Farmers Market Photo Assignment

I joined a new photo group and on Saturday we had our first assignment at Reston Farmers Market. I haven't had a photography assignment for years so it felt a little strange walking around taking pictures knowing that the ones I submitted would be critiqued, but it was also nice to feel challenged.

I had to start with strawberries; there were so many of them on different stalls that I was sorely tempted to grab one from each to taste and thereby determine which were worthy of being photographed!

The apples looked so good that I ended up buying some. I also bought some tomatoes from the same stall and nearly died when the vendor priced my purchases. 6 apples and 5 tomatoes came to $11.43! They needed to taste great at that price. That was my first and last purchase that day...

I wanted to be more diverse with my photos and rather than photographing just the produce, I walked around taking photos of the surroundings as well. This image is one of my submissions but I think I was swayed as orange is my favorite color.

These cute little shoes were clips and even though there wasn't a red one, Dorothy still came to mind.

If I hadn't spent so much on my previous purchase, I would've liked one of these sweet little herb pots. A few of these would look great lined up on a kitchen windowsill.

This image caught my eye as it was so rustic.

A few of the vendors laid out samples for tasting. This little guy was really tucking in, it was a joy to watch!

I love asparagus, steamed for 3 minutes with butter and lots of pepper on top. Yummy! No, I didn't buy any.


This little lad happened to be in two of my shots, he really is photogenic, and the balloon and shop window sign were an added bonus. The morning was a great success and we finished up at a coffee shop getting to know eachother better. I'm not sure how we'll critique our shots yet as the club is in its early days but with a Scottish organizer, we can't go wrong! I'm looking forward to our next assignment.

Return Trip Exploration

Sunday started with pouring rain which kept up all day long. A group of us were due to go to Philly but only three of us turned up so we decided to postpone that trip until better weather as none of us wanted to drive for three hours plus each way in the rain. We all piled into my car and debated and researched on line where we could explore that was relatively local. After about 45 minutes we decided on a nearby hospital in Maryland that we had visited last September. Pleased we had made a decision, we started to set off. But Colin wouldn't start. The battery was dead as I had inadvertently left the headlights on while we were talking. My friends were superb, no admonishments, just immediate help with jump cables and standing in the pouring rain trying to get Colin started. We had to give up and call out AAA so spent another 45 minutes steaming the windows up further and dreaming of hot coffee.
Once Colin was jump started, (we were doing it wrong), we headed straight for a Starbucks and sat down with our coffees in our wet clothes and steamed along with our hot cups.
Back out into the rain, we walked the half mile to the hospital and skirted the walls looking for an entry point. Once found, we entered and got down to the task of photographing. I had already got some great shots on my last visit, so this time decided to present 'prettier' shots of the building and make the urban decay more artistic. So no more words from me this time, just pictures.

Embassies & Faith

Saturday was a dull cloudy day with threats of continual showers so not one to spend outside. I went with a friend down to D.C. where some of the embassies were opening their doors for visitors.

We were greeted at the Bangladesh doors by the Ambassador himself and inside was a riot of color infused with enticing smells of cooking. This was my favorite of all the embassies as it was like stepping into Bangladesh itself with the staff all wearing their traditional dress and many images and a video of their country.

We were invited to have our hands tattooed with henna and my paw is displayed above. The paste took nearly an hour to dry brushing off to reveal a pale orange tattoo on the skin which darkened considerably by the next day. I wasn't aware at the time that this would now be part of me for the next 30-45 days. Oh well...

I would have loved to go inside these two buildings but they were closed to the public unfortunately.

This beautiful tapestry hung inside the Nigerian Embassy. Many of the buildings we entered had interesting furniture brought from their homelands. We were only allowed into small areas of each embassy and all of them cooked food, handed out brochures or put up displays or showed short videos to entice visitors within their borders.

Many of the public were proudly wearing their country's traditional outfits and adding beautiful bright jewelry or scarves to their wardrobes which was being sold by surrounding stalls. This little girl looked really cute in her outfit.

The Malaysian embassy put on some traditional dance routines throughout the day and even taught the public some steps. All the embassies we visited were in the International Drive area and afterwards we drove to the Massachusetts Avenue area to see some more but these were extremely busy with queues outside that would be waiting more than an hour to enter the buildings. We decided not to join the lines and headed back to Virginia where we went to the National Memorial Park for a look round.

I was amazed to see this sculpture collection in an empty pool. It seemed surreal to see so many strange statues jumbled together that were obviously supposed to be standing in water.
This collection is called the Fountain of Faith by the Swedish sculptor Carl Miles showing 38 figures of men, women and children in various postures of departure and ascension.




This is an intriguing display and one I'd like to see again when they fill the pool and turn on the fountains. They seemed a little eerie and vulnerable suspended above the cold concrete.
I was glad to be home early and after rushing round completing chores, I went to bed early as I had an early start on Sunday.

Abandoned Clothing Factory, Baltimore

There are a lot of abandoned buildings in Baltimore and a trip I'd missed with the group was to an old clothing factory. It seemed a shame to just head home after the museum visit so I embarked on my first solo urban exploration. I was a little nervous but the thought of missing out soon erased my fears.
The building is due for auction any day now and the council has been pushing for the place to be cleared up.

This trash bin gave the first clue as to the building's previous use. Because this trip was not on my agenda I didn't have any of my equipment with me and as I entered the building, it was pitch black, and I had to stop and think about my next move. Not having a flashlight, I used my camera flash to negotiate my way around the first floor. It must have been the office section as it was a maze of tiny empty rooms. I found my way down to the basement but that was also empty and very damp. I headed to the stairs, and climbed up in the dark hoping I'd not come too late and the building would already be empty.

I came out on the third floor and discovered the first of the two factory floors. The flooring must have once been beautiful but was now rotting and lifting in places with the damp.

The clock in station was intact with the clock stopped at 1:59. This factory once produced tailored high end mens' clothing from the 70's and closed around 1985.

There were dozens of sewing machines on tables pushed together and work benches stacked up.

I was amazed to see customer records still intact and this one was a rush order showing the detail that went into the gentleman's outfit.

I found this old pamphlet on the floor, incredible that it had survived.

There were many kinds of sewing machines, each for a different purpose, and this was a button hole machine. A repair shop was at one end of the factory with machines on shelves either repaired or waiting for repair, and rows of drawers containing spare parts.

I came across a fabulous selection of buttons still in their boxes waiting to be used.

It was sad to see these bolts of fabric slowly perishing, most seemed to be good quality materials.


Around the factory, I saw many relics from the trade and more buttons for jackets.

There were different presses on the floor and old irons. I couldn't work out what this press was for but maybe for pressing lapels or collars? Out the back was also a huge Cleaver Brooks boiler for washing the fabrics.

The most astounding sight of all was these coats and jackets, rows and rows of them all over the factory. There were beautifully made and hanging waiting to be worn. From corduroy sports jackets to tailored raincoats to heavy silk-lined winter coats, they just hung in the gloom slowly being eaten away by the damp.

Maybe some can be rescued and distributed to shelters once the building is cleaned out in the near future. I finished with a quick look around on the roof then headed to the exit.

Walking to my car, I snapped this shot of a group of friends sitting in chairs in the middle of an open space surrounded by row house many of which were derelict.

A little further on, I grabbed this shot from my car, and then had to turn my camera off, otherwise I'd be editing photos for the rest of the week! What a satisfying day!