Nouveau Riche @ DC9 (2.23.08)

08_2.23_DC9Nouveau-84, originally uploaded by D.FINE.

Definitely amongst the hottest of my party pics yet.... Nouveau Riche, DJ Gavin Holland, ripped. Kids got exploit, so did my camera apparently.

Check out the BYT post.

DC Rollergirls (2.23.08)

08_2.23_DCRollergirls-122, originally uploaded by D.FINE.

Holy Snaps, if you didn't be knowin' now you know. These are images from the not to be f*cked with DC Rollergirls league. I mean, talk about knock your momma out, as my roommate Jim pointed out to me, there were two types of spectators here, those with an alcohol problem, and those recovering from an alcohol problem. HOT. Check out the fans with the HATE flags, they were supporters for the Secretary's of Hate (great name, I know, don't bite it)... they had school-age children running around the rink with glittery posters on which was written "Hate, Hate, Hate!" Pretty amazing stuff. ClassE.

Oh, and check out the BYT post foooo sho.

Pizzeria Paradiso (2.21.08)

08_2.21_PizzaP-67, originally uploaded by D.FINE.

I shot some promo shots for my friend Greg Jasgur's restaurant Pizzeria Paradiso. The magazine, R&I (Restaurants & Institutions), was featuring an article on food and beer, of which Pizza P has an illustrious birreria serving fine ales from the world over.

Here's a link to the article one of my shots of the 'diso was featured in.

DJ Chris Burns + Durkl Party @ Red Lounge (2.20.08)

08_2.20_RedLounge-65, originally uploaded by D.FINE.

As I mentioned in my BYT post...

"Can I just say? ... whoever invented the multi-color light glowing disco ball contraption-mace machine, deserves the nobel prize of partying, although, yes, Cale, the smoke machine is also quite worthy."

Soussa Middle School w/ Critical Exposure (2.19.08)

08_2.19_CriticalExposure-18, originally uploaded by D.FINE.

I went to Soussa Middle School yesterday with Critical Exposure, a DC-based nonprofit which aims at creating social change for youth through putting cameras in their hands. The youth have the goal before them of improving school lunches, they will do this hopefully by offering the chancellor of DC schools a presentation of photography illustrating what they eat through their own eyes. A decidedly challenging task given the equipment they are using, the trick will be to take as many pictures as possible! The old adage, there is strength in numbers seems applicable in this case...

BYT: VD Party (2.16.08)

BYT_VDparty-4, originally uploaded by D.FINE.

To cap off an insane night of festivities, I finally made my way to Jimmy Valentine's way out in NE, anyone ever heard of Bladensberg Rd? Yeah, I mean, I'd heard rumors too... but yeah, DJ Cale ripped it up, and I drank Sparks through a straw. Svetlana recommended such being as the crunk stains your teeth orange otherwise apparently. Advice taken. Thank you Svetlana, for everything.

Los Amigos Invisibles @ The Cat (2.16.08)

Amigos_Cat-171, originally uploaded by D.FINE.

Shot Los Amigos Invisibles for BYT on Saturday night, a Venezuelan rock band, I went with my friend Julia... we had a great time.

From Cesar's BYT write-up:

"The mainstage of The Black Cat on Saturday night was not filled with your usual characters, those youngins who come to Mousetrap or the bar regulars. Rather, Saturday night brought in a different kind of crowd. The reason being Los Amigos Invisibles, the very popular pop/disco/latin funk export from Venezuela kept the entire dancefloor moving from the first rush onto the stage right to the very very end. And seriously, folks, it was like I was back at some huge Latin American club in say Caracas where the music served both as a catalyst to some serious flirting AND was the absolutely most perfect reason for one hell of a great night for dancing. It was fun! Or as we say, divertido!

Get more at brightestyoungthings.com.

88DC (2.16.08)

88DC-15, originally uploaded by D.FINE.

I went to a party at Be Bar the other night to shoot a gathering of artists and other designers... you can check out 88DC at www.eightyeightdc.com.

The following is from their website:

"88 is inspired by urbanity, diversity and positive change. We aim to provide a unique product, rooted in a forward thinking philosophy and approach that helps cultivate a caring, concious community interested in pro-actively pushing things forward. Help us nurture this cultural shift by sharing with us your ideas, sending us some inspiration and joining us as we foment positive change."

Jumping in Art Museums... Recognize! (2.16.08)

Jumping-30, originally uploaded by D.FINE.

On Saturday, I went with a group of friends to the National Portrait Gallery to see the newly opened RECOGNIZE exhibit, and get some shots for a blog that has been receiving a considerable amount of buzz lately in DC. It's called Jumping in Art Museums, hollrrrrrr.

Josephine's (2.15.08)

Josephines_2.15.08-152, originally uploaded by D.FINE.

I shot Josephine's again last Friday Night for E.Lund Events, good time's were had, bottles popped, party on wayne...

Clemens on Capitol Hill (2.13.08)

Clemens-3, originally uploaded by D.FINE.

I happened to swing up to Capitol Hill to catch Roger Clemens at the tail end of his testimony on Wednesday... I was able to snap a couple pictures as he was fleeing the mob scene. The sheer amount of press was pretty overwhelming, and made it near impossible to get a good shot, not to mention I had no credentials, so I was actively avoiding police officers. Anyways, I didn't really get anything good, but I thought I'd put these up even so... just because I was there.

Butterflies @ Natural History Museum (2.13.08)

butterflies_flickr-33, originally uploaded by D.FINE.

I shot butterrlies for BYT on Wednesday... see the post here.

Butterflies are AMAZING! I shot the grand opening of the real, live butterfly exhibit at the Natural History Museum, which officially opened today!! It was awesome. One butterfly came and landed on my hoody, and then proceeded to just chill out there for about 15 minutes as I roamed around taking pictures...

Did you know that the average lifespan of a butterfly is only 2 weeks?!?!? Every 15 days they have to come and "replenish" the butterflies because otherwise there won't be any.

O-Bama! (2.12.08)

Obama_flickr-43, originally uploaded by D.FINE.

Went out to the MD Obama party on the night of the primaries, I think it's good to do something that counts as supporting something I actually believe in, every once in a while at least... young people, old people, white people, people of color, Obama gets 'em all.

The Cassettes @ The CAT - 2.10.08

cassettes_cat-20, originally uploaded by D.FINE.

I shot The Cassettes at the Black Cat Sunday night.

See the OFFICIAL, brightestyoungthings post, here...

So I lent my I.D. to my roommate Sunday night so he could rent a movie with my Blockbuster card… point being, by the time I braved the bone-chilling gale-force winds all the way down to the Cat, I realized there would be no warming shot of Jamison to reward my intrepid efforts. The upside was looking like an eighteen year-old with giant permanent marker exes on my hands, okay, so forgetting my I.D. was lose-lose.

However, upon arriving I joined The Cassettes while they ate a dinner of sorts, crunchy cheese-wiz nachos mostly, and we chatted about their upcoming projects. Shelby showed me a green gummy man he'd picked up somewhere along their trip up to New York the night before and the mood was lively, if decidedly sober. I should say, Stephen made an ambitious effort to get Arthur to clean a hummus container with his tongue, but Arthur's reluctance prevailed.

The show itself was non-stop raucous vaudevillian steam-punk entertainment, replete with feedback from guitars and Theremin sounds from Arthur (think Star Trek). Saadat told jokes about jungle men, and at one point, synchronized clapping friends joined in on-stage. Besides the thrilling sounds though, as a photographer I would be amiss not to mention the spectacular projection job by Nick Kraly, the self-described projectionist and "techcromancer." Given the minimal light at the Cat backstage, this was of great service to my pictures… enjoy!

Josephine's Grand Opening - 1008 Vermont, DC (2.08.08)

josephines_dc-61, originally uploaded by D.FINE.

Damn... Friday night I shot the opening of DC's newest swanky club, a hotspot called Josephine's. The place was jammed with the beautiful people, money dripping off the walls, I forgot for a second that I was in DC and not LA or Dubai. It was definitely a see and be seen crowd. Just how they like it I guess.

This picture is definitely my fave from the night, and really just an all around amazing picture.

Commonwealth + DC Shoe co.= Great Gatsby (2.7.08)

cmonwealth_dc-89, originally uploaded by D.FINE.

Jerome (insert DJ pseudonym here) on the wheels of steel last night. I caught him in a moment of contemplation here I think... pre-party at Commonwealth for their new DC Shoe was HOT. See me on Brightest Young Things.

See the party invite here. Get all the pictures here.

Lest I forget... pictures are up on facebook, too!!! Tag away...

Great Gatsby! 2.7.08

cmonwealth_dc-129, originally uploaded by D.FINE.

My man Rhett... gotta love this shot, the glasses are hot, the walls of Sake Lounge are on fire, Rhett's gonna knock your mama out!

I arrived to Sake after the pre-party at Commonwealth where I had ample Red Bull and vodka (although, listen people, I'm telling you, mostly just Red Bull...) needless to say I was amped, feelin hyphy, having a good time. DJ Roli Rho was spinning a mix of hip hop, a lot of old school West Coast jams, I am always a fan!

My pictures in the Washington Post!

My photos appeared in the Washington Post today alongside this little blurb about the party at the House of Sweden Friday night. (Click on the image above to get a better view.)

Apparently there's a bit of distress at the embassy because there has been some negative feedback associated with the way they managed the list to get in. The line was pretty ridiculous, but in all fairness, people need to realize that if they're standing outside for two hours and there are still like 500 people in front of them, maybe they should go home... I'm just sayin'.

As for me, I got the royal Swedish treatment ;) ... I was happy to take pictures for the embassy, and I thought the party was a good time. DJ double 07 (I don't know if I'm spelling that correctly) definitely provided listening enjoyment, and well, open bars always provide for good photos, right?

House of Sweden After Dark - 2.1.08

House of Sweden Friday night, party was out of hand. Something ridiculous like 4000 RSVP's, line around the block. Part was amazing. You can link to the official party page here.

My pictures also got put up on brightestyoungthings. (scroll to bottom)

Yours Truly

_______ ______ _, originally uploaded by Sexy Fitsum.

Friday night @ the house of Sweden... party was off the hook!

www.houseofswedenafterdark.com

End of an Error - 1.19.08

You can link to the original party page here.

A couple of weekends ago I shot a party for a bunch of radical folks who organized a party celebrating one year until the end of Bush's presidency, how rad is that? Anyways, I got some press, my photos were featured in the DC Examiner, The Politico, and even a special slideshow of my photos on the NBC4 page!

Snowy Tree

This image is a composite of about 11 others I took of a tree at the top of a mountain before taking my last run of the day at Alta ski resort in Salt Lake City, Utah. To see more of my pictures from Alta, check me out at: D.FINE (Flickr)