Political Storms bursts over Washington, DC

Political Storms bursts over Washington, DC, a photo by Sam Antonio Photography on Flickr.

People accuse me of “Photoshopping” my photographs. That’s crazy! All my photographs are SOOAA, that is “straight out of Apple Aperture.”

I was walking in Lafayette Square, a public park located directly north of the White House, in Washington, DC last week. I noticed these cumulus clouds and composed a couple of photographs. I know this is Washington, DC where everything is an illusion, but I pulled no magic tricks in post-production. I simply increased the contrast and bumped up the vibrancy. Mother nature gets all the credit for this one.

It has been a roller coaster week here in the nation’s capitol. Scandals have burst over the political weather front from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) limiting free speech to the Justice Department spying on reporter’s phone records.

I guess my “Photoshopping,” I mean my SOOAA skills, aren’t the only scandals brewing in Washington, DC.

Happy Travels!

Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography

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Back to the Future with Lincoln and Washington

Back to the Future with Lincoln and Washington, a photo by Sam Antonio Photography on Flickr.

Back to the future (or history) at the Lincoln Memorial. Make sure you drive 88 miles per hour and make Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown proud! For those not in the know this is in reference to the classic 1980s movie Back to the Future

The cherry blossoms finally bloomed in Washington, D.C. and that made me a very happy man. In between photo ops with the President Obama and investigating the truth behind Area 51 at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (where’s Agent Fox Mulder) I kept busy while in the nation's capitol.

If I ever make any money from my travel photography, hopefully one day I can retire and cruise around in my DeLorean at 88 miles per hour.

Happy Travels!

Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography

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Happy New Year...Now Let’s all Drive Off the Fiscal Cliff

Happy New Year...Now Let’s all Drive Off the Fiscal Cliff, a photo by Sam Antonio Photography on Flickr.

I was going to write a 2012 end of the year blow out blog post, but before I knew it 2013 was already at my doorstep.

But 2012 didn’t end with a whimper.

Between Maya “end of the world” prophesies and America’s drive toward the economic “fiscal cliff” (for my friends in foreign countries and those not politically inclined the “fiscal cliff” refers to a combination of year-end spending cuts and tax increases that would have gone into effect had the U.S. Congress failed to act) 2012 ended on a dramatic note.

I spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve in the United States capitol city of Washington, D.C. visiting my sister. I took this photograph along Pennsylvania Avenue where at one end is the U.S. Capitol (as seen in the photo) and the other is the White House.

This was similar to another shot I took a couple of months ago that has become one of my best selling stock image best selling stock image

Putting the drama aside I wanted to wish everybody a Happy New Year and hope 2013 brings you great photographic opportunities.

Happy Travels!

Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography

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Reflecting on the Past, Remembering our Veterans, Honoring their Service

Reflecting on the Past, Remembering our Veterans, Honoring their Service, a photo by Sam Antonio Photography on Flickr.

“To be killed in war is not the worst that can happen. To be lost is not the worst that can happen… to be forgotten is the worst.” -Pierre Claeyssens (1909-2003)

I had the great opportunity to partake in a moving and patriotic experience earlier this month. Every December an organization called Wreaths Across America coordinates a wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. It is a wonderful way to remember, honor and teach our youth about our fallen veterans.

They also lay wreaths at other memorials such as the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The Vietnam Veterans War Memorial is most abstract memorial on the National Mall. It is also, to many, the most profound and emotional. The two sunken black granite walls, dedicated in 1982, are inscribed with the names of the 58,000-plus American service members who died in the Vietnam War. Designer Maya Lin called her controversial design an “anti-monument.”

What was your most moving travel experience in 2012?

Happy Travels!

Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography

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The Dangers of being a Travel Photographer

The Dangers of being a Travel Photographer, a photo by Sam Antonio Photography on Flickr.

I was standing in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. when I took this photograph between honking cars and speeding bicyclists. I was arrested by the local police because they considered my tripod a dangerous weapon. I was handed over to the Department of Homeland Security, interrogated and labeled as an “enemy combatant” ready to be renditioned to Guantanamo Bay.

That wasn’t even the bad part.

My poor Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera was scanned, swabbed and fingered by some unsavory guys wearing pink shoes, purple smocks and white gloves.

I finally yelled out from the top of my lungs, “Photography is not a crime!” and handed them a copy of this:

Find out your rights as a photographer by clicking this link

They put a black bag over my face and forced me into some vehicle. After an hour or so I was then thrown out of the vehicle and found myself in some place called Freedom Plaza back on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Yes, it’s tough being a travel photographer.

I also have a wild imagination.

None of this is true (but this could be the next Dan Brown novel) with the exception that I really was on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. taking this photograph from Freedom Plaza.

This is a great location to photograph the U.S. Capitol with a city view. It looks like I’m standing in the middle of the road, but actually Pennsylvania Avenue takes a slight bend where the plaza is at so you have a direct view of the Capitol with the traffic coming straight toward you.

If for some reason when you come back to my blog and it hasn’t been updated for a while, then you’ll know the U.S. government has really temporarily relocated me to Guantanamo Bay!

Happy Travels!

Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography

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