DC Event Photographer. Commercial Photographer. Automotive Photographer. Destination Weddings. Armin DeFiesta. » Travels

GRAVELLY POINT PARK | REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT | DC PHOTOGRAPHER

Armin — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 21:59:42 +0000

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Our oldest son, Nathan, used to love going to see the airplanes fly over our heads when he was a toddler at Gravelly Point park near Reagan National Airport. We took our younger ones to the park for the first time and they enjoyed it as well!

Metrorail on the not-so-pretty rail bridge, Thomas Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument. A view across the potomac river from Gravelly Point.

Airplanes taking off northward from Reagan National (DCA). It's a better and louder experience when they're landing in a southbound direction since the planes get closer to our heads.

A wider view across the Potomac River from Gravelly Point.

Denise and Jackson standing by along the bike path – be cautious here as the bike traffic can be heavy. Jordan almost got hit by one after performing the last-minute-squirrel-dash across the bike path, causing once bicyclist to hit the brakes hard and fall over.

My boys!

Boating on the Potomac River

Running through wide open spaces

Palm Trees

Armin — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:54:00 +0000

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My friend & fellow photographer Mary Beth Tyson loves palm trees and loves to photograph them. The funny thing is that Mary Beth is around them a LOT more than I am since she lives in Florida. Well I live in the DC metro area and palm trees are rare so I tend to appreciate them when I visit Florida!

So… we made it to Florida in one piece! After 12 hours of driving on 2 hours sleep (yeah, it sucked), we made it! And today looks like a good day to just chillax by the pool =)

Here is Jordan in the patio near the 7th hole on the Bogart course saying, “Good Morning World!” =)

Paul’s Homewood Cafe, an Annapolis Secret! One of the Best Annapolis Restaurants!

Armin — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 01:14:00 +0000

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Last night I hid the kids at my sister-in-laws and took Denise out for her birthday to a local Annapolis secret favorite, Paul’s Homewood Cafe, it has been a local hit for 57 years. This place is so hidden that even if you’re local, you’ve probably driven by it and never noticed it. The building looks like a small old renovated home business with a very small sign. I think I drove by it twice before I finally found it myself, lol. But let me tell ya, it’s worth a searching for because it really is a “find”! Denise is pretty particular about food so I made an effort to research Annapolis’ top restaurants in an effort to steer away from the usual fair of chain eateries. The cafe is located across the street from another local favorite, Carlson’s Donuts & Thai, which by the way is next on our list to visit =)

Paul’s Homewood Cafe isn’t exactly a cafe. It’s a cozy bistro-like restaurant that serves American and Greek food and all I’ll say it’s some of the best tasting food we’ve ever had in a long time! The reviews on TripAdvisor were right! It may be a small restaurant, but the cozy feel and incredible service is by far the best. The colorful artwork on the walls (all for sale by the way) add to the elegant yet casual feel of the place. There’s no great view or sophisticated decor, but in the end you leave knowing the real reason to visit Paul’s – the food! We started with Spanakopita that was so tasty and delicious! Truly a Greek treat! Then Denise had the Seafood Stew and I had Veal Dominique, and yes we sampled each other’s dish! Both were absolutely delicious and full of flavor, there isn’t more I can say, you just gotta go to experience it yourself. And we decided to splurge on dessert and enjoyed Coconut Balls, lol. Once you get past the name, you dive into two huge scoops of vanilla ice cream covered in fried coconut that’s covered with chocolate and whipped cream… delicious just isn’t a good enough word! LOL.

Paul’s Homewood Cafe is definitely a great local find that we give 5/5 stars! I didn’t bring my camera to shoot photos of the place because it was Denise’s night and wanted to leave “work” behind. The service was warm and friendly and the food was fabulous. Pricing is moderate and parking is interesting, you gotta turn into a driveway that leads to the rear of the building. Additional parking loops around and behind neighboring businesses. If any of my blog readers come out this way, let me know and we’ll all go to Paul’s!

Happy 37th Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Armin — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:07:00 +0000

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My parents celebrated 37 years of marriage yesterday! 33 of that (I think) my dad spent as an engineer at Mobil (now ExxonMobil). He retired just before the big merger. Now they enjoy the fruits of their labor in sunny Florida where I’ve been told by my friend, Erin Harvey, the weather this week has been in the 70s with a nice breeze. Be sure to check out her blog for some great Tampa photos!

Well I hope I got my facts straight, so here it goes… My parents relocated to Los Angeles from the Philippines in ’72 where my dad continued his work with Mobil. We moved to Northern VA in 1980 for a promotional opportunity at Mobil’s new headquarters in Merrifield, VA (off Gallows Road). My mom worked a few day jobs while my brother, sister & I were in school, but she mostly stayed home and took care of us. She eventually became a hairstylist (something she always wanted to do) and retired from that as well. My dad traveled a lot for Mobil inspecting oil refineries, selecting contracts, and working as a Manager on the Marketing & Design team for the Mobil 1 Synthetic Oil project. He retired several years ago, and just moved to Florida last year. I grew up in the Northern VA/D.C. area and it’s been my home for 27 years now… wow time flies!

Here are a few photos of my parents, their home, and some photos of the kids & grandkids when we visited them last weekend.

Their home in The Villages, FL

I’m not sure why Jordan has her finger in her ear, but it’s one of the funniest pictures I have of her

This is just outside one of the restrooms in The Villages

Just some cool artistic photos I was having fun with

I used Totally Rad Actions’ on this to give it a grainy, polaroid look

Denise looking lovely as always

The Villages is truly a Golf Cart community!

My nephew Dominic (my brother’s oldest son)

Dominic’s little brother, Clark

Nate being all GQ… lol

Thomas the Train stopped by Tavares, FL… the kids loved the train ride!

Me & my girl

My sister-in-law Emily, and Clark

A neat wall we passed on our way from seeing Thomas the Train

We then headed to Downtown Disney, Dominic loved the life-size LEGOs!

Jordan looks so funny here!

My sister Melinda and her son Roman below a LEGO dinosaur

Another funny expression from Jordan

Sea World!

Armin — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 13:50:00 +0000

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Sorry it’s been so long since I last posted, but we’ve been busy enjoying ourselves here in central Florida. Today I’ve got two photoshoots, but for now, enjoy some photos I took this week, including our visit to Sea World!

Here’s Dominic and Nathan in Grandpop’s Golf Cart

A night shot of the Villages Sales Center

A night shot of one of their local restaurants

We had dinner at The Firehouse – pretty good hot subs and sandwiches here!

The three babies slept at The Firehouse after a long day

…. enjoying the silence

Nathan & I riding the Shamu Express coaster at Sea World

Nate’s up near the bow of the ship shooting a water cannon

Some shots from the Shamu show!

This was at the Shark Encounter exhibit… we walked through a cool glass tunnel with sharks swimming all around us

Nate showing off his new Shamu that poppa bought him

The kids loved the Penguin Encounter!

This was one of the better water rides I’ve been on – Journey To Altantis!

Here we are SOAKED! My sister Melinda up front, her husband Chris, and my brother Andrew & I behind them

Denise took this great shot

The last Whale & Dolphin show of the night

Look At What I Woke Up To :)

Armin — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:40:00 +0000

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Finally got some photos here that I took at my parents’ house in The Villages, FL. This huge golf community is pretty awesome for a “retirement community”. Twelve Championship golf courses (yep 12!), and twenty-two 9-hole courses. Their backyard is literally on one of the 9-hole courses…

Here’s a sunrise view from the back of their home

Some palm trees in their “backyard”

Here’s Nathan enjoying the porch swing inside the “bird cage”

A view of the course and community from the back porch, or what is known as a Lanai

Front of their house

And a view of the rear of the house

Deep Creek Lake

Armin — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 23:20:00 +0000

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Denise, Jordan, Nathan & I had an awesome time up at Deep Creek Lake. We met up with the rest of the family at the large lake house

Here are a few photos… check out the rest HERE!

Nate & I near Swallow Falls

Early morning sun…

Muddy Creek Falls at Swallow Falls State Park

Late afternoon sun…

Devin’s “magazine cover” shot

Zack, Travis, Nathan, Devin & Marley giving me their best!

Baltimore’s Inner Harbor

Armin — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 22:41:00 +0000

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Over the summer I stopped by Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and snapped a few colorful images.
You can see the Baltimore Aquarium across the water in this image. Those “dragon” paddle boats were real cool to see in the water.

One of many musicians and artists performing at the Harbor

…more colorful paddle boats

The USS Constellation

A night shot I took from one of the walkways above

The Best Philly Cheese Steak Is…..???

Armin — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 15:33:00 +0000

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So we went to Philadelphia to visit my cousins Chris and Anne, and Anne’s daughter Mallory. We had a great time seeing the city and taking photos (more on that later). But THE highlight of the day was getting an authentic Philly cheese steak, and until you try one, you really have NO idea what you’re missing. What’s great is that it’s nothing too fancy here, just good ‘ol Philly style cooking. The bread was awesome and I highly recommend Cheez Whiz… yep, you heard right.

Now on to the battle… two of the most famous landmarks in Philadelphia are Geno’s and Pat’s. They are literally right across the street from each other! But be careful, you have to order correctly and need to speak english, otherwise they’ll ignore you and can be a little rude at times.

Which cheese steak is the best? Well you guessed it, we went to Geno’s for lunch and Pat’s for dinner to do a taste test ourselves! The winner by a very small margin was Pat’s, mostly because we preferred the chopped steaks. Denise felt the taste was better at Pat’s and seem to “linger” more in flavor, influencing her vote for Pat’s the King of Steaks. Anyway, after watching episodes on the Food and Travel channel about Pat’s and Geno’s, and the endless battles between their loyalists, I had to try ‘em myself. And I must say, if you like cheese steaks, you’ve gotta make the trip! It’ll be worth every bite! Both places serve up good eats, you can’t go wrong with either

The Italian Market is just down the block, one of the famous spots that Rocky Balboa jogged through on his way to the famous museum steps (which in reality, is a good distance away, transportation recommended, lol)

Here we are at Geno’s thoroughly enjoying ourselves looking like tourists. NOTE: Even though my cousin Chris has lived in the city for 5 years, this is his first time eating here! LOL.

A shot I took of Geno’s standing across the street near Pat’s

Ah yes, how easy it is to spot a tourist getting their photo taken at Geno’s… like we did

And here’s Pat’s, not as flashy an exterior as Geno’s but the food speaks for itself

Photoshop Actions!

Armin — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 02:18:00 +0000

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I played around with some more Nichole Van actions in Photoshop and used three images from the Havre de Grace photo shoot. Click on the images to view them larger!

I added a texture action to Erika’s yellow wall photo to get a more rustic/aged look.

In Ron’s image I applied an urban texture actions and tweaked it for a warmer and slightly rustic look.

Alex’s image here shows the “Fake Tilt Shift” action. I love the ability to add background blur (or Bokeh) when appropriate.

This image was great on its own, but I couldn’t resist adding some texture to get a more “old” or vintage look.