The Conservative Political Action Conference had a different flavor this year, as the Republican Party grapples with how to embrace Tea Party-ers who bring some serious energy and fund-raising power to a very important election year.

Photographing events like this let me experience some of my very favorite feelings about photography, specifically the ability to peek into a world that feels far removed from my own. And without getting too Family of Man here, these little explorations continually remind me of our commonalities.

Of course, CPAC also brings out the fringe, far-right groups, and this year, they seemed to occupy a larger seat at the table than ever before.

I'm also pleased as punch to announce that my work is now syndicated through Redux Pictures, an agency I've long admired from afar. So in addition to some of my favorites that I've posted below, the full take of my 2010 CPAC photos can be seen in their archive.

The Mid-Atlantic has been hit hard with snow this week and as I sit typing this, the second storm in a week is just beginning. Somehow, our street still hasn't been plowed, making for two challenging photo shoots in the last two days as I've had to budget an extra hour or so of time to dig the car out and slowly make my way downtown. Here's a short time lapse of Saturday-Sunday as snow storm #1 hit.

On the plus side, there's nothing better than walking down the middle of the road at night through fresh snow, holding my son as he looks out on this bright, new world.

I've always found birthdays to be a better time to reflect on the past year and make plans for the new one. In that sense, it's been a quiet change over to 2010 as I've already tried to pursue some new ideas in my photography and lay plans for the upcoming year. A big part of this plan is to continue to figure out what kind of photographs I like to make and to make time for personal projects that allow me to poke at the edges of the way I look at the world.

But more succinctly, the goal for this year is to work, as in "the only rule is work."

A few BusinessWeek tearsheets came in over the last weeks of 2009 that all in some way speak to the economic times we live in.


Ken Feinberg for BusinessWeek


Vivek Kundra, Jeffrey D. Zients and Aneesh Chopra for BusinessWeek


Human Resources expert Deborah Stallings for BusinessWeek

Michael Carvin and Noel Francisco for BusinessWeek, 11/30/09

I'm in the midst of some hunkering down at the SV Photography offices here in Washington, DC, contemplating a media landscape that is simultaneously shrinking (the paid work) and expanding (the not so paid work), working on a new edit for the web site, and trying to get a few ideas from drawing board to execution stage.

enjoying the last warm days of Fall with Luke

In the meantime, I'm still amazed at the little 11 week old who has brought a lot more meaning and purpose to what I do. And now I'm headed out to burn through some 4x5 Polaroid before it gets too dark.

In February, I had the pleasure of covering the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) here in DC for the Guardian Weekend Magazine. These might be the best kind of assignments, when you're told to go to a place and "do what you do." Only a handful of images ended up running in the magazine, but in looking at images for a new portfolio, it was hard to pass up this series.