Streets of Georgetown with Joseph Abboud

November 9, 2011 - Grand Party Celebrates the Streets of Georgetown. At 1254 Wisconsin Ave NW, a new store has hit the streets in DC with a celebratory cocktail party for the HMX Group’s STREETS OF GEORGETOWN Grand Opening with celebrated designer Joseph Abboud and CEO Doug Williams.

A plethora of guests occupied much of the store marveling over the handsomeness of it, socializing, consuming Chef Todd Gray's fall hor d'oeuvres and cocktails. A live band added a classiness to the atmosphere. From 6-9pm the party flourished and hopefully the Streets of Georgetown will flourish, bringing high quality menswear to the DC scene and beyond.

A Fashionable Autumn - Photo Shoot

Nov 6, 2011 - I met Rachel Annamarie almost two years ago through seeing each other at events. She's a university student studying Broadcast Journalism/Theater and she is a Model/Actress with Model Management Agency Philadelphia. I had taken pictures of her at various events and in the numerous fashion shows she modeled and walked in. It was time do an official photo shoot of her.

With the hair styling services of Zara Korutz and the makeup artistry of Laura Marie of Red Door Spas in Pentagon Row, Arlington VA, we were able to give Rachel the look that was needed for the shoot. The clothes to be worn was planned ahead of time and we had our concepts down. Being fairly familiar with the area and just by scouting around, we found a few locations and Rachel had a different look for each location. It was a long afternoon but we felt we got some good images out of the shoot outdoors and some indoors too. Here are a few of my favorites.

WELLTA Spring/Summer 2012

November 5, 2011 - A Night of Fashion. The first name of the designer Wellta is also the name of her fashion line which had it's debut show in DC. It was the Spring/Summer 2012 dress collection consisting of the Little Black Dress Collection and The Eternity Dress. I first met Wellta on August 20th at the Ink Cosmetics Launch Party & Fashion Industry Network Event at L2 Lounge in Georgetown. Wellta's dresses were in a fashion show there and hair styling was done by the W Salon and makeup by Ink Cosmetics. Many of the people that were involved in the August 20th event were involved with the November 5th event that introduced Wellta's dress collection.

Smith Commons Dining Room & Public House is a three-story neighborhood bistro on the H St. NE corridor. This venue features a main dining room and main bar on the first floor, and “the commons” or public house on levels two and three, with outdoor patios, individual bars, and dining tables. Everything on level three was cleared away to give the Wellta event room to move and soon it was a bustling area filled with guests eager to see the Wellta dress collection.

The models were lined up in a room and came out one by one with Wellta describing the dresses. Three of the models were on platforms to present the dresses: 1) Sequin Open Back Dress 2) Front Zip Gown 3) Full Bodied Skirted Black Dress with Mesh Back. Two other models with Wellta dresses walked around for their presentation of the dresses. It was a successful night with the official launch of Wellta. http://www.WELL-TA.com

Thanks goes out to:

Stara Glam - Fashion Stylist Stara Pezeshkian
Ink Cosmetics - Makeup Artist Anna Castillo
Vithaya Photography - Official Photographer
The W Salon - Souny West, Hair Stylist: Sue T. Lawhorn, Megan Mosig, Makeup Artist: Ann Cornellious
Smith Commons - Events Manager: Anh
Music Provided by: David Lanexang

Extra thanks to the models: Natalia Pasdedeux, Amanda Franklin, Lee Hwh, Jennifer Mendez, Erin Ryan
Special thanks to the production team.

Smith Commons Dining Room & Public House is a three-story neighborhood bistro on the H St. NE corridor in the Atlas Arts District.

Jason & Alesha Engagement Outing

November 5, 2011 - It was about that time. I had known Jason for a few years after meeting him at a Halloween party. At that time he wasn't wearing a costume as he dropped by the house I was at for this party, before he went home. Even though I was dressed up like Legolas from the Lord of the Rings, we still connected and continued our friendship over the years. Our places of work were fairly close to each other, so we'd have lunch from time to time.

Life got busy and we hadn't seen in each in awhile, but it's great to have recently reconnected. I was happy to hear that he got engaged to Alesha. They've been loyal and steadfast with one another and they compliment each other well. I was glad to meet Alesha as they wanted to discuss having me photograph their wedding. We actually all met up a couple times for dinner to get to know each other better and work some details out. They also wanted some pictures taken during their engagement time and wanted to be able to send out save the date cards.

We planned ahead and settled on November 5th at a park to have me photograph them there. We brought along our bikes to ride on the trail. It was early afternoon when we started with the pictures and even though it was a bit chilly, we still enjoyed being outside. It was slowly warming up and it was rather comfortable by the time we were finished mid-afternoon. We've got the date saved for the wedding day and I'll be overjoyed in capturing it.

FotoWeek Launch Party 2011

November 4, 2011 - FotoWeek Launch Party. After the exclusive preview opening of this year's exhibitions at FotoWeek Central, the celebration continued at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. A long line of guests awaited the opening of the Corcoran doors and at 8:30pm people flooded the halls. It was a fitting venue for this party. FatBack DJs, big screen projections, photo booths, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres kept people moving and happy.

Walk This Way for Becky's Fund

November 2, 2011 - Becky's Fund and Eric Finn Custom Clothiers Presents "Walk this Way" 2011

On November 2 guests arrived at the beautiful Andrew Mellon Auditorium to come together and take a stand against domestic violence at the 2011 "Walk This Way" annual event. Co-hosted by Comcast Sportsnet's Julie Donaldson and Fox's Steve Chenevey, this event featured delicious food, fashion, and Art Soiree Co. added an artistic touch to the evening by presenting a special art exhibit of local artists' work as part of their ~Art Can Make A Difference~ project. The Washington Redskins' Brian Orakpo, Anthony Armstrong, DeAngelo Hall, Capitals' Karl Alzner, John Carlson, Nick Backstrom and DC United's Ben Olsen along with Art Soiree support Becky's Fund's efforts in promoting the prevention of domestic and dating violence in our community.

Honorary Host Committee Members: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Co-Author of VAWA Congresswoman Louise Slaughter of New York, Congresswoman Kathy Hochul of New York, Congressman Dan Boren of Oklahoma, Congressman Ted Poe of Texas, House Democratic Senior Whip Congressman Mike Honda of California and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia.

The event highlighted three amazing stories of survival describing the cycles of domestic violence incorporating three eras of design as interpreted by Eric Finn Custom Clothiers and renowned women's designer Maggie Norris Couture, the legendary designer who has dressed personalities such as Audrey Hepburn, Michelle Obama, Nicole Kidman among others.

It was a memorable night in Washington D.C. and hope is alive and well, as is the movement for making a difference. "Freedom from domestic violence. It's our right." http://www.beckysfund.org/

To view pictures larger or to purchase them, visit this website:
http://vithaya.smugmug.com/Events/20111102-Walk-This-Way-Port-VP/19890707_rNTHVM#1565104137_3hFmVD8