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| In Full Bloom, photographed 2010, Washington, DC by Shannon Finney The 2011 Cherry Blossom Festival officially opens this weekend in Washington, DC, an annual ritual that celebrates the historic gift of the cherry blossoms from Japan. And with the recent triple calamities that have befallen the Japanese people, this year's festival has an almost memorial feel. Growing up here in Washington, DC, I spent hours down along the Tidal Basin, walking among the pink and white blooms. I also remember how sad I was when the blossoms ceased their blooming, and all that once lived seemedshrouded in death. But, then another year arrives and the blossoms come back to bloom, back to life. It is a timely message of hope. |
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| Paata Tsikurishvili of Synetic Theater (left) and Septime Webre of The Washington Ballet, photographed October 2008, Washington, DC, by Shannon Finney Washington, DC is not only the nation's capitol, but it is also the center of the evolution of dance. Paata Tsikurishvili, co-founder of Synetic Theater, blends dance, theater, and film to create an entirely new experience of movement. Septime Webre, artistic director of The Washington Ballet, was famous first as a dancer, working with the giants of dance, including Merce Cunningham, Alvin Ailey, and George Balanchine. As a choreographer, Webre wows Washington audiences in performances that sparkle with wit and crackle with Webre's fresh point of view. |
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| Einstein in the Snow, photographed in Washington, DC in February 2010 by Shannon Finney |
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| Leaf in Ice, from An Ice Storm series, photographed January 18, 2011 by Shannon Finney Winter is my favorite time of the year to photograph. The skies are a hundred different shades of grey, or the brightest, clearest blue when the sun breaks through. I could hear the icy rain on the rooftop all through the night, and when I awoke, I found the landscape outside my door transformed. This leaf seemed to emerge from under its icy blanket. |
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| Aunt Lucille, photographed July 2007, Upper Marlboro, Maryland by Shannon Finney My Aunt Lucille was always larger than life. She was tall with large hands and bright, big eyes that barely hid the mischief behind them. She was my maternal grandmother Sarah's,sister, and watching the two of them together was curious to me, as I imagined them as young girls, two sassy women fussing with each other and laughing with each other. On the day that I took this portrait of Aunt Lucille, she spied me approaching with my camera just as she was bumming a cigarette from one of her nephews. Smoking had been Aunt Lucille's constant vice and her children tried their best to get her to kick the habit. She smiled at me as she sat tall and strong, her right hand gripping her walker, her left hand clutching her cigarette, with a look on her face, a look that I had seen her give my grandmother all of those years ago. A look of defiance and mischief. My grandmother has long since passed away, and Aunt Lucille died a few years ago, but what makes me smile is imagining the first words that passed between these two as Aunt Lucille crossed the threshold of those pearly gates, welcomed home, a cigarette in her hands and that rye smile on her lips. |
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A Christmas Pageant, Photo by Shannon Finney Photography This is one of my favorite times of the year. It's a time of traditions, from special stockings hung on the fireplace mantel, to the Christmas tree skirt handed down from a great-grandmother. And one of the most enduring is the church Christmas pageant. Children dress up asMary and Joseph, the Wise Men, angels, the animals in the barn, shepherds, and, of course, sheep! This little one sat patiently waiting to take the stage. |
