A Symphony Silenced

I spent my Friday lunchtime in a most unusual way - listening to the soaring strings of the National Symphony Orchestra in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. While the NSO Friday matinee concerts have been a Washington, DC tradition for decades, the NSO's recent announcement that these concerts will be discontinued for the 2012-2013 season has sent a shock wave through this usually collegial crowd of concertgoers. On my 3-escalator ascent from the parking garage to the box office, I passed the usual gaggle of high school tour groups, but then, things became grayer, actually, the people became grayer. One by one, they made their way along the concourse, some with canes, some with walkers, some in wheelchairs. They greeted each other warmly, as if they were old friends, but amongst the friendly conversations was anger about the end of an era. Out on the terrace overlooking the Potomac River, they sat, eating sandwiches under the shade of the trees, splitting cans of soda, and enjoying, to the last, the fleeting moments - both musical and otherwise.

Concertgoers on their way to the NSO Friday matinee

Concertgoers on their way into the Kennedy Center Concert Hall

Friends catching up on the Kennedy Center terrace before the Friday matinee

Lunch under the trees on the Kennedy Center terrace before the Friday matinee

Easter Sunday Styles for the Sippy Cup Set

Easter Sunday is always a great prelude for spring styles, and this year did not disappoint, with even the smallest people sporting some major panache - and all while enjoying a traditional Easter egg hunt, to boot! For the sippy-cup set, Spring 2012 is all about the classics - from saddle buck shoes to seersucker and Kangol caps. Enjoy the Easter fashion parade:)

A Suprasensorial Experience

One of the highlights of this early DC spring is Suprasensorial: Experiments in Light, Color, and Space, the new exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. The show features large-scale installations by five artists, representing Argentina, Venezuela, and Brazil, who turned away from traditional art and turned toward subjective forms based on light, color, motion and space. The experience was, at turns, intense, wondrous, and fun. It's not often that you go to an art gallery and they tell you to touch the artwork! One of my favorite works has to be Carlos Cruz-Diez's (French, b. Venezuela 1923), Chromosaturation. It's a three dimensional work that plays with blue, magenta and green. It's a rather large work, with an interior and exterior space, with three windows that, when inside of the space, act more as mirrors.  And as you will see from the photos below, it's proof that color and mood go hand-in-hand.

For more photos, visit the Shannon Finney Photography Facebook page!

2012 Cherry Blossom Highlights!

This week, the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC is in full bloom as the famed
cherry blossoms hit their peak. Shannon the Photo Gal spent Monday morning
amongst the splendor and here are a few highlights from the shoot. Want to view
more 2012 Cherry Blossom Festival photos? Click here!

The Wearing of the Green - St. Patrick's Day 2012 Style

As we close the books on St. Patrick's Day 2012, I thought we'd look back at some of
the sartorial splendor photographed on the streets of Old Town Alexandria. From the looks I spotted on parade today, the hottest trend was hats, or anything on the head. From the subdued whimsy of this number below,

to the just plain silly of these below which make you wonder if you're seeing triple,

 

 Of course, for the more adventuresome of ladies, there was the option of going green with a funky wig,

Apparently, this look was so popular that the lads got into the act, too,

But the hands-down winner of best in fashion today goes to Nicki at the
Old Town Alexandria Anthropologie store for rocking the coolest dreads I've
seen so far this year. The yarn and feather details are fun, and that's what style
is all about:)

Cherry Blossom 2012 Sneak Peak!

It's that time of year again here in Washington, DC - the time where photographers,
both amateur and professional, stand elbow to elbow, looking for that perfect, and
sometimes elusive, best shot. Their subject? The cherry blossoms, of course! With the unseasonably warm temperatures pushing up the dates for peak blooms, here is a sneak
peek of some of my favorite blossom pics from seasons past. Hopefully they'll inspire you as you click away at the Tidal Basin:)

A Woman's Place

Bishop Jane, photographed March 2012 in Alexandria, VA by Shannon Finney

Since March is Women's History Month, it's a great time to celebrate a trailblazer in the Episcopal church,
the Rt. Rev. Jane Holmes Dixon. In 1992, she was consecrated in 1992 as Suffragan Bishop of he Episcopal Diocese of Washington. She is the second woman to take the office of bishop in the Episcopal Church, and the third in the worldwide Anglican Communion. Now retired, Bishop Jane is continuing to encourage
a new generation of women in church leadership. Recently, I photographedBishop Jane at Christ Church Alexandria, VA as she celebrated a special service for International Women's Day, proving, once
again, that a woman's place is wherever she chooses.