sarah_johnson1

Over the weekend, I was walking by a coffeeshop near Gramercy Park,

and there was a woman sitting on a bench with two dogs. One a TINY

TINY TINY terrier, about the size of a soda can, the other a huge

black-and-white mutt. I thought it was a hilarious photograph: the

lady's paper, legs, and both dogs.

I decided to ask permission. I walked up, gently and sweetly

said "Excuse me, you have an adorable dog. I'm a photography student,

would you mind if I took a photograph?"

She said no. I'd never asked someone if I could take a photograph

before and I felt really shut down and embarrassed.

Not to mention I missed a funny photograph.

How do you go about asking in these kinds of situations? Did I do

something terribly wrong?

I was using a Stylus Epic and I looked like I belonged there - not

like a tourist - jeans and a backpack, no camera bag. She was a few

years older than I am but no older than 30 I'd say.

The national arboretum is nice. Dupont Circle/Embassy Row/Woodley Park. The Cathedral. Walk from the Cathedral to Cleveland Park Metro. Old Town Alexandria. Great sunsets over Manassas Battlefield.

I'm interested in this thread too - I live in DC and I don't take advantage of it like I should.

I'm headed to Argentina for a couple of weeks in October. I'll be

staying with a friend in Buenos Aires and probably seeing a lot of

the city. We are also considering a side trip to Montevideo or maybe

a few days in Mar del Plata.

Any general recommendations or specific must-sees?

Since I'll have a good home base I'm thinking of taking my Elan IIe

and tripod (which fits nicely in my checked bag) for the three or

four days I'll spend shooting solo while my host works, and for the

days I'm out with my friends I'm thinking of taking a small point-and-

shoot (since the purpose of the visit is as much to visit my friends

as it is to see Buenos Aires, even though I've never been).

Based on how my last few big trips have been, I'm guessing that I

will shoot 30-40 rolls of film and make an album with a few smaller

enlargements, nothing bigger than 8x10.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

I'm curious if anyone has experience with the Washington School of

Photography in Bethesda, MD.

I'm considering enrolling in one or more of the workshops; I have a

darkroom available to me, and I'd like to learn how to use it. I'd

also like to learn more about light and composition and the process

of seeing and creating good images.

Tuition for the workshops is easily in my price range. It's

reasonably conveniently located.

This is a hobby for me, a passion but probably not a profession. By

that I mean that I am enormously fascinated by the process of seeing

things and making images and discovering what happens through the

camera, and if I am able to occasionally sell a print or make a

beautiful portrait of someone or give a small album as a wedding or

baby gift, then great, but I don't ever expect to "quit my day job".

I particularly enjoy photographing architecture, children, and dogs.

Go figure.

I use an old manual Contax system with a few beautiful lenses and

also an Elan IIe with its functional but not exceptional kit lens

which I bought in London for a hundred bucks after dropping a Rebel G

in the river (oops).

I seem to flourish in a workshop environment but it has to be a

challenging one.

Thoughts?