Merry Christmas 2011

National Capitol Christmas Tree and US Capitol Building, Washington, DC

One of my families favorite activities this time of year is to visit the Christmas Tree at the US Capitol.  If you are in the area, it's well worth the visit.

I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

National Capitol Christmas Tree and US Capitol Building, Washington, DC

First Snow

First Snow at White Sulphur Springs Heritage House

This past weekend, my family went to a weekend getaway at White Sulphur Springs, Eastern conference center of Officers' Christian Fellowship.  While there, we received around 10 inches of snow.  Snow of any amounted is unexpected for the end of October, but great fun for photography and enjoying the time away.

OCF just opened the Heritage House conference center this past spring, so not only was it the first snow of the year, it was the first snow to fall on the newly opened center.  

Night falls on the first snow at Heritage House

2011 Nature Visions Expo

I learned yesterday that three of the images I submitted to the 2011 Nature Visions Expo were juried into the Expo.  The three images are posted below, although a couple of them have been featured in previous post.  You can see my images that were accepted into the 2010 Nature Visions Expo in this post.

The Nature Visions Photo Expo will be held the 11 - 13 November at the Hylton Performing Arts Center located on the Prince William County Campus of George Mason University.  They will have several speakers, including a keynote address by Art Wolfe.

 Saguaro cactus and star trails around the north star.

Eastern Box Turtle, taken near Pittsburgh, PA

Eye of the Turtle

 Cook Forest State Park, near the Allegheny National Forest.

Forest Dreams

BCC 5K Run and Fall Fest 2011

Joshua S and Kiernan C start the BCC 5K

Broadlands Community Church in Ashburn, Virginia held its second annual 5K run and fall festival this weekend to benefit the Ashburn Volunteer Fire Department.

Christine M finishs the BCC 5K

Ellie helps out with the games during the fall festival

A few more pics are in the video below.

Full Moon over DC

My daughter and I went to photograph the full moon over DC this evening.  Almost every year in September, the full moon rises at just the right spot so that it is aligned over the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and Capitol Building.  We positioned our cameras in front of the Netherlands Carillon and waited for the moon to rise.  Here are four of the pictures I captured, all straight out of the camera with only minor adjustments in Adobe Bridge.

Becca and Taylor Wedding

I had the pleasure this past weekend to be the assistant photographer to Angela Goodhart at the wedding of Becca and Taylor.  Becca and Taylor are a delightful couple to photograph, so full of energy and ideas.  They really made photographing the wedding an enjoyable event.  I focused on preparation shots of the groom and groomsmen while Angela focused on Becca and the Bridesmaids' preparations and the formal portraits after the ceremony.   Angela did a terrific job working with the couple and bringing out their youthful energy; I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to assist her.

Becca and Taylor

Their wedding was held at Rose River Farm near Syria Virginia. Rose River has absolutely gorgeous mountain scenery and Becca and Taylor were blessed with beautiful weather for the outdoor wedding.  I could not think of better location or a more enjoyable couple to photograph as my first assistant wedding assignment.

More pictures below.  Plus you can see a video containing both Angela's and my pictures on Angela's blog.

Virginia Military Institute

While in Lexington, Virginia over Labor Day weekend, I made an early Saturday morning trip to the Virginia Military Institute Post.  Even at the early hour of 6 AM, the cadets were quite active, especially new cadets living on the 4th (top) floor of Barracks.

VMI Old Barracks

Cadets streaming out of Barracks for morning formation

Cadet walking past Jackson Memorial Hall

VMI Cadet Battery

VMI Cadet Battery

Charlottesville Virginia

Over Labor Day Weekend, my family took a trip to Charlottesville, Virginia.  We walked around the University of Virginia Campus one evening and toured Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, the next morning.  I was struck by the architectural similarity between the UVA Rotunda building and Monticello.

University of Virginia Rotunda

University of Virginia Academical Village

Monticello

Fort Point

Golden Gate Bridge before sunrise

Another trip to San Francisco and a few more images from the area around the Golden Gate Bridge.  This time I concentrated on the southern side of the bridge in an area called Fort Point.  Fort Point is where the first ship to enter San Francisco Bay dropped anchor in August of 1775.  Unfortunately, I arrived there just in time for the iron door into the fort to be clanged shut in my face (literally), so I didn't get to see the inside.

Golden Gate Bridge around morning twilight

Perhaps next time I visit there, I can get an image of the top of the bridge sticking out above a fog layer.  For more images from the Golden Gate area, see my previous posts titled: Golden Gate at Sunrise, Golden Gate Bridge, and San Francisco.

Sunrise over the Potomac

My daughter and I went out early Saturday morning to capture the sunrise over the potomac river at Algonkian Regional Park in Sterling, VA.  This is the same location where I posted sunrise shots from almost a year ago.  This time, the clouds provided much more colorful images.  As always, I appreciate your feedback.

Old Car in the Woods

I came across this old abandoned car in the woods one day.  It's in pretty sad condition, but made for some interesting photographic opportunities

Allegheny National Forest

I captured these images during a recent trip the the Allegheny National Forest.  I loved the way the early morning light was hitting these trees.  This image was created by deliberately moving the lens while pressing the shutter to emphasize the straight form of this particular area of Cook Forest, located near the Allegheny National Forest.  Cook Forest and Allegheny National Forest are located in north west Pennsylvania.

Morning Light

 I was drawn to the contrast in size between this young pine tree and its full size parent next to it.  It reminded me of the way young animals stick close to their parent.

One day, I'll be big too

 I was surprised to see this life guard chair out in the middle of Cook Forest.  Turns out it was there for a French and Indian War reenactment the following weekend, but it just looked so out of place I had to capture it.

Where's the pool?

 I came across a tree that had been uprooted.  This particular portion reminded me of a bird about to take flight from roots of this old tree.

Swan

West Virginia Workshop

Sunrise at Dolly Sods

During Memorial Day weekend, I participated in a West Virginia Photography Workshop with Joe Rossbach and the Loudoun County Photography Club.  We had a great time focusing on our photography for the weekend.  Here are a few of my images from that weekend.

Elakala Falls, Blackwater Falls State Park, WV

Elakala Falls, Blackwater Falls State Park, WV

Blackwater Falls, Blackwater Falls State Park, WV

Fern, Blackwater Falls State Park, WV

Douglas Falls near Thomas, WV

2011 TECH Banquet

I had the privilege to photograph the 2011 TECH Homeschool Banquet last week.  I really enjoyed interacting with all the parents and students.  You can view the images by going to my webpage, www.radiantviewphotography.com, and click on "event photos" on the left hand column.  Here are a couple images and a few more after the jump.