washington street photography

i love to wander the streets and take photos of what i see. i take them wherever i am right now. the common element will be that they are all photos from street scenes and the people that are populating those streets. you can find more of my photos here:...

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Prada Marfa, long exposure shot on a cloudy evening in west Texas 

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evening at the rodeo -- battle of the beast ... more photos here

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Memorial Day I usually spend at Arlington National Cemetery. While I go to take photos I have found that I now want to go as much for the people as for the photos. I had a chat with one of the photographers for one of the newsoutlets and he had the same thought. When you start to reach out to the families and friends of those that are there to remembers those that gave their lives for this country you can hear the stories of both. There is the son who died in Afghanistan while saving two of his buddies and who served in the same unit as did his had who sat next to his son’s grave. There is the buddy of a fallen soldier who came back with a stray dog he found in Afghanistan the very day his friend died — and who then wrote about this. and there is the former soldier who served together with his high school buddy, and only one came back from the war. There are tons of stories like these — but what all of these individuals have in common is that they are just happy when they can talk about their lost ones, when there is someone who will listen and who helps them remember their lost ones. Memorial Day is too often unfortunately tagged as the “Official Start of Summer” with people getting out on their boat, kicking off the bbq season, but all along too many of us forget the real reason for this day.

Memorial Day Memorial Day I usually spend at Arlington National Cemetery. While I go to take photos I have found that I now want to go as much for the people as for the photos.

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Memorial Day is when we remember those that did not come back. For me it is the day that I spend at Arlington Cemetery to listen and lear about those soldiers that did not come back. I am not there to say “thank you for your service” but I am there to say “I am sorry for your loss”. I am always a bit afraid that my presence is unwanted but the families and friends have told me over and over again how much they value everyone who comes out and shares their time with them -- it makes them realize that they and their loved ones are not forgotten. in our hectic lives, as we prepare for a memorial day bbq, or watching another sports games we forget how easy it is to share a moment like this and the impact we have if we just spend an hour with each other. 

for more photos, check out my blog www.carstenschmidt.blog 

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The Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg is a stunning building ... and provides great views and great places for people watching. Had the luck to visit on a beautiful day.

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the March for Our Lives in DC yesterday (March 24) was a student organized march, but that didn’t mean only kids showed up. This is a topic that impacts all of us ... and this one simple word summarized everything: Enough! 

-- more photos from the protest on my site: March for Our Lives 

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Yesterday, March 24, 2018, tens of thousands of kids, teenagers, students, parents, and grandparents came together on the streets of DC to protest the inaction on gun violence in this country. “Thoughts and Prayers” are the common response to any large scale shooting (since the killing of just one or two people isn’t even considered news anymore in this country) though “Thoughts and Prayers” have shown to do little to end or even just to reduce gun violence. But when comparing what is happening in the US to pretty much any other wester democracy, where gun violence is a tiny fraction of what it is in the US,  it is pretty plain to see that the single difference between those countries and the US  is the access to guns. There are video games, movies, crazy people, single parents … you name it in all of those other countries. The difference? People can’t just walk into a store and walk out with a gun (devices that were designed solely to kill, there is no other use case  for a gun.) So yesterday this group of amazing people came together (all across the US) to make their voices heard that the time for “Thoughts and Prayers” is over … they demand action. And politicians (and voters) have a choice they can be on the side of the gun lobby, of death and more killings, or they can demand that we finally do something about this self inflicted stupidity that are the US gun laws.

March for Our Lives — the hope of a new generation Yesterday, March 24, 2018, tens of thousands of kids, teenagers, students, parents, and grandparents came together on the streets of DC to protest the inaction on gun violence in this country.

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Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea is one of those little treasures that once you watch it open up a whole new world. and once you have watched the movie you really want to see place. Two years ago was my first visit (a stop on my way to Joshua Tree National Park). Two weeks ago while spending two days in Palm Springs I visited again. It is a surreal place. It is the kind of place that makes you think of movies like Mad Max or The Road and realize that reality can sometimes be stranger or at least pretty close to fiction. The Salton Sea was supposed to be the next Palm Springs. A desert oasis with a lake, a place where the upper middle class and the upper class could hang out, go water skiing, and build beautiful houses. And then nature (with a helping hand of humans) turned on this dream. And now you can buy a lot of land for $4999 (cash). Now it is the place where Breaking Bad is not a TV show but reality.

A Day at the Salton Sea Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea is one of those little treasures that once you watch it open up a whole new world.

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from yesterday’s Washington DC Women’s March. She held an anarchist flag in front of one of those obnoxious anti-abortion posters. 

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Quintonil -- The Future of Mexican Food, for now

Quintonil — The Future of Mexican Food, for now

Cebiche de Nopales On my first trip to Mexico City, probably close to 10 years ago, I fell in love with the country,  mezcal, and Tacos Al Pastor. Then on a follow up trip to Oaxaca I feel in love with Oaxacan food, from mole to chapulines. Then close to two years ago on another trip to Mexico City I fell in love all over again with Mexican Food after going to Pujol. It was a completely different…

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obligatory tourist photo when in SF. 

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That kind of day

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venice beach skatepark from earlier this summer. 

the full set is on my updated portfolio site

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photos from a trip to the west coast.

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at the dance. 

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Venice beach skatepark 

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streets of la