Life
I recently spent about a week in Washington DC for a conference. That’s one of the great perks of the work I do… I get paid to travel! Love love love. It can get tiring for sure, but I try not to complain about that too much (whining to John about it doesn’t count right?!). I had a bit of free time to walk around the city and I was so close to everything! I’m not really a big city kind of girl but I appreciate the ability to walk everywhere and public transportation. When you’re used to the rural, desert southwest this is quite a treat! Also, I must add that while the cost of living is super expensive in DC, all the monuments, landmarks and museums were free (everything I wanted to see at least). When I arrived at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, I dutifully went to the ticket counter and fully expected a $20 price tag to peruse the exhibits. I had to verify a few times that yes in fact the museum was free. I didn’t owe anything. I didn’t have to watch a one hour sales pitch. I wasn’t limited to just a small section. I could walk around to my hearts delight. Woot.
This was my first time in DC and I felt like everything I said was a bad “that’s what she said” joke, “Oh my gosh! That’s so much bigger than I imagined it” when describing the Washington Monument. I was constantly chuckling to myself. Yes I have infantile humor. But the Washington Monument is huge! And the Lincoln Memorial! I was expecting the average height kind of statue and not the 19 foot statue set on a 10 foot pedestal. Sometimes I prefer what I imagine things to be rather than the reality. I have have a way of making things WAY more impressive in my head and am often disappointed when faced with the real deal. In DC this was never the case. I loved my stay here and am looking forward to visiting again in February.
A little about the images below… obviously there are the necessary photos of monuments etc. but I also stumbled upon a protest outside the Department of Justice one evening. John tried calling me during this and of course I didn’t answer because #1 I politely turned off the sound because I didn’t want to be “that” person and #2 I was just super engrossed in the whole process of the protest, observing and taking photos. I send John a text a few minutes later and just said “Talk later, I’m at a protest” and I received back “Melissa, at a protest. Classic.” The last few images were taken of a very nice artist who was making blown glass pendants at a booth he had set up at a street market. I was mesmerized watching him. It didn’t hurt that he had a space heater as well and it was quite a chilly night. The process of making the pendant you see at the end was maybe 15 minutes at the most. You can see his work here – Eicher Glass Co.
Last but not least, thank you to my good friend Jess and her boyfriend Andy for taking me in for one night and the ticket to see Julius Caesar. Andy was raised in DC and was the perfect tour guide! See you guys again soon!
I was the still photographer for the (now award-winning) independent feature film Best Day Ever, about a guy turning 50 and finally finding love. I shot the artwork photo for the DVD cover, posters, etc. and also a bunch of production stills during the shoot. The movie is getting its Los Angeles premiere at Laemmle’s Music Hall in Beverly Hills on December 3rd if you can make it! If not, enjoy these stills from the film and congratulations to all the cast and crew!
And of course Melissa Wright Photography was there! This was helped by the fact that Lindee Woody and Cherre Hooper are two of my very dearest friends! I’m so excited for them both and the LGBT community. Here’s the full article published on ParkerLiveOnline. Lindee and Cherre have been together for 14 years and just look at those smiles. How could anyone deny that kind of happiness?
I had the honor of being the official photographer for the Colorado River Indian Tribes Native American Days Fair and Expo this year. It was four days of packed, back-to-back events! I have so many photos from the fair, shinney games, tug of war, horseshoe and the pageant just to name a few.
What really caught my attention was the Friday and Saturday night pow wows. It was a beautiful display of tradition, culture and oh my… the colors!! The swirling, the dancing, the rhythm, it’s mesmerizing to watch really. On the way home I could still feel the beat in my bones. If you ever have the opportunity to attend a pow wow, I highly recommend it.
Since John was not able to attend I opted to share this 4 day experience with a couple of local amateur photographers and had fun talking shop in between events. Thanks to you both, let’s do this again soon!
