Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert had been hinting at doing some sort of rally in DC. Mostly in opposition to the crazy bickering going on for the upcoming midterm elections. As you can imagine, there is a pretty large following for these two. And there are plenty sick of the politics. What better way than to have a little rally?

So yeah, the Shady Grove Metro station was a little bit crowded. Since I forgot to refill my SmartTrip card, I was there, waiting with everyone. And really, I was surprised at how many people were from Pennsylvania. Sure they seemed to be near the PA/MD border, but I guess it hadn’t really sunk in that a ton more people from outside the DC metro area would be there. It was a good hour or so wait if I recall. My friend who was coming showed up about 40 minutes into the wait, heh.

If anyone had ventured into DC for Obama’s Inauguration, you could get a sense of how it was. No one could board metro really, and quite a few took the train in the opposite direction to board on the first stop. One poor guy had no clue what was going on and was simply trying to go one stop to grab lunch! Eventually, we got off at Metro Center because I figured we could just walk to the Mall from there.

I’m a little upset I didn’t catch many ridiculous signs. Our arrival was an hour after the event started. And the crowds were thick. I believe they underestimated the number of people coming because we managed to get to the last set of speakers, and there was still a block or two of people behind it. We decided to continue our navigation game through the crowd to get to the back of the Mall in hopes of more jumbotrons, but we were greeted with a thinning crowd of people. We kind of gave up since we knew it’d probably be televised anyway. I was there to show a little support and document it really, or try to. The trip back was much easier since we beat the crowd back.

Video highlights can be found on Comedy Central (not sure where the full video might be).

Yeah, we saw him, too. Full gallery on SmugMug.

Of all the years I keep hearing about people going to Rennfest and me skipping out, I finally decided to take a stroll through this mythical place.

I will say, off the bat, it is a great place to just people watch. It’s quite interesting to see so many people dress for the occasion, and do it so well. Or at least, do it a hell of a lot better than I could. Those that were in character were also fun to watch and listen as they’d sometimes taunt you (ok, that as mostly at some of the games).

There were many a firsts here: archery, knife throwing, fried turkey leg, pretzel crab (delicious if you haven’t tried), deep fried oreos (not so great)… all quite entertaining. The arts/crafts/items were certainly interesting to say the least for some (look at the header image, heh) and the weaponry, i.e., swords and the like, were pretty cool. I don’t think it’s something I’d start collecting, but one of these days I wouldn’t mind a broadsword on display if I could figure out how to fit it into the decor.

In all, definitely a fun experience. I’m not a hardcore Rennfest guy, but I’d go back at least to try more random food. And maybe to finally dunk the damn wench. Full gallery at SmugMug.

I happened to come across this photowalk that was being sponsored by Scott Kelby. I’m not sure how I came across it, but it seemed like an interesting idea. Get everyone around the world to take part in an event to promote photography. And possibly win prizes to boot! To be honest, I’m better at these things alone, or with a couple of people, but I wanted to get out there. The one I attended was in Georgetown (Washington DC).

First off, it was quite hot. But the people were all very friendly. The crowd eventually thinned itself to smaller groups that matched each others pace, but we followed each other for the most part. When everyone put up their pictures, it was neat to see everyone’s viewpoint from the same walk. This was likely the bigger picture, I think, and I always find this interesting. Full gallery of my shots on SmugMug.

edit: I won our photowalk with this, free book!

The first time I was in San Francisco, I was 4 months old =) This time, I’ve grown a bit and was able to explore it some. I was visiting family in Stockton, and my friend just happened to be up in SF from LA the same week I was out there. We decided to meet up and explore the city. I went out with my Vibram Five Fingers and marched along. A lovely city from what I could see, but no doubt costly for some of the amazing views. I don’t think I could deal with the hills either. My clutch would kill me.

Check out the full gallery at SmugMug.

It hasn’t been that long since I’d been to the National Zoo. But it’s always a nice get away and free to walk! And it was a day to finally try Ben’s Chili Bowl (yes, I’ve lived here most my life and rarely venture into DC for the food). The pictures of the day can be found on SmugMug.

I like Great Falls–the view is simply amazing. There doesn’t seem like there’s much to do, but it’s nice to walk along the paths and just soak in the nature. And watch the rock climbers. The Maryland side is more hiker friendly if I recall, but don’t quote me on that. I haven’t been over there since College. I do know there’s a good bit of space to eat. Just get everyone to come in one car, they charge entry on that basis.  The pictures are on SmugMug.

Full gallery on SmugMug.

I’m not sure how I decided to do this.  I want to say it was a strobist tweet but I am not too keen in digging through that list to find it.  I will say, I ended up at ISHOOTSHOWS.COM to whom I give credit for giving me the nudge to do this.   And here is my write-up of what went down.

If you follow the ishootshows link, you’ll see the idea is based on  using a 16 quart stainless steel mixing bowl for your dish.  A little heavy, but professional-ish looking for a DIY project.  I had plenty of trouble finding one, but eventually settled for… ebay.  Yes, I bought it on ebay, in bulk (ok, a 4 pack is bulk to me).  $40 shipped, but I figured a) if I screwed up, I’d have a backup b) I could provide a bowl to someone local and c) my mom actually said she’d take one.  Other suggestions are basically restaurant supply stores.

Cut with a Dremel and the 426 reinforced fiberglass cutting wheel.  I strongly suggest you get a pair of ear plugs or noise blocking headphones.  And don’t do this at night unless you don’t care about your neighbors.  I also strongly suggest not using a shitty Harbor Freight rotary tool.  No, I didn’t use it, but I realized I needed a real Dremel.  Wasted money.  Oh, and safety goggles.  Sand it down when you’re done.

I assume you all know the basics of the beauty dish.  There are a few more holes I cut for the studs for the reflector dish and the L-bracket for the flash mount.  I will say this-drill the holes on the dish first, then place it on the bottom backside of the bowl to trace cut out holes.  I did it the other way around and quickly realized it’d be a pain to line up properly.  Oops.  Oh, and get a decent bit that was designed to cut through metal.  Dull crappy bits take forever… and will snap (unrelated project, but thought I’d mention it).

I used Rustoleum flat black and white spray paint.  One can should be enough for 4-6 coats or more.  I fail at spray painting, especially outside with a hint of a breeze.  I have some smooth spots, and some rough ones from stray spray? Or just failed technique.  I should have probably sanded in between coats, but I’m impatient.  And my attempts at sanding just cut through the paint.  Another note, when I flipped this over to spray the black, there were small gaps in my cardboard liner.  Yeah, the paint got through and I had to do an extra layer of white touch up.  Give yourself a healthy afternoon.  For this part.  And another for…

You have to protect your work, so use Minwax Polycrylic over a well dried paint job.  I found this at Home Depot, but I think it will vary by area from what I’ve read.  Again, showing you the over spray.  Or so I think, I have never used this stuff but it dried fine.  To be honest, I don’t know how well this will actually hold up over time.  But it sure beats just spray paint.  If you can’t find this, use a clear coat or something.  It’ll be worth it.

For mounting the flash, I was lucky.  The L-bracket I found was spaced almost perfectly.  Unfortunately, I still had to drill a hole through it for mounting it to the bowl.  Drilling through steel is fun.  Again, make sure you have  a sharp bit for metal work.  I painted this black as well.  You’ll notice I had to raise the flash some in order to line it up.  Yes, it’s  just a bunch of washers.  If anyone has any suggestions, I’m open to an alternative.  This will likely be an issue with any future flashes I get that happen to have PC sync or 1/8″ plugs built-in.   And for the curious, I’m using the hotshoe adapter to use Alienbee Cybersyncs.  But really, if you have any suggestions for making this fully adjustable (besides find a new L-bracket, unless you can point me somwhere), I’m all ears.   Drilling more holes does not count.

And there you have it, my little DIY beauty dish project.  I may need to use longer screws for the reflector dish, but we’ll see.  Initial tests seem alright, but then again, I need to work a bit on lighting.

Parts list

• 16 quart stainless steel mixing bowl, $10
• 8″ aluminum pizza pan/dish, $3
• 2 cans of spray paint, $8
• 1 can of Polycrylic, $10
• 1 L-bracket, $5 (2 in pack)
• various screws and washers, $6
• umbrella bracket mounts, whatever you got

The spray paint/polycrylic is probably good for another bowl, depends on how much you waste on the first one.  Or how thick you want the coatings.  Locking washers might be a consideration, too.

These are SOOC via the latest version of Lightroom 2 and ACR.  You’ll have to excuse the focus (and shiny face), I don’t know how people shoot themselves all the time.  All shot with my GF1+14-45.  Threadless rules.  Oh, and no, I’m not praying, I have allergies.

I give my input on this amazing little camera over at Lensist, so go take a look!

Next up, I have my “6 months with the Pre” write up.

If you ask folks that know me, I have a weakness for female vocals. So when A Fine Frenzy was scheduled to roll through the area, I jumped at going. They played at the Birchmere Music Hall in Alexandria, VA. I had never been there, and apparently it’s basically dinner then the show. Go when they open, get a good seat, have a decent meal (not cheap though, but not expensive either). Lucky for me, my coworker was also a fan so she went, too. Few of my friends share some of my tastes in music, hah.

The best part? We waited for the parking lot to empty out, and inadvertently became part of a line to meet Alison Sudol (lead singer). I only had a ticket stub to sign, but have an awkward picture at least. I look like I’m distancing myself, but there was a chair right in front of me and I was a bit rushed in making sure my GF1 was in auto for the person to take the pic, hah.  The even of music on SmugMug.