Susan Solo – Photographer | Traveler | Adventurer

Blog

  • The Big Door

    For everyone who wants to know the location of the huge door picture in the mother-daughters portraits post below, I thought I’d spill the beans here: it’s the exit side of the National Archives building in DC! Alia had suggested that we do the portrait session in the Sculpture Garden, which was so much fun; we found a lot of great little nooks and crannies to shoot. But on that very sunny day we eventually ended up running out of spots in the shade. We were right across from the Archives and I wanted to do some pictures around the columns, so we headed over there and voilà – instant shade and a huge, fun door!


  • 101 in 1001 Updates

    I’ve accomplished a couple of things from my 101 in 1001 list recently but just haven’t gotten around to posting about it. A few days ago, Stephen dropped off his keyboard for me to borrow for a little while, so I am super excited to report that I have started on number 52: “Learn to play the piano or the guitar.” I have always wanted to learn to play piano, but wasn’t sure how to get one into our little townhouse. The keyboard fits perfectly! I’m not sure when exactly to check it off my list because technically, I’ve taught myself to play a complete song including chords with correct fingering (I can play Happy Birthday). But I’m going to call a piano teacher and see if I can take some lessons because I do really want to learn properly and I can see myself enjoying playing for years and years.

     A few weeks ago I wrote a thank you note for something other than a gift, so I can cross off number 100.

    And then this past weekend I checked off number 25 by taking a few minutes to grab all of the clothes out of my closet and dressers that are either too big or too small (and a few items that are just ready to be retired) and set them aside to donate. There wasn’t that much stuff, only a few shopping bags’ worth, but it was definitely taking up prime real estate in my wardrobe. So you know what that means? I can go shopping now!

  • Mother-Daughters Portraits

    Yesterday I headed into DC to photograph a beautiful mom and her two gorgeous daughters, one of whom is my very good friend, Alia (wearing red – see below) – hi Alia! We walked around a couple of the museums and managed to find a few spots that weren’t too crowded even though the city was just packed with visitors for Memorial Day weekend. Other than the crowd, I couldn’t have asked for a better session – the weather was amazing and my models were fabulous! Here are just a handful of my favorite pictures:





  • Our Choice of Subjects

    Chris and I went for our usual walk tonight and took our cameras along with us. We walked along the W&OD trail behind our house where I felt inspired to do some ring shots with our own wedding bands (I know, that’s kind of random), and Chris was on the lookout for good nature shots as always.



    It was funny when we saw this deer – we were almost home and Chris said, “I wish a big deer was just standing right there…” and right where he pointed, a deer peeked out and then retreated back into the woods a bit. (I wish Chris had wished to find a million dollars right there! I wonder if it would’ve appeared?!)


  • Joint Service Air Show at Andrews Air Force Base

    Chris and I took the metro all the way out to the last stop on the green line today to see the Joint Service Open House Air Show at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. According to the Joint Service website, there would be a “convenient shuttle service to and from FedEx Field and Branch Ave Metro station” (the only way in and out of the show).

    The highlights of the show that Chris really wanted to see were scheduled between Noon and 3pm, and we also planned to have lunch there, figuring we’d arrive around 1pm. But we got to the Branch Ave station and the parking lot was an absolute zoo. There were so many people just standing in line in the lot, waiting to get on the busses to go to Andrews AFB. Here’s the line to get on the bus that continues on way into the back and snakes around the lot:

    One of the military personnel said that if we got in line, it would be about a one-and-a-half hour wait to get on a bus, and the last bus was running at 3pm so we might not even make it onto the last bus! So we ended up leaving. It’s ironic that the website also said, “It is our intent to accommodate everyone,” because tons of people were turning around and leaving once they saw how long they’d have to wait for the convenient shuttle service, which wasn’t even a guarantee to get to the show. So, two hours of commuting to get there and we didn’t see a thing.

    And because we had planned to eat at Andrews AFB, we were both starving and didn’t end up eating lunch until 3pm. It’s funny how good stuff tastes when you’re that hungry…almost as good as it feels to get out of soaking wet clothes and into dry ones after being out in a torrential rain for hours! (Thankfully it was a gorgeous day here today.) So, I’m sorry that I don’t have any really cool pictures of the F-22 and the Blue Angels to show you. Maybe next time! And I’m sorry my last two stories from my weekends were kind of abysmal! I’ll post some happy wedding pictures from last weekend soon – stay tuned.