A Tribute to Chuck Brown

Chuck Brown, photographed at The Space, Washington, DC, August 24, 2008 by Shannon Finney 

On Wednesday, May 16, 2012, legendary musician Chuck Brown died at age 75. Aside from being an extraordinary musician, Chuck Brown was known as the

founder of Go-Go, a form of music he developed in the early 1970s in Washington,

DC.  Whatsgogo.com describes Go-Go music as, "continuous, complex heavy

rhythm arrangements focused through two thematic patterns performed on multiple

congas, timbale and roto-toms, interspersed with tambourine and cowbell parts, driven

by heavy-footed drumming and punctuated by crowd 'call and response' as in many

African-American church sermons." While these words accurately describe Go-Go,

the music is defined by the people who play it and the feelings of those

of us in the crowd, moving and grooving to the Go-Go beat. Thank you, Mr. Brown,
for the gift you gave to us, and for the gift you were to us.

Dance Hits New Heights: A Night at the Old Post Office Pavilion

Project Bandaloop performs Bound(less), photographed May 11, 2012, Washington, DC, Old Post Office Pavilion 

The Old Post Office Pavilion became a backdrop for one of the most dazzling spectacles seen in Washington, DC since the Inauguration. Project Bandaloop, the San Francisco-based dance troop, brought their gravity-defying, large scale vertical dance, Bound(less) to the main clock tower face of the Pavilion. You couldn't help but look up! Performed with live music by Dana Leong, it was a most spectacular way to spend an evening.

Click here to view more images from this performance!

Portrait of Motherhood: Sheila

Whenever I find myself in a conversation among a group of women who are mothers I am always struck by the collegiality of the exchange. It's like a group of army veterans sharing boot camp memories, trading war stories, and showing off their scars. These women are battle-tested, having survived epic diaper explosions, and long nights at the ER with a distressed six-month old. No matter how they came to be mothers - whether by chance or by choice - and no matter their backgrounds and personalities,  the universality of their experiences remains. I've been interested in capturing who these women are, and how they came to be moms.  I started with Sheila, pictured below. A mother of two, Sheila's journey into motherhood took her from a high-pressure sales job to the high-pressure world of the stay-at-home mom. Her uniform is jeans, t-shirts, tennis shoes or boots, and a large bag. I wanted to photograph her in a moment of calm, without the kids and the chaos:) 

Mommy and Me: a Mother's Day Photo Gallery

Up in the Air, photographed in Reston, Virginia, February 2009

There's nothing better than spending a not-so-quiet Saturday afternoon with that special person in your life, especially when that person is your mom, and MOST especially when that mom gives the best airplane rides, and can sooth your tears with a kiss:)

Mommy and Me, photographed in Milford, Connecticut, July 2007

The Friday Night (Pillow) Fights!

Pillow Fight, photographed April 2012, Washington, DC, by Shannon Finney Photography



Sometimes, when life gets too serious and you need to cut loose, then you'd better grab a pillow and a few hundred friends and let the feathers, or the foam, fly! The epic pillow fight, pictured above, was held as a part of National Pillow Fight Day, on the National Mall.

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:)