Tag Archives: portrait

I was able to go home for the Thanksgiving holiday and had a chance to see a bunch of family.   My niece Jordan, who I thought was actually shy…is NOT!  She never got tired of posing for the camera, losing to me at thumb wrestling, or being the only clue-giver in charades.  It was great to see my uncle Kenneth, who is 60 but looks all of 45.  And my grandparents reminded me that they met when they were just weeks old (they were neighbors).   I think they can count the time that they’ve been apart in their entire lives in months.  I also finally built in some extra time during the drive to my mom’s house to photograph some of the great scenery along the way.  As sleepy as the town of Deale, MD is, it can also be absolutely beautiful.

Mom’s

Uncle Kenneth & Jordan

Jordan struggled to keep the camera/grip/flash steady and got a pretty nice shot in the process.

Granddad, still as sharp as a tack.  We can always count on him to stay out on the porch until we turn the corner onto Gwynns Falls.  I love that he has all the signs of a grandfather: belt + suspenders, zip-up sweater, eyeglasses in the shirt pocket (and a cell phone).

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  • Big Rob

    I love this man….

  • Georgette Varner-Haynes

    Awesome, Dana. Love this!

Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to attend the 2010 ADCOLOR Awards in Miami as one of the photographers for the weekend.  In a word, WOW!  What an amazing event!  ADCOLOR, an industry consortium founded in 2005, is the brainchild of Tiffany R. Warren (see her with award show host Soledad O’Brien in the final image below).  The consortium promotes and celebrates the efforts of diverse role models and leaders in the marketing, advertising, and media industries.  I have known about ADCOLOR since 2008 when my good friend, Akintayo Adewole, became the music director for the organization.  But I really had no idea of how wonderful this event would be.  There is such an amazingly motivated group of people, mostly volunteers, who plan and orchestrate the show each fall.  This year’s all-star honoree was none other than Queen Latifah.  Also in the house were Dwyane Wade and Alonzo Mourning.  Some of my favorite moments:

Coltrane Curtis’ award speech.  Hilarious and touching.

The afterparty on the yacht hosted by DJ Irie and Kid Capri.  Amazing.

Interrupting a D.Wade tweet to ask him to look at me for the image below.  He likes his phone time.

Spending time with Akintayo as we indulge our respective passions.

Becoming a member of the ADCOLOR family.

I was completely blown away by what Tiffany and her organization have been able to create in a few short years.  Congratulations, ADCOLOR, on a fantastic awards weekend.  And thank you.

Coltrane Curtis (award speech)

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I should have known when I was greeted at the door by two little boys who immediately introduced themselves (with their full names)…and then grabbed my hand to lead me on a tour of  their home…that Sunday morning was going to be great.  We played Memory, built a home inside the home with couch cushions, went deer-watching, dressed up for Halloween, and danced in a deluge (ok, they danced while I took pictures).  Even the pouring rain was just another play thing for these two beautiful kids.  Very special thanks to Jon and Dayna for inviting me into their home to capture some images of their boys.

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Three-month-old Bridget recently traveled from San Francisco to New York for an extended visit with family (accompanied by mom and dad, of course).   It was the first time Bridget met her big cousin, Nicholas, and a great opportunity for some family pictures.  Nicholas had just started walking one week before and absolutely loves the camera…and not just posing for it.  Perfect weather and a beautiful beach provided a gorgeous setting.  Sarah and Eric, thanks for letting me be a part of your day.

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I’ve been going to the U. S. Open for about 13 years. It’s my favorite sporting event, and each year seems to outdo each of the previous ones. Lots of handy tips about how to make attending more enjoyable have come my way: which tickets to buy, which sessions are likely to produce the best tennis, which bags are prohibited, the best seats on the Grandstand…they all leap to mind. But one of my favorite frequent-spectator tips is Gate D of Louis Armstrong court. The stadium is mostly first-come, first-served seating. Instead of standing in Space Mountain-esque lines of fans waiting for a changeover, those in the know climb the stairs just inside Gate D, emerge at the top of the stadium and drop into a free seat during play. On the way up the first staircase, you’ll pass some folding tables. At first, I assumed they were just left there; but year after year, they’ve reappeared in the same spot.   Along with a plotter.  I’ve been wondering about these tables for years.  As evidence of my curiosity, here is a shot I took from the staircase last year (who knows who that dude is):

This year, when we passed the tables, people were there.  Working.  A chance to solve the mystery!  In a few seconds we were talking to Frank.  It turns out that this location, in the bowels of Armstrong stadium, is the U.S. Open scoreboard management center.  Frank, pictured below, described the 12-hour days he puts in, climbing the scoreboard again and again to paste the stenciled names and scores on the board (within 10 minutes of the end of each match!).  It sounds insane, but it obviously gets easier later in the tournament.

Frank was great, even waving hello to us when we saw him the next day (we were kinda yelling his name from the ground at the time).  I was nearly tempted to ask him how I could become a harnessed-scoreboard-stenciler-paster-guy, too.  But I’d probably rather wait in a line snaking through Armstrong stadium.

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  • Dave M.

    Great story, Dana! One of these years I will see you at the US Open. Hopefully in 2011. :)