One Year Ago...

Last year at this time, I was in India. We traveled to Kolkata to attend a friend's wedding, and also just to vacation and take in the sights. It was an incredible experience, and I'm just itching for a chance to go back in the future. I may post a few more photos from that trip if I have time... although with the holidays coming up, I'm sure I'll have plenty of photos from THIS year to show! Our Hindi friends did set up a little decorated tree and make a Christmas cake for us to make us feel more at home, but I am looking forward to spending the holidays with our families this year.

What can I even say about India? That experience changed me, I think. I've been to Europe, and India by far was more enjoyable for me in all respects. The color... it's everywhere! It's sensory overload. Everything is so different there than here that it's almost easier to list the similarities than it is to list the differences! But that's one of the aspects of this trip that I loved, was the fact that I got to see something so completely different from my own existence. I now have a fresh perspective on my place not only in my own culture, but in the world as well.

Not to mention all the great photo opportunities. You don't even want to know how many photos we took over the course of the two weeks we were there.

Anyway, I already have these and a lot more of my travel photos posted on my main web site under the "Artwork" section in the "Travel" gallery. There, you can see photos from India, as well as places in the United States like NYC, California and Arizona. I don't put up my DC photos there because I didn't travel far to take them. HA! And the photos in the artwork gallery are not typical touristy shots - I try to keep those galleries on my web site limited to photos that I would be proud to hang in a show, even though it's not really the kind of work I typically make unless I am on vacation or visiting another city or culture.

Betty (The Ewok)

The other week, we babysat a 13 year old Yorkie named Betty. Betty was 7 pounds. Compared to our 80 pound Maurice, I thought it would be like not having a dog at all. Boy was I wrong! Betty kept up with our 2 mile, fast paced walks. She didn't like to walk on the leash and pulled quite a bit. I called her "the flea" because she could jump several feet from a sitting position. And I won't even go into the the neon green radioactive poo incident. Dogs, no matter what the size, are a lot of work!

But despite all that, Betty was adorable. She kind of looked like an Ewok, which is uncanny since Maurice looks like Chewbacca. It was so funny to see us walking down the street all together - we got quite a bit of attention :)

Anyway, Betty is back at home now, and Maurice is happy (the spoiled only child!). I guess this post has no other point, if not to say that dogs totally rule!

Betty sleeping on our bed:


Andy holding Betty (see how tiny she is!):


For comparison, Maurice just before being shaved this spring:

AGWPJA - Award Winner!

I just got an e-mail to let me know that the results of the latest AGWPJA (Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association) contest were in, and guess what! I placed 6th in the details category, which means I am now officially a member of the AGWPJA. (Note: As of now, I am only one of four photographers from the state of Maryland to have placed in these contests since the start of the AGWPJA!).

The only way to get into the AGWPJA is to place in the contests, and the only way to get into the contests is to be a WPJA member. To become a WPJA member, you have to shoot weddings in a primarily documentary style.

The image that placed is of bride Aryn, whose wedding I photographed this past October. The image is very close to how I shot it, except I edited out a few bits of tree branch that were in the lower right and pumped up the color slightly. The AGWPJA lets you manipulate photos, but the regular WPJA contest images must be displayed as shot.

The judge's (Joseph Victor Stefanchik, another reason to get excited over placing in this contest!) comments on my photo: "Beautiful blue sky nicely contrasts the bride and her veil."

Also from the e-mail from WPJA and AGWPJA founder David Roberts: "JVS, who judged the contest, expressed that the task was especially challenging for him, because each category was loaded with so many outstanding creative images. It was difficult, he said, to determine the top ten. Yet, he did; and the results are for your review."

See the contest and AGWPJA web site HERE.