The Features, Tourism

Gone Hunting (for Photos)

IMG_69269Students at work in Adams Morgan by Corinne Whiting

When you think DC, you don’t typically think “safari.” (Heck, with Tai Shan leaving us yesterday, now even the National Zoo seems far less exotic to explore.) But thanks to local photographer-entrepreneur E. David Luria, locals and visitors alike get the chance to go on a different type of hunt: the pursuit for the perfect photo.

I’ve been lucky enough to tag along on two of David’s tours with Washington Photo Safari. One was on a very sticky day that attracted a lot of map-wielding tourists to must-see spots like the White House, Vietnam Memorial and Lincoln Reflecting Pool. The second, on a morning so cold that a few wayward students kept disappearing inside for long coffee breaks, drew visitors and locals to the lively Adams Morgan zone. I enjoyed both safaris for the spontaneous chats with curious city newcomers as well as longtime residents who gladly shared their shutterbug expertise. I also appreciated David’s kind encouragement, grandfatherly jokes and the way in which he made every member of our slightly ragtag, eclectic photography team feel included.

But my favorite part? The license these tours gave me to screech to a snail’s pace for a few hours, studying the details of my city as if seeing it all for the first time. I pointed my lens at monuments, memorials, doorknobs, tattered murals, cracking sidewalks, shiny car hoods and intricate African weavings, finding beauty in places normally eclipsed by my rushed daily routine. As a pro tip, I recommend you to carry one of these Hiking backpacks, which you can get from weather proof hunting backpack sales shop, to help you take everything you need.

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The Daily Feed

High-kicking DC Tour Guides

Photo courtesy of
‘Rockettes’
courtesy of ‘skvidal’

Two Rockettes from the Radio City Christmas Spectacular show, which is coming to the Patriot Center and the Verizon Center this month, will be spreading some Christmas cheer around DC this Friday, December 4.

The leggy ladies will be playing tour guide on a double decker bus (Union Station, 11am), which is apparently similar to the NY sightseeing bus used in the actual show. They’re out-of-towners, though, so I just hope they know their stuff. Attention Rockettes: We Love DC is here to help. Call me.

After that, they will dash over to the National Christmas Tree for a quick photo op at 12pm, and then (my favorite part) handing out “Rockette Cupcakes” with Curbside Cupcakes from 1-2pm, so keep an eye out for them this Friday!

Alexandria, History, Night Life

Lights Going Out

Photo courtesy of wharman
Old Town Gazebo, courtesy of wharman

Ever done a nighttime walk through Old Town over in Alexandria?

If you’ve ever been over across the Potomac for dinner some weekend evening, you’re aware of the “period people” who meander along King Street, sharing the city’s history with passersby and giving the place a quaint atmosphere. (At least, a much better one than that of creepy Williamsburg.)

One of the key places along the King Street corridor is Gadsby’s Tavern, the center of social and political life in Alexandria during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Continue reading