All posts by dcphotoartist

The Colors of Night – more Washington DC and environs shots

Fountain, Georgetown Waterfront, Kennedy Center
Fountain, Georgetown Waterfront, Kennedy Center

Burma Restaurant, Chinatown, DC
Burma Restaurant, Chinatown, DC
Glen Echo Sign
Glen Echo Sign


Three more in my DC at night series. These were all shot with the Canham 5×7 wood field, and if memory serves, all were taken with the Kodak 12″ Commercial Ektar lens.

Melissa Cacciola- Mohawk Iron Worker tintype portraits

Old Man, 2012, 8×10 tintype
Norman, 2012, 8×10 tintype
Martin, 2012, 8×10 tintype

I discovered Melissa’s wet plate collodion work through a link someone posted on APUG, and I felt it was worth sharing. She has done a beautiful seet of wet plate portraits of the Mohawk Ironworkers who for the last century have been responsible for building the skyscrapers of New York City. The inspiration was the 9/11 10th anniversary last year, and the construction of Freedom Tower on the site of the old World Trade Center. I just felt her work was worth sharing. Please browse her website linked below to see more of her work and to find out more about her.

Melissa Cacciola: Mohawk Iron Workers

Some of my remaining 5×7 color negative film

Georgetown in a Rainstorm
Georgetown in a Rainstorm

Here’s another in my DC at Night photos – the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and Water Street, under the Whitehurst Freeway in Georgetown. I was down there shooting some other scenes, trying to finish off my 5×7 color negative film stock (I bought a 50 sheet box when it was only $150 a box…now, over $400!!!!). This was taken with my 12″ Kodak Commercial Ektar lens. A roughly 30 second exposure. I was a bit nervous during the shoot as I was out in the rain, with a carbon-fiber tripod, and sheltering under a gigantic steel overpass. I think the lightning was a few miles away though, and nothing happened. I was a little bummed that none of the lightning recorded in the sky as anything other than general fog, but hey… the headlamps and tail lights of the cars recorded very nicely, don’t you think?

Glen Echo National Park – the Dentzel Carousel

Dentzel Carousel Horse
Dentzel Carousel Horse
Faces of the Dentzel Carousel
Faces of the Dentzel Carousel
Mirror and roof vaulting, Glen Echo Dentzel Carousel
Mirror and roof vaulting, Glen Echo Dentzel Carousel
The Dentzel Carousel in motion
The Dentzel Carousel in motion

Here are some images I took over Labor Day weekend at Glen Echo Park of the original Dentzel carousel. The Carousel is from the first decade of the 20th century, and is original to the park. It has been restored and is fully operational as you can see. One of the horses on the carousel is actually 100% original paint and as such it is roped off so you can’t ride it. The pipe organ/calliope is also fully functional and it has nearly an hours worth of music before it repeats.

Sailors Crossing the Equator

A Sailor's First Crossing of the Equator
A Sailor’s First Crossing of the Equator

Here is a vintage silver gelatin print of a sailor’s ritual head shaving on his first crossing of the equator. Note the “mermaid” in long blond wig administering the shaving, and the asian sailor restraining the recipient of the haircut. This must have been a merchant ship, possibly in the Pacific, pre- WW II. In any case, a fascinating snippet of nautical culture as seen from an insider’s perspective.

Fun with the Rollei – Part 4 – more DC, some at night and other random stuff

National Archives and the Navy Memorial, Young Couple, Nightfall
National Archives and the Navy Memorial, Young Couple, Nightfall
The Verizon Center, from 7th and F Streets
The Verizon Center, from 7th and F Streets

More fun with the Rolleiflex. All of this series was shot with Kodak Portra 160 NC, which is a fantastic film for night photography because of the way it handles color in mixed lighting conditions. In my opinion, it’s probably the best color film for this kind of shooting, ever. Others may disagree.

Cyclist returning his Bikeshare, National Portrait Gallery, Sunset
Cyclist returning his Bikeshare, National Portrait Gallery, Sunset
Episcopal Church, 13th and G Streets
Episcopal Church, 13th and G Streets
The Fairmount Market, 11th and Fairmount
The Fairmount Market, 11th and Fairmount
Morning Bus Ride, 11th Street Bus
Morning Bus Ride, 11th Street Bus

Random Portrait Cabinet Card – young man, Massachussetts

Young Man by Gaoutte, Monson, Massachussetts
Young Man by Gaoutte, Monson, Massachussetts

Nothing fancy – just a nice portrait of a very handsome young man.

More Native American Boys

Two Native American Boys, Kearney, Nebraska
Two Native American Boys, Kearney, Nebraska

Here’s another cabinet card, this time from Kearney, Nebraska (which I’ve actually been to before, on my cross-country drive from DC to San Francisco). These boys are obviously from a family which had assimilated to Anglo culture. It would be interesting to try and illustrate the divergence between assimilation and resistance through photographs like this. Too bad there’s not a date on the card to help with the process.

Fun with the Rollei part 3 – more food

Fruit Shopper, Whole Foods P Street
Fruit Shopper, Whole Foods P Street
Flower stall, Whole Foods Market, P Street
Flower stall, Whole Foods Market, P Street
Lamp, overhead view, Whole Foods P Street
Lamp, overhead view, Whole Foods P Street
Produce Department, Whole Foods P Street
Produce Department, Whole Foods P Street
Tomatoes, Penn Quarter Farmers Market
Tomatoes, Penn Quarter Farmers Market

The last image was taken at the Farmers’ Market and NOT at Whole Foods, but it’s food themed, and I wanted to include it but had to re-scan it from last time, so here is the revised scan.