Hey, Hon!

"Passerby pose for a portraits during HonFest in Hampden, Baltimore., June 13, 2009. HonFest is a local tradition. HonFest is an annual celebration in honor of these women. The higher the hair, the closer to heaven."

A funny thing happened last month as I was sitting on my back porch.

Hoping I'd get a call to cover HonFest, I came up with an idea to setup a white sheet or seamless and shoot street portraits whether or not I got a call.

Within minutes, my phone buzzes from my buddy Drew. He had the same idea. Ironically, we hadn't told one another until we chatted on the phone, so we decided to take a tag-team approach.

In all my years in Baltimore, I've never even been to this fun event.

If you don't know, HonFest is a local Baltimore tradition, or as we locals would call it, a Bawlmer tradition, hon.

A term of endearment, Hon, is short for Honey. So if you haven't figured it out yet, HonFest is an annual celebration in honor of hard-working Baltimore women, and as the saying goes, the higher the hair, the closer to heaven.

I met up with Drew around 3 p.m., and we gaffed up a seamless on a side street brick wall. We then scouted out some willing subjects (we also had Monica sending us some people since she was enjoying the event with beverages and other friends).

Charlie showed up and shot some video, too. We should be done that soon. We've all been busy.

Also, to toot my own horn, this was also the feature for the day on SportsShooter.

AND... if you aren't tired of clicking links in this post, click here to see these portraits bigger on my Web site.

Sunny

"Lori Stephen attempts to shed sunshine from her eyes during a round of miniature golf in Pennsylvania Saturday evening."

Random photo I took while playing miniture golf. I can only assume that is was too sunny outside.

After this photo, I proceeded to throw my club into a tree. I have zero patience for golf, be it mini, or as I call it, grown up golf.

I can drive a mean golf ball at the range however.

America's birthday

"Amazed by the light, an unidentified child players with a sparkler before the Fourth of July firework show in Shrewsbury, Pa., July 4, 2009.

I got back into the U.S. just in time to celebrate the Fourth of July.

All day I played the 2009 version of horseshoes called cornhole, ate pit beef, apple pie, and drank American beer.

At dusk, I ventured up to Pennsylvania with some friends. In Maryland, it's illegal to shoot off fireworks at your own home. So we went to Pennsylvania where fireworks are legal.

We not only saw a safe, legal show, but a good show of pyrotechnics in the streets and random peoples backyards.

I didn't shoot much, but I snapped this of a kid playing with a sparkler right before the big show of light.

Happy (late) birthday, America.

New ride

"My new 2009 WRX Premium parked in the Forest Hill Air Park on July 11, 2009."

I don't post many "personal" photos on here, but I thought I'd share this.

I've been doing my homework on a new car for more than a month and finally picked up my new Subaru on Friday.

After dealing with about 10 dealerships in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, I found a impeccable dealership who was willing to propose me a great price. They also offered me a fair price for my old Subaru, too.

One of the most important things in all of this was the interest rate for financing. I'll end up saving a lot of money in the long run after getting out of my old loan.

Coming from a 2005 Subaru 2.5 RS this is a fun upgrade. I definitely plan on adding a Subaru bike rack for my mountain bike soon.

I decided to take a quick snap on my way home. Enjoy the picture, because I am enjoying it behind the wheel!

Young gun

"Young Marine Brandon Yeager, 13, of Conowingo, pretends to fire a gun from a black hawk helicopter that was on display after ceremonies honoring those who fought in the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, during World War II."

I still have some random assignments I wanted to share before I jetted over to Europe; this assignment in particular being a D-Day ceremony near Baltimore.

Nothing seemed to be going my way though. I was told to get there between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. to document a black hawk helicopter land.

When I showed up, the chopper was long landed and empty.

Second, I was told to get some photos of a World War II veteran that always comes to this certain ceremony. He has written a book and was apart of a certain infantry group. Well, he was a no show and there were no other veterans, at least from World War II, at this remembrance.

At this point, I am shooting whatever I feel tells the story of the day. But not much is happening. Yet I always remember that some of the most subtle moments make the most telling photos.

My confidence began to rise as I started making some keeper photos for the assignment.

Alas, I was about to call it quits after the ceremony, but my own curiosity led me back over to the black hawk helicopter. The marines had opened it to the public to sit in and such, so I took advantage of that.

Afterward, I was standing outside of the chopper talking to the leader of the "young marines" since I realized they were from my small hometown near my parents place.

As I sat there chatting, I started shooting from the hip of these kids, young marines goofing off. I thought it was so funny how young they were, yet so serious about wanting to go to war.

This picture ended up running over all the serious D-Day images I had shot. Funny stuff.

Toning Europe

"Dragging on a cigarette, a women relaxes at a cafe on Van Baerlestrat in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June 22, 2009. The cafe is in the museum district near the world renowned Van Gogh Museum."

Another quick frame from Amsterdam. I just got back to the U.S. and started to
edit and tone images from Europe.

I shot way too much and feeling overwhelmed, maybe that's why I am liking this frame right now...it matches my mood.

Alas, more to come.

Now boarding...

"Waiting in an overcrowded, hot John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, two children try to pass time by watching a DVD, Wednesday, July, 1, 2009."

Wow. I am finally home from Europe and what an adventure that was. What was suppose to be a nice, leisurely travel back east turned into a 24-hour travel episode.

Flying out of Berlin, my flight was delayed roughly an hour. But somehow we managed to make up lost time in the air and were scheduled to land on time.

Well, 30 minutes before touching down at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, our pilot told us inclement weather would put us in a hold pattern for a good bit.

Once touched down, I was running late. After going through customs and getting my bag to recheck, I only had 15 minutes to catch my connecting flight home.

Well, I was quickly informed that my flight was canceled. That's when the long-wait started.

I was rebooked for the next morning, but I insisted to be put on a standby after having a nine-hour flight from Europe.

So I sat around shooting features until 7:30 p.m. when I heard a miracle. They had called my name. I guess being extremely nice to the gate attendant paid off. I knew tensions were running extremely high all over the airport and was genuine with her.

But that's when the real fun started. To make a long, miserable story short, I sat on a small commuter jet (about 20 seats) on the runway for more than four hours. We sat there so long that our jet ran out of fuel.

After keeping my cool (many others did not), we made it Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in a perfect 33 minutes.

That's right, a half-hour flight took more than five-hours. Needless to say, after waiting an additional 45 minutes for my bag and then driving 45 minutes north home, I was exhausted. My energy was depleted.

Tons of Europe pictures to come in coming weeks. Also recent stuff I have yet to post. Fun stuff.

Europe: Munich

“As the sunsets, a teenager sprints through the Karlsplatz Stachus fountain in Munich, Germany, Friday evening.”

Normally when I travel, I like to blog as frequent as I can. However, the Internet has been spotty at best.

When I do have a chance to get in front of a monitor, it’s not on my computer, which means I don’t have access to my images (or a U.S. keyboard).

Again, this is short post. I wish I had time to elaborate on each place I’ve been, the cold beers I’ve drank and the incredible foods I’ve ingested.

As of now, I am currently in Austria and it’s beautiful here. By far the most beautiful city, the hills ARE alive in the sound of music (that’s for you, Mom).

I don’t expect to blog until back in the states, so this could be my last post from Europe.

I’ll be sure to make multiple posts when I get back. Ciao.

Europe: No Internet

“Following the death of international pop star Michael Jackson, headlines read of his passing on German newspapers as a media salesman waits for potential buyers on the streets in Munich, Germany, Friday, June 26, 2009. A chorus of grief for the megastar spread around the world after his sudden death in Los Angeles.”

edit: I’ve added a picture to this post and changed the title since I was unable to before with my limited Internet access.

I am still in Europe, but I am without Internet and the ability to post anything new.

Hopefully, when I get to Salzburg tomorrow I'll be able to update.

Until then, thanks to the Apple Store in Munich, Germany for the free Internet. I needed to connect with the news, and was shocked that Micheal Jackson passed when I caught up just now.

OK, enough of this Euro keyboard. Finding the letter 'Y' is a challenge in itself!

Europe: Amsterdam

"A street performer dressed simply in only a thong, dangles upside down in the Leidseplein square in Amsterdam, June 21, 2009. Leidseplein is one of Amsterdam's most popular centers for nightlife."

Some say that anything goes in Amsterdam. While that generally seems correct, there are still laws and hard drugs are officially illegal.

I’ve been posted here for a couple days and have two more left. I’ve seen it all in the “dam.”

The barely dressed women posing in the windows of the world-renowned red light district, the stench of the marijuana freely lingering in the air at café shops, the history of Anne Frank, and the other characters you see roaming the streets.

It really is like stepping into an entire different country: literally. But most stays the same about Europe to me. It’s super easy to travel, for the most part safe to walk the streets any and most people speak English.

Two things I absolutely love are the long days and the feel of the city. In Amsterdam it’s hard to realize you’re in a “city.” When one thinks of city, they would say skyscrapers, non-stop traffic and mobs of people.

While parts can be crowded, the city is what I call an old town. There are no tall buildings, nothing is modern and it really feels like you’re in Disney World (if you have ever been to Epcot). I find myself staring, thinking, is this real? Is this just a fake building or do people really live here? It really is awesome.

The second part is the best. The long days. No joke, I am looking out my hotel window right now at 10:44 p.m., and it’s still not pitch dark. I would say the sunsets at 10:15 p.m. or so. I LOVE THAT!

Anyways, I am again paying for Internet, so making this a quick post although I have a lot on my mind and lots of photos. Nonetheless, I thought the above summed up Amsterdam well.