong contrast.

Walking with some friends recently, we cam across this magnificent tree.  Fortunately, the timing worked out perfectly to catch magnificent lighting as well.

Tree silhouetted against the setting sun

 

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Old Tyme Fuel Pumps

December 31, 2011 by brandon | Leave a comment

Living in a city, but traveling often to rural area/middle America makes for some surprising dichotomies.  One of those that caught my eye this summer was the style of old fuel pumps.  The old pumps have great color, and dare I say even a touch of class.

Here are a few photos of pumps that I came across this summer.

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Craig Finn of The Hold Steady

September 10, 2011 by brandon | Comments Off

The Hold Steady consistently put on one of the most entertaining shows in music. This is due almost entirely to the energy and charisma of Craig Finn, their lead singer. His frenetic energy is exhausting to watch, and I can’t imagine how spent he must feel after running around a stage for over an hour night after night. Regardless, I’m thankful he finds a way to delve into the well of his energy supply, and come back with bucket loads.

In addition to just being a blast to watch, Craig Finn is a concert photographer’s dream. Here is a sample of some of my favorite shots from the concert last week. View the entire set over at Flickr.

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Self portrait

July 9, 2011 by brandon | Comments Off

A self portrait taken with my 5D Mark II through my Yashica Mat 125G.

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Garden Photographing

May 8, 2011 by brandon | Comments Off

Gardens obviously make fun places to photograph, especially well-manicured ones like Dumbarton Oaks Gardens in Georgetown, which is one of my favorite locales to photograph in D.C.  This Saturday provided some comfortable weather for photographing, and cloudy though good, even lighting, which is helpful when photographing flowers.

I find Dumbarton so appealing, because there are several sculptures and nooks that feel like I’m in the Legend of Zelda (the original for NES).  The fountain photograph below is how I imagine it must feel like to be walking up to one of the fairy fountains to replenish ones’ health.  If only it were that easy.

While I wasn’t thrilled with any of the photos I made, here are two that I think turned out well.

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House of God, Inc.

April 12, 2011 by brandon | Comments Off

I’ve lived in this same neighborhood for over seven years, and somehow I just stumbled upon this building this winter.

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Black Angels

April 5, 2011 by brandon | Comments Off

After a hiatus of eight months from photographing concerts, I returned to the fray again Sunday night for The Black Angels at the 9:30 Club.

I really enjoyed The Black Angels’ first record Passover, so I was looking forward to seeing the translation of their sound for the stage. Their drone rock/Velvets throwback is as close as I’ll ever get to the real deal. Obviously, I wouldn’t expect the Black Angels to live up to seeing Lou Reed rocking a stage with John Cale, no doubt a transcendental combo, but I thought their style and sound was a great fit for a show. The 9:30 Club has done an excellent job at crafting their staging and lighting rigs, which adds the proper aura to really make this performance work.

Of course, dark lights make for a rather challenging photographic environment, but it was great to be back in the mix. I’m really looking forward to covering another show soon.

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Contemplation

April 3, 2011 by brandon | Comments Off

I recently had a roll of Fuji Velvia RVP 100 developed, which I shot with my favorite camera (yes, even more so than my 5D Mark II) my Yashica Mat 124G.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from this roll:

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