Photo Restoration Project ~ Great Nana Lives On

Along with my appreciation for vintage furniture and machinery comes photograpy as well. I've been honing my restoration skills with new ideas I learned while at Photoshop World from my friend Matt Kloskowski. My most recent project was my wife's dear Grandmother, Angela Arrigo Pope, or Great Nana as we knew her. Nana lived to 95 and was as sweet and as nice an Italian women as you could fine. She passed a few years back.

I think the resulting photo came out well. She is still radiant as ever. The original scanned photo appears below.

Gone Antiquing in Leesburg, VA!

For those that know my wife Laura she has a keen interest for antiques. She can find some real diamonds in the rough and our house is nicely decorated with many interesting items. Over the years her interest has rubbed off on me. I love the idea of vintage furniture, especially when coupled with moving parts or machinery. It makes me sit in wonder of the story behind the unique piece. Where has it been? Who bought it? And in some cases, how did it make it all this way and still be in such great shape.

Which lead us to this little beauty. We enjoyed a weekend away in Leesburg, VA where antiques are abundant. We popped in on the local 4H club where the annual antique show was in full swing. This is where we met Gib and Carol Wood of Heritage Antiques in Gainesville VA. Gib's passion is restoring Victor-Victrola Phonographs or Victor "Talking Machines" and a variety of other furniture. This little guy was manufactured in 1917 and is in great shape. After receiving a full education on the machine, and a demonstration, we were sold. Its a nice looking piece and fits really well in our little music room (see pic below). What was extra special was watching and listening to my mother tell stories of gathering with her brothers and sisters around the old Victrola in her childhood home in Richmond. That alone was worth the investment.



The music room was once the nursery for our three boys. We have since removed one wall and converted it to this room above, all the while hoping to inspire our boys with music. Our eldest plays guitar, trombone, and sings. The younger two are very adept at....Rock Band on the Wii. Does that count?

Double Down in Washingtonian Magazine's Monthly Photo Contest

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday to see that two of my photos were selected in the April photo contest in Washingtonian Magazine. The theme was local architecture. One was selected as a finalist. The winner gets printed in the June issue. You can vote for it by clicking here (VOTE) if you like. I've managed to sneek 3 in before but have never won. But that's OK...its nice to be recognized. I have reposted the pics below. You can see them in a larger format by double clicking the picture.

Thanks for your support. I'll keep trying.

Corridor at the EPA building in D.C.
(Finalist)

National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center
(Runner Up)

National Air and Space Museum ~ Udvar Hazy Center

I've been polishing up a few photos to enter into this month's Washingtonian Magazine's Photo Contest. The theme is Architecture. I'll keep you posted.

National Museum of American History

Popped into DC with the family last Sunday to visit the National Museum of American History. Its gotten quite an overhaul and was quite nice. Hands down favorite exhibit was the "Price of Freedom" which takes you from the Revolutionary War through the Gulf War. I highly recommend a visit if you haven't been in a while.

The building above is the EPA building as you come out of the Foggy Bottom Metro.

Lobster back.

I think these must have come out of my Dad's basement.


Proud fan.

The atrium inside the Ronald Reagan building.

Out For A Ride ~ Self Portrait

Click the pic for a larger view.

Hit the trails this morning for a long ride. Gotta love those clouds. Beautiful morning. Great ride. This wall runs along an industrial building near the Washington and Old Dominion Bike Trail in Vienna. Kinda cool...don't ya think?

Geek Speak: My self portrait was taken with my Canon 7D mounted on a mini tripod. Its a three shot HDR image married in Photomatix software and tweaked in Adobe Literoom and CS4. By the way....CS5 came out yesterday. Can you feel the excitement? Its all ready on order. Wahoo!

Sofia

It is that time of the year again when many 2nd graders prepare to receive the Gift of God within the Catholic Faith. I never tire of seeing these beautiful young ladies in their stunning white dresses. Congratulations Sofia.