How Not to Die During Your Internships

Today was my first day of class at the Washington Journalism Center. We did what any normal academic course does on the first day — went over the syllabus.

On September 9th we shall apparently be learning how not to die during our internships. I think it will be a very useful skill to learn while in DC.

However, until my internship at the Daily Caller starts in a couple weeks, I plan on just relishing in the fact that I am in our nation's capitol.

 

I shall not, however, be relishing in the fact that the ceiling fan in the bedroom I share with 3 other students sounds like a shotgun. But that's a story for another day. 

In other news, the students and I spent our afternoon learning about the District of Columbia. Most people know about the Washington that fills TV and computer screens all across the world. But what about the other residents of the city? What about the residents that are not dressed in powerful suits and running up the steps of the Capitol each day? Over the summer I tweeted the following message one day while riding the subway to work: 

"I always look around the subway and wonder what other people's stories are. I believe everyone has a neat story."

I truly wonder the same thing to this day. Whether I am running down 8th street or picking up some laundry detergent and the nearest CVS, I look around and wish I knew how the person beside me had gotten to this place in life. What have they gone through? What have they experienced? What has made them who they are?

Apparently I am not the only one have such questions. Check out the website below — the author interviews random people in the city of DC and lets them tell their beautiful stories. It's amazing what you'll find out about life when you simply take the time to listen to the people around you.

http://peoplesdistrict.com/

Grace, the girl who is constantly questioning everything

Common Factors

 

 Hurricane Irene finally made her appearance today.  

It made for a very dark and dreary day on capitol hill. 

There are currently around 40 college students in my apartment building from all across the United States. So what exactly did we do to entertain ourselves during the bad weather?  

Some of us, like me, went running and got completely drenched in the rain.  I really enjoy running in DC. Today's trek led me past the Marine Corp Barracks:

Photo via Flickr @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncindc/2786214357/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Others actually did homework. Some were brave and ventured forth into the city.

 

 

However, we all came together tonight for a common purpose tonight — A Lord of the Rings marathon and tons of pizza. We all might be from different colleges and states, but some things never change.

Gotta love college and hurricanes.

Grace — or apparently "Eruant" in Elfish

Tornadoes vs. Hurricanes

Well guys I may have missed the epic DC earthquake of 2011 but it appears that I have arrived just in time for Hurricane Irene.

I must have bad karma from a previous life or something because I went from attending Union — the university that has been hit by more than one tornado — to the East coast and its hurricanes.

 

Sooooooooooo. Another Washington Journalism Center student and I met up and decided to venture to Target to get things that one might need during a hurricane .... like food and water. 

This is what we found when we finally reached our destination of Target: 

The line to check out wrapped around the entire store. The shelves were bare of any essentials you would want in the event of a hurricane.....like water. So I bought apple juice instead.

Those around me were buying wine as a substitute for water....... one married couple in front of me was stocking up on condoms and greeting cards. I guess people have different priorities during a hurricane??? Anyway.....


A previous post detailed what I usually fill my emergency tornado bag with at Union. Here in DC my emergency hurricane grocery bag was filled with the following:

toaster strudels
apple juice
peanut butter
crackers
hamburger buns because they were out of loaves of bread
granola bars
turkey meat

On a lighter note, check out the view from my roof top patio!!!!

 

 

A roof top patio will be fun to watch the hurricane from, right? 

Shhhhhh.... no one tell Mother Dearest. 

Grace, the new occupant of Apt. 1

My existence

It is already mid-August which means that grade schools are back in full gear and college students are clinging to their last few days of summer.

I have just over a week now before I fly back to DC on the 25th. However, my days until then are going to be full of packing up my life for 4 months and editing your beautiful images.

Lately I have been camped out in the den of my house. This is my umm..well my desk for the moment: 

On my desk at any given moment you will find honey roasted peanuts, coffee, two sharpies, ribbon, a credit card bill, a laptop and an external hard drive (and those are in order of importance).

While editing your images I am usually watching reruns of my soaps: Pretty Little Liars, Teen Wolf, The OC, One Tree Hill and various TLC shows about babies.

Speaking of babies:

Look at her eyes! And her cheeks! Gosh.............. I contemplated kidnapping her but there were too many witnesses.

So all in all my existence as of late has consisted of me sitting in front of the laptop from the first picture while editing images like this one of baby Mia. Doesn't seem like too bad of a life, does it?

More to come later!

Grace

Grace Photography is hunting new locations!

Well hello again!

For those of you who stalk my Facebook and Twitter accounts (cough* cough* MOTHER * cough*cough), you know that I have spent my summer interning in DC with The Washington Examiner.

It has been one of the best summers of my life and I would love to tell anyone who will listen about it. However, come July 30th, Georgetown University is officially kicking me off the campus and I'll be returning to Tennessee where the trees are green and the tomatoes are fried. Only 12 days!

This also means I get to restart Grace Photography for about 3 weeks until I return again to DC for the fall. I have missed working with you all very much and I look forward to photographing you in the coming weeks.

I have already scheduled some appointments and talked with many folks about setting up a session in August. For those of you whom I haven't talked with, it is not too late! Contact me today and we can surely set something up.

This post, though, isn't about me and my impending return. Rather, it is about all the wonderful locations I have used when photographing clients.

Part of what I love about photography is a camera's ability to transform a location into a magical scene.

1) The Lauderdale County Square has been a great location for me since its renovation. 

Especially this red wall. Many of you reading this post live in or near Lauderdale County. Have you noticed this wall before? I'm kind of obsessed with it. 

2) Katherine Garner's home is the first location I ever used. Every summer since I was a kid, she has had a simply magical yard complete will all types of birds and flowers. Mrs. Katherine has been nice enough to let me traipse up through her yard with everyone from chubby cheek babies to brides in massive dresses. 

3. Another home I have enjoyed invading during early morning and late afternoon sessions is that of Danna and Jodie Walker. They have not only a beautiful yard, but also a deck and swing I enjoy using. 

4) The most random of all of my locations is the small vineyard off Highway 51. Due to the heavier traffic near this location, cars have been known to pull over and watch me photograph. Who wouldn't stop when they see a beautiful bride in a vineyard?

5) In the fall, I love to make people treck out to Alfred and Debbie Blankenship's home and pond. The foliage is simply stunning in the fall. 

Well folks, those are just a few of the locations that I have used the most over the year that I have been running Grace Photography. 

However, I am always hunting for new places. Do you have any suggestions for new spots for me? Feel free to contact me and suggest your yard and/or that random beautiful spot you pass by everyday. It might just be the background for my next shoot!

Have a blessed week everyone.

Grace