Room Without a View

Photographer Chase Jarvis has started a series of blog entries this year to give his readers an idea of what it's like being a photographer who travels. It is called Room With(out) a View. I figured I'd be a copycat, and try a similar thing. Another traveling friend of mine takes photos of her hotel rooms, and I've wanted to do that as well. I enjoy having the opportunity to practice lighting interiors. Ideally, I would have more than one flash. (I'm sure if I kicked two running shoes out of my bag, I could have room for two more flashes. It's not like I've been using the shoes much lately.)

This has been a nice week in the D.C. area. On the first day I arrived, I gathered together five colleagues, a spouse and a friend for dinner in Bethesda. We took photos outside the restaurant after dinner, and I heard someone say my camera must weigh 10 pounds. Ha! I used the pop-up flash, and the photos still turned out great. My engagement has been great. Very, very nice customer. I got to work with my favorite WebSphere Application Server. After making a recommendation to make things easier, simpler and better, we invited VMware to the party. Does it get any better than working with such solid, fantastic software?

The photos above show the room and the view from my room at the Hampton Inn Dulles South. The Internet connection and welcome letter were painful to experience, but the rest of the room was alright. Every light in the room was fluorescent, and varied in quality and color from one bulb to the next. (One was even displeasing to the ears!) Much more enjoyable was visiting my friend and former coworker a couple of times. I was treated to the most recent remodeling they've completed at their house. I loved the master bedroom closet. It's like walking into a trendy clothing store! I was dying to take a photo of it, but never did. Next time I visit, I'm getting the shot!

PS - No SoFoBoMo to report on since the last post. I was hoping to have the book done by now, but too much life got in the way. I'm motivating myself to at least get it done within 30 days of when I first took a SoFoBoMo photo.