by Bruce Schaefer
Following are a number of photography-related exhibits and events occurring now, or soon, in the extended Washington D.C. area. These include gallery and museum exhibits, college exhibits, special events, and sometimes exhibits or events to photograph yourself.
There are several online photo “exhibit” links provided at the bottom of the column for the armchair adventurer.
Baltimore Annual Kinetic Sculpture Race – Saturday, May 4
Bruce Schaefer
On Saturday, May 4, wackiness returns full-force to Baltimore, bringing a huge opportunity for fun and funny photographs to dazzle your friends. That would be the Annual Kinetic Sculpture Race, a riotous day-long event sponsored by the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM). (read more)
G. Richard Thompson Wildlife Management Area
Seven miles of the Appalachian Trail and the network of other trails invite hiking and peeping wildflowers in the Thompson Wildlife Management Area, near Linden, Virginia. At the higher elevations, a spectacular display of large-flowered trillium occurs now!
The season is short, and weather-dependent. Go before, not after, a rain storm! Expected peak is between May 4-10.
Hiking is not difficult. If you just want to shoot the best flowers and return with a minimum of effort you don’t need boots, water bottles, first aid kits, climbing ropes and such. Trilliums and Yellow Lady Slippers are within the first half mile of the trailhead on easy trails (as shown in the photo above). If you want to do a few miles, the trails get a bit more rugged, so wear boots, and bring water, maybe a lunch, bottle of wine, and a trail map. Bring a macro lens or a telephoto zoom no matter what! Here is a topo map of the area – the parking and Ted Lake Trail are indicated, Map
There are literally trillions of Trilliums, thousands of Showy Orchis and, if you know where
Dennis Freeman: Yellow Lady Slippers, 135mm, f/3.2, 1/320 sec, ISO 100, handheld
to look, some very impressive Yellow Lady Slippers (look for a few ~20 foot informal side paths to nowhere off the main trails).
The Trillium turn to a deep fuchsia color as they age. There is also Rue Anemone, May Apple, Wild Geranium – too many to count, several varieties of violets, and many other flowers. You are likely to run into botanists and photographers from around the country.
It now requires a Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries Wildlife permit to hike there, and you can get an account and purchase a permit online. Their website gives more information: www.dgif.virginia.gov/
Direct link to obtain ($4) permit: www.dgif.virginia.gov/access-permit/
Directions
It is approximately 2 hours from Silver Spring.
The ridge top (western) portion is reached from State Route 55 at Linden. From D.C. take I-66 West. From I-66 take exit 13, Linden, and travel east on State Route 55, turn left (north) on Route 638 (Freezeland Road). Just past Fox Hill Winery (excellent return stop), look for a gravel parking lot on the right. Use this address in Google Maps: 3750 Freezeland Rd, Linden, VA 22642. Apply “Satellite Map” overlay to see the gravel lot among the trees. The Ted Lake Trail trail head is at the end of the gravel lot.
Saturday- Sunday, June 8 – 9: Baltimore Front & Center Again with HONFest
Hampden in Baltimore is a center of silliness year around, but on the weekend of June 8-9, it steps into a spotlight and shows us why the neighborhood is so beloved to local filmmaker John Waters and gets featured in articles in the New York and Los Angeles Times, New York and Washington Post, and Rachel Ray’s TV show.
Hampden is the home of the beehive hairdo, the animal-print skirt, cat-eye sunglasses, and other affectations of questionable taste. And HONFest is where you find it for 2 days on unabashed display. (read more)
Sunflowers at the McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area
Dennis Freeman
Every year, around mid- to late-July, thousands of sunflowers bloom at McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area near Poolesville, MD. It is flower photography heaven! Timing is everything, so keep track of the blooming. Here are billions of photos.
Facebook is one source: facebook.com/pages/McKee-Beshers-Wildlife-Management-Area
PotomacRiver.org is another: potomacriver.org/news/
There are a number of fields, accessed from six different parking locations: Parking Area One, is the first one you come upon. It is shown on the top right of this map, near the red arrow. The other lots are also on this map. If the first lot is full, try the other lots.
American Myth & Memory: David Levinthal Photographs
Smithsonian American Art Museum (8th and F Streets, NW)
JUNE 7, 2019 — OCTOBER 14, 2019
Populated with toy cowboys and cavalry, Barbie dolls and baseball players, David Levinthal’s photographs reference iconic images and events that shaped postwar American society. Despite their playful veneer, Levinthal’s images provide a lens through which to examine the myths and stereotypes lurking within our most beloved pastimes and enduring heroes. In doing so, Levinthal encourages us to consider the stories we tell about ourselves—what it means to be strong, beautiful, masculine, feminine, and ultimately, American.
American Myth & Memory: David Levinthal Photographs brings together six of the artist’s best-known bodies of work to explore some myths found in American popular culture and their place in our collective memory. Created between 1984 and 2018, the series Modern Romance, American Beauties, Wild West, Barbie, Baseball, and History all explore quintessentially American themes and imagery.
Multiple Exposures Gallery
Torpedo Factory Art Center #312 • 105 N. Union Street • Alexandria, VA
May 7 – June 6, 2019
WASHINGTON POST
Here is a link to the online Washington Post’s lists of D.C., Maryland, and Virginia photography-related exhibits and museums. I have found that the various photography-related exhibits appear in different parts of the online paper, making a simple search or link unreliable. You can search within
Photography section: Photography
Going Out Guide: Going Out Guide
Art Section: Art
ONLINE PHOTO SITES
Collected by Bruce Schaefer
Following are some websites that offer terrific images for the armchair adventurer.
Fine Art Photography Awards
Fine Art Photography Awards is one of the largest award giving bodies for a community of artists ushering an era of new trends in the world of photography. Created in 2014, this competition is a melting pot for people where passion, interest, sense of beauty and openness to diversity in photography collide in intergalactic proportions. At Fine Art Photography, we seek to find artists and unique souls who breathe and live for creativity—where we provide a platform of promotion and support in their pursuit of self-realization and development.
16th Annual Smithsonian.com Photo Contest
smithsonianmag.com/photocontest/archive/2018/
We are excited to announce the winners and finalists of the 16th Annual Smithsonian.com Photo Contest. The 60 images were selected from more than 48,000 entries submitted by photographers from 207 countries and territories. From Rory Doyle’s Grand Prize-winning shot of a newborn cowboy in the Mississippi Delta to Daniel Garay’s image of a deconstructed Arc de Triomphe, they capture moments in time for Smithsonian.com readers around the globe.
2019 Sony World Photography Awards
worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards-exhibition
The World Photography Organisation is a global platform for photography initiatives. Working across up to 180 countries, our aim is to raise the level of conversation around photography by celebrating the best imagery and photographers on the planet. We pride ourselves on building lasting relationships with both individual photographers as well as our industry-leading partners around the world.
