Mark Anderson

My office held its annual chilli contest today. We treat it like a potluck and everyone brings in food. This year we had four competitors for the chilli contest and I took several shots of chilli bowls today. However, the hit of the party was one of the desserts that was concocted. What you see above is a hamburger and hotdog dessert.

The hamburger is made of a doughnut bun, chocolate rice crispy treat patty and fruit roll-up bacon strips. You had a choice of adding red icing ketchup or marshmallow fluff for mayo.

The hotdog was an eclair bun, with your choice of snickers or three musketeers dog. You can also top with ketchup or relish icing.

Since I have started this project I have taken several photos of this column. I also have several photos from years ago when I lead a photowalk in Bethesda.

I'm always looking for different angles or ways to look at this art piece. The main problem is it is located in a courtyard with distracting backgrounds from almost every angle. The column is about 20 feet tall and if you try to photograph the entire column you can never get a pleasing background. One idea I have is to come back and night and try to light it with strobes or light paint it while all of the background turns to black. I'm still not happy with the way this one works, but I needed something to post for today and this is the best I could get today.

This column is called Untitled Column and was created by Ned Smyth for the Bethesda Place Plaza. He has also created several other art pieces for this location.

Michele has been in California for the past week visiting her parents. I picked her up tonight at Dulles and Emma and I are glad to have her back.

While walking yesterday I noticed this pile of old tires. The shots I took yesterday didn't come out that well so I went back again today. I like how this one came out in black and white.

I have walked over this grate several times in the past and never noticed the pattern until today. I guess since I was watching for icy patches while I walked, I took a closer look at what was under my feet.

I drove around this morning looking for something to photograph and ended up stopping at the local cemetery. I liked how the gravestones looked in the snow.

We woke up this morning to snow and ice on the ground and decided to sit by the fire and watch movies. When it got dark I ventured out to do some night photography. I didn't venture too far from the house since it was very slippery.

As I walked by this food truck they were handing out samples of their corned beef sandwiches. I don't eat beef, so I had a sample of their tuna salad, which was good. It looks like they visit Bethesda every Tuesday and Friday.

Today I had to work through lunch and never got a chance to head out to photograph anything. I found nothing during my drive home as well. When I got home I went for a walk after dinner and tried some long exposure night shots. One came out pretty good and I thought I had a photo for today. Then I discovered my daughter decided to do some creative makeup. As she was removing her mask of makeup I asked if I can take a couple of photos. I like how this one came out.

Chuck Norris was here, nuff said.