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.

Portrait of the Artist: The Singer

Baritone VaShawn McIlwain, photographed March 2012, Washington, DC

An opera stage might not be the most likely place to search for a local hero,

but for music lovers in Washington, DC, that's the perfect spot, especially

when the hero in question is baritone VaShawn McIlwain. Since graduating

from DC's Duke Ellington School of the Arts, McIlwain and his booming

baritone have been thrilling listeners and critics alike. A finalist in the

Metropolitan Opera's national auditions in 2007, he's been featured in the

Washington National Opera, the Maryland Opera Studio, and the Aspen

Opera Theater Center. He's sung for First Lady Michelle Obama and was

most recently featured in the Washington, DC premiere of "Fortune's Bones:

A Manumission Requiem", written by Dr. Ysaye Barnwell of the famed Sweet

Honey in the Rock and based on the epic poem by poet/children's

author Marilyn Nelson. The photograph above was taken at his concert

at the Arts Club of Washington.

The Ingenue

Eliza, photographed in Arlington, VA, January 2012, by Shannon Finney for Shannon Finney Photography

The quote, "may you live in interesting times" has been used as
both a blessing and a curse, and that's never been more true than
now. With an economy lurching towards a recovery, these are times
of opportunity for some and crushing poverty for many. It's often
during times of such uncertainty that we meet the dreamers - those
passionate people who decide to take a chance and forge a new
path. When I photographed Eliza, she was on the verge of making
the decision of a lifetime - moving out to Hollywood to take
her chance. In her face is all of the hope and wonder that we
can all use.