Category: Events

LDS Temple Festival of Lights | Kensington, MD

George and my little holiday tradition is to drive around and see the light shows our crazy neighbors (and then some) put on for the holidays.  We stretched the "tradition" a bit to hit up the Mormon Temple in Kensington, Maryland for their annual Festival of Lights. mormon temple in washington, dc The free to all event included a performance by the Rockville Swing Band and sixteen giant Christmas trees decorated in various styles.  I couldn't quite figure out the theme - some of them seemed to be representing many different countries, others were just pretty - but they were all very nice.  They also had nativity scenes from around the world.  On the whole, a very pleasant outing. jesus at the washington mormon temple music performance at lds temple peace on a christmas tree washington dc christmas tree stars on the washington dc christmas tree annapolis tree at lds temple nativity scene at lds temple nativity scene at the mormon temple in washington dc felt nativity scene jesus and mormon temple dc
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by Amber Categories: EventsTags: , ,

Wedding photographers’ get-together

On Sunday, I drove up to Baltimore's Inner Harbor for a fun little get-together with some great local photogs from the group Starting a Wedding Photography Business.  If you are in the business, this is a great forum in which to participate.  Endless knowledge streams out of the archives, if you'll only look.  Highly recommend!! We might have been a bit awkward at first, but once we got some burgers and quesadillas in us, it was time to rock it camera-style.  First, two images from our short photo walk around the harbor.  I really like these and I'm kind of amazed I got anything at all that I liked because we were really only shooting maybe 15 minutes, very casually. man chesapeake inner harbor baltimore maryland No, these people aren't with our group.  I took the shot I wanted (cute couple looking out on the water) but my focus point was wrong, so I went to do another and she turned around!  I expected this image to be her looking mad. cute couple in baltimore, md Jaimie and Rehan: Julia and Rehan Jaimie and Ayesha: Jamie and Ayesha Baltimore, md I've known about freelensing for a while but I got frustrated when it didn't immediately work out for me.  Ayesha showed us all how to do it right (or well, right enough - probably need to stop up quite a bit to actually get something in focus). ayesha with freelensing Angel: angel in baltimore, md These guys were there too, but I either didn't get any photos of them or didn't like the ones I took (hey, 4/8 ain't that bad!): Sarah Bill Doug Chris Looking forward to the next meetup!
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by Amber Categories: EventsTags: , ,

Carrotmob DC

A carrotmob is a group of people that get together and spend their dollars consciously at places that live up to the ideals we'd hope to find in all businesses - employing a carrot and not a stick.  DC's first Carrotmob took place today at Teaism in Penn Quarter.  Among many other environment- and employee-friendly practices, Teaism provides paid sick leave for their employees, something more than 90% of restaurants fail to do. I love the carrotmob concept, which encourages people to think carefully about where they spend their money and the impact that choice has on others.  When you eat a burger at McDonald's or Busboys & Poets (another contender for the carrotmob), you're not just having some food - you're supporting that business.  The dollars you spend have an impact.  I truly believe that the "votes" we cast with our dollars are at least as strong as those we cast at the ballot box.  I don't always think about it (and it's certainly not always pleasant to do so), but it is always true. So, today, George and I put our money where our mouths are and exchanged some cash for some socially responsible food.  Watch me play hyper-local news source, starting now! DC Employment Justice Center's Courtney Chappell and Woong Chang from Restaurant Opportunities Center - DC: socially responsible eating and spending - teaism in penn quarter, washington dc Javier Marquez, manager at Teaism: presenter at carrotmob dc Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells presents Golden Carrot Award... ward 6 councilmember tommy wells teaism washington dc ...to Teaism owners Michelle Brown (bel0w) and Linda Neumann. teaism owner linda neumann teaism owner michelle brown MomsRising, a local DC nonprofit, also presented the owners with the Super Hero Award. momsrising presents super hero award to teaism owners - washington dc Thanks to the owners of Teaism for being such do-gooders and for the organizers of the carrotmob.  I'll be sure to be there next time!
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by Amber Categories: EventsTags: , ,