The End

It's been a while since my last post. I never got around to posting any pictures from my summer trip to Berlin, so I figured today is a great day to do it. Today is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. 1989 does not feel like 20 years ago! This is a picture of the East Side Gallery. It's a 1.3 km section of the old wall that has been painted by artists from around the world. Right now, it is undergoing restoration, so there are sections that are obstructed by fences and scaffolding. You can see some other photos of the East Side Gallery and some others from my trip to Berlin here at flickr.

Regal Wings

Jen and I were walking back from having lunch in Eastern Market when I spotted this monarch butterfly. This site helped me figure out that this one is a male because of the spots on the hind wings and the thinner webbing. This makes me wish I had a nice macro lens, but the trusty nifty fifty will have to do for now!

Introducing James

Baby James Min-Hyuk was born at 0047 on September 12. He was almost 2 weeks past his due date, and it showed! He weighed in at 8 pounds 14 ounces and was 22 1/4 inches long (tall?). The doctors and nurses at Sibley were wonderful, and we couldn't have done it without you. I highly recommend them if you are looking for a hospital. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes, visits, gifts, and food! I hope you all get a chance to meet him in person soon.

I'm sure Jen is ecstatic now that I have someone else at home to take pictures of. :)

Start Em Young

This is one of my favorite things in James' room. Some of my fondest memories of my childhood was watching Skins games with my dad. I can't wait to do that with my son!

He was due on September 1, but he is taking his sweet time. I hope we get to meet him this holiday weekend!

By the way, you can get your own here. You know you want one.

Full Body Armor

It was beautiful outside this weekend, so we decided to go somewhere that we could enjoy the weather. Jen thought it would be a good idea to check out the Maryland Renaissance Festival. I had never been before, and I didn't know what to expect. It was actually pretty fun, and the food and beer was tasty. You will definitely see a lot of interesting characters (both people working there and your fellow visitors!). Afterward, we drove over to downtown Annapolis for some ice cream and a stroll along the water.

Check out a few other pics from the festival here at flickr.

Flying Trapeze

Trapeze School New York has a location in DC right near Chinatown. It looks like fun, and I may try it one day. However, I am scared of heights and not very flexible, so we'll see...

Drottningholm Palace

We took the bus out to Drottningholm Palace while we were in Stockholm. This is one of my favorite pics from that day. Check out the rest of the set on flickr.

Navigation

Tim's knowledge of the DC metro system is of no use here in Stockholm. He's wondering where the Orange and Yellow lines are.

Swedish Moped

I'm in Sweden for a few days. The weather has been perfect, and lots of people ride around on their motorcycles, scooters, and even mopeds like this guy.

Pea in a Pod

Ridiculously cute top of a cake that my cousin Stephanie made for our baby on the way. She makes beautiful custom cakes and baked goodies, and you should definitely keep her in mind for any special events you have coming up!

Historical Fact

Pretty funny bench that I saw as I was walking the dogs.

High Tide?

The Washington Monument seen from East Potomac Park. I'm assuming it's either high tide or the park is slowly sinking into Washington Channel.

View larger version here

It's a Duck duck

Digital Photography School has a good article by Joe Decker on wildlife photography. Basically, the tips are:

1. Take lots of photos
2. Try and focus on the eyes
3. Take time to understand your subject
4. Compose your subject so it has room to look into the frame.

I definitely try and use all these tips when shooting wildlife. The full article is definitely worth a read.

Jen recently had lunch with her sister and her kids, and she took them to a duck pond. I asked her what kind of ducks they had there. Her response was, "I don't know, Duck ducks." Of course I was being obnoxious because the only ducks I know by name are Mallards. I'm pretty sure that these are the types of ducks they saw since they seem to be all over the DC area.

This is a shot of a "Duck duck" at the Sculpture Garden fountain in DC. You can see more of them in my flickr set of Ducks in DC.

Hello, Tortilla Coast

It's funny how walking around with a camera makes you notice things you've never seen before. I must have walked by the Tortilla Coast restaurant dozens of times, but I never noticed this funny guy on top of the building. I think this looks like he is trying to break into the window across the street.

Capitol Tulips

It's another dreary, rainy day in DC. I can't believe it was only Friday afternoon when I took this on my way home from work. These tulips are located across the street from the National Museum of the American Indian along Independence Ave. C'mon, Spring! I need more sunshine!

Found

Now you know who to call if you lost something "very important"

Mini Liberty Spikes

One of the spectators at the parade had a very interesting hair style.

Clowning Around

I wish I could have got him looking into the frame, but I really liked the expression. This was taken at the Cherry Blossom Parade on Saturday morning. Check out the larger version here on flickr.

Who is Alex Trebek?

The grand marshal of the cherry blossom parade. Sorry, I had to do it.

What do you want?

I have to be a fair dog owner and put up pictures of both of them. This is Riley in one of her normal spots (anywhere with lots of pillows or blankets). I'm sure she is getting sick of all the picture taking.

5th St SE

I took this while walking to the corner store with Jen to buy some snacks. I'm really just looking for excuses to play with the new camera and lenses. :)

Just Visiting

Taken at my sister-in-law's house. It's probably the place she is most comfortable besides our own place.

Laps

My nephew had his first ever soccer match this weekend. You couldn't ask for a nicer Sunday afternoon. Jen is a super-aunt because she skipped the Syracuse NCAA tournament game to watch. No problem though since they won and she can see them play on Friday night. This pic is of my nephew leading the warm-up laps. We had a great time, and I look forward to many more games in the future. It doesn't hurt that the ice cream man comes to the field. In case you were wondering, I had the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle bar.

Birdie

Taken while on a morning walk with the dogs. It's hard to keep a steady hand while they pull every which way.

Scheming

I feel like this guy is just waiting to run into the street to cause an accident.

Icy Macro

A close up shot after the snow/ice storm we had last week. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for Spring!

Denver

As seen from Red Rocks Amphitheatre, but you probably have to view the larger size on flickr to see it.

Best Seat in the House

People climbed on everything (literally) to see the Inauguration. This gentleman was on a traffic light on Independence Ave.

Monster Sharpie

A Ducati Monster that appears to have been customized using a Sharpie pen.

Inspired By

I checked out the DC Motorcycle Show this weekend. It seemed much smaller compared to last year's. Most of the manufacturers had smaller exhibits, and it looked like some skipped it altogether. This pic was taken in a section dedicated to art inspired by motorcycles.