Miss DC USA 2012 Pageant

November 27, 2011 - At the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington DC the Miss DC Teen USA 2012 and Miss DC USA 2012 Pageant was held. It was a long-awaited and exciting evening. It was a very competitive pageant which made the judging all the more critical, but there can be only one winner. Congratulations to Miss DC Teen USA 2012 Sierra Hadley and to Miss DC USA 2012 Monique Thompkins. Thanks to Miss DC Teen USA 2011 Imani Bentham and Miss DC USA 2011 Heather Swann for a wonderful year representing DC.

Executive Director: Althea Smith
Hosts: Shauntay Hinton and Liane Angus Whinfield
Judges: Dr. Houtan Chaboki, Joseph John Garcia III, Leslie Morton, Dr. Alex Naini, Dr. Lawrence Singer.

Photos: Vithaya Photography

"American Girl Tori" Photo Shoot

November 20, 2011 - Photo Shoot at Pentagon Row, Arlington, VA. It's always a collaboration in working on a photo shoot between all involved. Tori the model came up with the concepts and styling, and we made it work from there with the time we had and the location. Thanks to Zara Korutz for hair styling and Laura Marie for makeup, and to Susan Ostrowski for her model dog Lily Bay Petunia Paris, for Vanessa Dennis' dog Martini modeling and for Vanessa's assistance with the shoot.

Veterans Day Tribute and My Vacation Cruise

November 11-19, 2011 - It has been a very productive year and I feel like it's been non-stop work with just a few short breaks scattered throughout the year. It was about time for a vacation and so I went on a cruise with over 40 friends and acquaintances. Our itinerary was Miami, Florida; Half Moon Cay, Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas; San Juan Puerto Rico; Grand Turk Island; and back to Miami, Florida. It was nice to be on vacation, but of course I still brought my camera to document my travels, especially as I had never been to these ports of call other than Miami. Here's a summary of each port we visited.

11/11/11 -Miami: My vacation started out by taking a flight to Miami International Airport (MIA). What an amazing date for Veterans Day, yet every Veterans Day is a special and solemn remembrance of what our veterans have done for our country and thanks to all those who currently serve too. Starting my vacation on Veterans Day, I felt appreciative for freedom and being able to enjoy it. I am a veteran of the U.S. Army as a Cavalry Scout and I am proud to have served. I've posted a few photos and an animated slideshow as a tribute to Veterans and Veterans Day.

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.