Already January's End and a Review of Last Year

I'm amazed and bewildered at how fast a year can go by. It's the end of January of this new year and this blog has been going for a month. I wanted to review the last year with Vithaya Photography. I keep an electronic record of the things I've done throughout the year. It's in the form of a basic list, but it helps me to see the things I was involved with during the year, when and where it was, and what it was basically about. It's been an amazing last year full of opportunity and here are a few highlights (right click on links to open in new window):

JANUARY
* NBC-4 Fitness Expo at the Washington Convention Center - I've been to this before. It's an energetic and encouraging environment to help get more health and fitness minded. Drink more water.
* Andy Zipf: Pfriends on Pfilm multimedia concert at SOTA Dzine. This concert was held in a photography and design studio. It was a great experience seeing the concert there, hearing Andy's ethereal vocals and seeing artistic imagery projected on the walls.

FEBRUARY
* Andy Zipf: Pfriends on Pfilm multimedia concert, Apple Store at Tysons Corner Center, VA. I saw this concert the month before, but this time it was actually in an Apple store! What a cool venue. I was able to take photos of the concert and roam around the "stage" area, so I could get in and take closer shots.
* Travel Photography Seminar at National Geographic Society Headquarters in Washington, D.C. - This was my first time at this place and one of their seminars. I'm glad a friend told me about it and that went to it. It was great being in such an environment and in the midst of the photography that National Geographic has shown to the world. I was amazed at the images shown from trips that the speakers Jim Richardson and Catherine Karnow experienced. I definitely left feeling inspired.

MARCH
* St. Patrick's Day Celebration and Parade in Old Town Alexandria - A photographer friend and I went to Old Town to photograph this event. It's great seeing the pageantry and fun of a parade.
* Popular Photography/Sony Digital Days Workshop in Annapolis, MD - This was my first time at these photography workshops and I was glad to go to both the basic and the beyond the basics workshop over a period of two days. I felt that I knew more than the basics, but I wanted to check out both workshops, as I know that sometimes I can look over something and review can be a good thing. The basics class was good and had some practical digital photography tips. The next day was the beyond the basics class and we had guest speaker Kevin Gilbert of Blue Pixel as a guest speaker. We also had the opportunity to photograph some models that were brought in for the afternoon. It was a good two day experience.
* Jim & Jensina's wedding in Luray, VA - I was asked to spend the weekend with friends and their family to photograph a wedding. It was nice to go out of town and be a part of a special time in the lives of my friends and their family.

APRIL
* Washington National Cathedral Tour & DC Photo Jaunt - A friend invited some people to go on a tour of the Washington National Cathedral and I decided to make a photo Jaunt of it by inviting other photography enthusiasts.
* Washington Humane Society Fashion For Paws Runway Show, Italian Embassy, Washington, DC - I went to this event with a couple friends and it was a great time at a very beautiful and spacious venue. In front of the embassy was a red carpet that made it feel all the more special. There were a lot of people dressed up and even their dogs were dressed up. Several vendors were there with products to offer and the fashion show part of it with people and pets going down the runway was exciting.

MAY
* Land Rover America's Polo Cup - Polo matches are good opportunities to dress up and watch a game close to the playing field. The treading of the divots on the field was a fun excursion, especially for the kids. That evening Huey Lewis and the News performed and to cap off the night there was a fireworks show.
* GI Film Festival, Carnegie Institution of Washington, DC - This was an incredible event to be a part of because it celebrates our armed forces and honors their sacrifices through the medium of film. Several celebrities were there in support and the media was there to report about it.
* Joint Service Open House and Air Show at Andrews AFB - This was my first time at this show and it was cool to be here and see all the military vehicles and aircraft.
* Spring Wine Festival and Sunset Tour, Mount Vernon, VA - An evening of wine and jazz music overlooking the Potomac River.
* Mark & Kate's Wedding in Lancaster, PA - I was the official photographer for this wedding at the beautiful Cameron Estate Inn & Restaurant. It was on Memorial Weekend, so I drove up to Lancaster and the next morning I drove to the Outer Banks of NC for a few days at the beach.

JUNE
* Wedding Assist to Garrett Hubbard - My friend Garrett Hubbard and I went to a rehearsal dinner in Charlottesville, VA and the next day we covered TJ and Heather's wedding at the Veritas Vineyard and Winery in Afton, VA.
* Washington Humane Society Black Tie Bark Ball - This event was held at the Renaissance hotel in DC. It's Washington's only Black-tie Gala for the Four-on-the-Floor Crowd. People dressed up to the nines along with their pets.
* Portrait Workshop with Manny Librodo Quebec City, Canada - I really admire the photography work of Manny Librodo and I was excited to be able to attend one of his workshops. I also wanted this to be a vacation for me and spent four days there. I really enjoyed my time in such a quaint old style city that resembles the sense of being in France.
* Kevin and Helen's wedding at the Comus Inn at Sugarloaf Mountain - I was the official photographer for this wedding and reception in Dickerson, MD. Kevin and Helen were a lot of fun and we had a beautiful setting with the backdrop of the mountain.

JULY
* Herb & Charissa's wedding in Baltimore, MD. I had the pleasure of attending this wedding at the gorgeous Tremont Grand hotel. This was one of the most exquisite and detailed weddings and receptions that I've ever attended.
* DC Photo Jaunt - A lot of people come out on the National Mall for Screen on the Green and I decided to do a photo jaunt called "National Treasure" before we saw a movie on an outdoor screen.
* Washington Kastles vs. St. Louis. World Team Tennis Season Finale - What an amazing venue to be at Kastles Stadium at CityCenterDC. Watching Tennis being played outdoors in the middle of DC was awesome and it was great to be up close court side taking photos.
* Engagement shoot for Claude and Van, Meadowlark Gardens, VA - It was a beautiful sunny day and the garden setting was dreamy. This was a great time and place for this photo session.

AUGUST
* Wedding Assist to Garrett Hubbard - I assisted a friend covering a wedding at the Walker Chapel United Methodist Church and the reception was at the Washington Golf and Country Club.
* Cranky Monkey Race at Wakefield Park, VA - A friend of mine was in a mountain bike race so I went there to photograph it.
* Engagement Shoot for Charlie and Farrah at Jefferson Memorial - DC is a great place to photograph couples because of the beauty and majesty of the various monuments there.
* Wedding Assist to Garrett Hubbard, Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa and Marina, Cambridge, MD - This wedding was outdoors behind the hotel...simply beautiful.
* Legg Mason Tennis Classic finals - I enjoy playing tennis when I can, and it's also exciting to watch, especially these professionals.
* Photowalk with Jeff Revell in Old Town, Alexandria - There were nearly 8,000 people from 43 countries (44 states in the U.S.) in 241 cities that participated in Scott Kelby's first-ever worldwide Photo Walk. Jeff Revell organized our group and it was a great time of photography fun.
* Photo Jaunt at Meadowlark Gardens - This was another outing with photo enthusiasts.
* Twilight Polo at Great Meadows - I attended this polo match with a few friends and I was able to take lots of photos of the area and the match. It was more challenging photographing this match in the evening, but it was a good challenge.

SEPTEMBER
* Charlie and Farrah's wedding in Oahu - At the end of September I attended a destination wedding in Oahu, which was a trip of a lifetime as I had never been to any of the Hawaiian Islands.

OCTOBER
* Digital Days Photography Workshop, NYC - I attended the Beyond the Basics workshop. This was my third workshop with them and I learned more digital photo tips there.
* East Meets West Photography Workshop in NYC with Gene Higa and Jason Groupp - We had instruction in the morning and then took the afternoon to do a photo shoot with models outdoors, then went to Times Square to photograph a night session. It was a full day, but a rewarding one.
* DWF Platinum Party - As part of the East Meets West workshop we attended, we were also invited to the Digital Wedding Forum party in Jason Groupp's studio. It was packed in there and it was good to meet new people. We also had a photo booth set up, so that was fun to do.
* PDN Photo Plus Photography Conference and Expo - Three days of learning more about photography and seeing professionals teach and being part of a larger photography community.

NOVEMBER
* Tom and Arielle's wedding - I was the official photographer for this wedding at Chesterbrook United Methodist Church in McLean with a tent-side reception at Columbia Island Marina near DC.
* Visiting Richmond, VA - After photographing a morning wedding I finished preparations to visit a friend in Richmond for the rest of the weekend. My friend took me around the area to see some monuments and later on we had dinner with his family. We spent the next day at Maymont, a 100 acre place rich in history, habitats and horticulture.
* FotoWeek DC, Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA - Photographer Steve Uzzell presented Open Roads; Open Minds: An Exploration of Creative Problem Solving. We saw some amazing images and his thought process behind getting those images.

DECEMBER
* Sam and Mimi's wedding - It was great to have photographed Sam & Mimi's engagement session. Their wedding was at the Fairlington Presbyterian Church in Alexandria and the reception was also held there.
* Avedon Portraits of Power exhibit and DC Photo Jaunt - Last year I coordinated an outing to see the Annie Leibovitz and Ansel Adams photography exhibits and then went on a photo jaunt around the area. This time we saw the Richard Avedon exhibit was displayed at The Corcoran Gallery of Art.