Explore
Beach Day
Neon Affection
To my immense pleasure, I ran into a retro movie cinema shining brightly in the night. What a neon dream!
Adventures in the Italian Grotto
So much fun! Pics from a spontaneous trip to see Longwood's newly opened grotto and fountain gardens
Pillars to the Temple
In front of the Capitol Columns on a breezy, spring day.
HIVE at NBM
HIVE Installation by Studio Gang at the National Building Museum - here's a description from the website:
"Soaring to the uppermost reaches of the Museum, Hive is built entirely of more than 2,700 wound paper tubes, a construction material that is recyclable, lightweight, and renewable. The tubes vary in size from several inches to 10 feet high and will be interlocked to create three dynamic interconnected, domed chambers. Reaching 60 feet tall, the installation’s tallest dome features an oculus over 10 feet in diameter. The tubes feature a reflective silver exterior and vivid magenta interior, creating a spectacular visual contrast with the Museum’s historic nineteenth-century interior and colossal Corinthian columns."
A Day at the Chanticleer
Wandered here on a sweltering hot and humid day. And what a charming discovery to say the least. One of my favorite highlights would have to be the Minder Ruin Garden, that was created using pieces from a dismantled home (from 1925!) along with carved marble, granite and other stone pieces.
Chua Bo De Buddhist Temple
Found my wardrobe choice, to be in unexpected harmony with this mural we passed by on our taco run. This mural along the wall of Chua Bo De Buddhist Temple stands out on Washington Ave. Look at all the colors!
Chester County Balloon Festival
Attended the much anticipated Chester Country Balloon Festival this past weekend! Wind and weather conditions were not exactly in our favor for balloons to fly, however the day was still so beautiful!
Sights at NGADC
Amazing views and art on view at the National Gallery of Art!
Lantern Festival
A truly touching experience, to let go and watch all of the lanterns fly away and into the dark night sky. These pictures just cannot do the experience justice. I would highly recommend a lantern festival to anyone searching for a release.
Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival
Lucky to get the chance to see the Dragon Festival, in it's 2nd year on display in this part of the world! Here are pics from this years festival.
Infinite Kusama
Many thanks to friends at the Hirshhorn for this early morning private viewing of the Kusama exhibition. All the feels!
Arboretum
Cherry Blossom Fever
We found this rather peculiar cherry tree in the middle of Fairmount Park. Look at how the flowers grow right out of the bark of the tree trunk! - how curious?! Nevertheless, a beautiful tree that I can't wait to check on again this time next year.
PS. & yet another one of those instances which seems to happen quite often, - my outfit is matching the scenery!
Underneath the Cherry Tree
I just love the light and pastel colors in these compositions. It feels so dainty and delicate!
Snow Day
Romantic Views | Happy Valentines Day!
57 Floors high, overlooking the all the city lights on the most romantic night of the year!
Electric Street
Finally made it to see Percy Street Project in person. Designed by David Guinn and Drew Billiau, with the intention to light up the darkness, this installation does just that! The colors of the neon change continuously, making this a truly amazing experience!
My Encounter With a Buddhist Monk! | Mongkoltepmunee Buddhist Temple
On a random day of field work, I spotted this beautiful, shiny Temple, that appeared to be under-construction in the middle of no-where, PA. We were driving from location to location on a tight schedule and chasing the sun, so we couldn't stop to check it out - even though I had the intense desire to! I wrote it in my notes and decided that I would be back.
So the day finally came when I set back out to a vague address (really an intersection) and no clue the name or kind of Temple and if visitors would be welcome. And so, upon arrival and basking in the ambiance, I took out my camera to snap a few photos - It was such a beautiful atmosphere, I almost felt like I was brought here by some divine power! As I made my way around the structure - snapping from every possible angle and vantage point (I was doing a lot of architectural photography back then), I see a monk approaching me in the distance. At this point, in my mind, I am mortified - was I about to get in trouble with a sacred monk?
A gentle face greeted me with a smile. I smiled back, motioning to my camera and asked if it's okay to take pictures? He says "of course" and then begins to walk with me as I shoot! We have conversation about the progress of the temple's construction. As our walk continues, he reveals to me that he, himself is a photographer as well. He says "Stay right here, I will be right back!" He runs away and then comes back with his very on DSLR. I am in awe. We wander further into the Temple grounds, through a wooded area.
The Monk pointed to a tree and says "Look! Do you see the birds?" Sure enough there is a mother bird feeding her babies a worm. We both start to fire away our cameras, getting shots from different angles. Then, as we keep walking he says "Look, it's a butterfly!" And surely enough there was a beautiful butterfly perched on a rock, sitting perfectly still and slowly fanning it's wings as if it were posing to let us take photos. So, as if that's not enough - we pass by a pond and the Monk points out a camouflaged frog in the water.
He had an overwhelmingly calming and peaceful energy. I was amazed how he observed the land and made the animals appear right in front of my eyes. We eventually made our way back to the Temple and I went on my way, forever changed by this experience.