Developer and Photographer | Amber Wilkie

My 2010 in Images

I have to admit, I tend to get a bit nostalgic as the year draws to a close.  What we've seen, what we've done, who we met and who we loved... I'm a sap for the whole review-and-start-anew mood to late December.  For two years in a row now, I've taken a self portrait on Dec. 31 and I'm sure I will again this year in what has become my own personal tradition. If you're a photographer, you have quite the resource to support a nostalgic view of the last year.  So with little more ado, here are some of my favorite images and adventures of 2010: We get a lot of protests in Washington, DC, and since I work so close to the National Mall, I can frequently photograph them on my lunch break.  I took this shot at an anti-abortion rally in January. Scouting portrait locations and generally having a good time with my husband at Dumbarton Oaks.  I have yet to shoot a session there and I would love to. For the first half of the year, I was working on a 365 project.  After I started up this blog, I found it more rewarding to focus on getting many good images of events or places rather than making one image each day.  The project ended, but while it was going on I often found myself getting out of the office when I otherwise would have stayed put.  Like for this shot on a very clear and very cold January day. This image is my most "popular" on Flickr - meaning that it has the greatest combination of views, "favorites" and comments.  I've also gotten a fair amount of attention for it on local blog DCist. This image was chosen as an Honorable Mention in Burke & Herbert bank's 2010 photo contest. I'm fascinated by symmetry and find it very beautiful.  I also love taking a scene like this and breaking the symmetry by inserting the subject in a place of tension.  I was here in Tampa, Florida in February for a work event, so subjects were mostly reluctant. Every year, DC's little Chinatown puts on a New Year parade.  The parade itself isn't that long, which works out great for all the photographers.  Security is pretty lax and if you look like you might possibly be press (that is, have a big camera and act entitled), no one harasses you about getting right up in the performers' space. While not the most technically brilliant photo ever, I wanted to include this one because I'll never shoot in the Archives again.  Cameras are no longer allowed in the galleries, which prompted quite a bit of ire in the local photog community and also several say-goodbye trips to the Archives. An image I love from the National Conservatory on the National Mall.  Again, shot on my lunch break. This image was selected for Northern Virginia Community's College's student photography show.  I do a lot of shooting on the metro. It's a really dynamic, interesting place. As I've mentioned lots before, I take a lot of self-portraits in hotel rooms.  I get bored and there's usually some good light.  It's morphed into a project I hope to exhibit as part of Artomatic 2011 (since Artomatic 2010 never got around to happening).  Norfolk, Virginia in March: Hampton, Virginia in May: Portland, Maine in May.  I had in mind Frida Kahlo paintings.  I worked on this one for a long time.  It's actually really hard to make a down comforter look like that.  I would have preferred to have my knee tucked in, but this was pretty close to what I was going for. I also tend to shoot quite a bit of street photography.  People are so fascinating and if you are patient, they will almost always do something interesting for the camera. A trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  I was there on work but had an afternoon free. Spring 2010 I took a darkroom photography course at NOVA.  My final project involved putting animal masks on my coworkers and shooting them in normal business-type situations.  It was a rather successful project, I think. In May, George and I took a trip to Houston to visit with his family.  My grandfather lives three hours East in Lake Charles.  On the drive, there was a train going by at approximately the same speed we were.  George indulged several minutes of trying to match the train's speed so I could grab images like this one. In June, work took both George and me to Chicago.  My best friend lives there, so it turned into an epic two-week tourism-and-eating blowout.  As the trip neared the end, I became quite violently ill and activities needed to be made much, much healthier.  Turns out I might be getting old... More street, from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the Mall.  Always an amazing festival.  Yet another awesome thing I get to check out on my lunch break. In July, a crazy front moved through the city.  George was graciously driving me to a yoga class but the sudden downpour brought traffic to a screeching halt.  I never made it to the class, but I did grab this image from the car. At the very end of July, four great friends and George and I headed over to Ocean City for some relaxing beach-time.  It was a very nice little trip.  I envy photographers in Ocean City - the light on the beach was just stunning. DC had a little food cart war going on not too long ago.  I don't know what the resolution was, but no one seems to be talking about it anymore.  I hope the food trucks still get to to do their thing on into the future. In September, I photographed the City of Alexandria's Doggie Day Swim.  It was a rockin' good time.  I love the heck out of puppies and doggies of all kinds. Also in September, work brought me to Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin.  An early-morning stroll just to get out of the hotel room yielded this image, probably my favorite flower images I have taken. Further travels for work, this time to Dania Beach, Florida.  Our headquarters are located in this dumpy little town between Ft. Lauderdale and Hollywood.  It's not the most exciting place to spend a week, but I have to make do a couple times a year. In October, George and I took a "romantic" mini-vacation (we find it amusing to refer to alone-time for us as "romantic") to Winchester, Virginia.  It was actually a really nice time, just driving around and looking at stuff, even though the whole point of the trip - a major balloon festival - inflated not a single balloon because of high winds that weekend. Also in October, I photographed the USA Science and Engineering Festival, which took over not only the National Mall, but Freedom Plaza and most of the space in-between.  This massive festival had a booth on just about anything you might be interested in science-wise.  It was an awesome time. And you all probably remember my recent trips to Orlando and San Diego, so I won't repeat myself here. As you can see, it's been another travel-filled year, full of lots of fun activities with friends and family.  I'm looking forward to probably more of the same in 2011 and all the new adventures that are headed this way!