An Awesome Proposal

Love | by Samer Farha

On Wednesday night, the day after the inauguration of our 44th president, I had the opportunity to be a part of a ceremony that while smaller was no less important, nor any less hopeful.

You see, I’d met this fun couple, Kevin and Lindsay, because of Flickr. I’d admired Lindsay’s photography, and coupled with her amazing smile I’d made her a contact on the site. I noticed she would post a few pictures of beer, here and there, and that Kevin would review them. Turns out he’s the beer geek and she’s the photo geek.

Victory Lap | by Samer Farha

Through the Flickr group DC Social, I finally got to meet them in person in December. So I was taken by surprise when Kevin contacted me (on Twitter!) at the beginning of the month to ask if I would take some photos of him proposing marriage to Lindsay at the skating rink at the National Gallery of Art‘s Sculpture Garden.

I leapt at the chance. I was honored that they both thought highly enough of my photography to want me to do this, and I’m always up for helping surprise someone. Those that know me well, know what sort of curmudgeon I can be, and that romance isn’t exactly my forte. But there’s something about these two — they’re so right together. So perfect together. I had to do it.

We got another Flickr photographer, Michelle, to join us as well. Her and I planned to meet up at my office and walk down there and plan our attack. Much to our luck, Michelle’s husband Ron had dropped her off, and agreed to come with us and to use my second camera to take some wide shots.

Michelle and Ron didn’t really have to hide out — Lindsay had never met them, and wouldn’t recognize them. I took up my position in the trees nearer Madison Drive and had my big 70-200mm lens at the ready. I felt a bit like a private investigator. Or a stalker. I was certainly expecting the police to come over and ask why I was hiding behind the trees taking pictures, though that never came to be.

Will You Marry Me? | by Samer Farha

Kevin and Lindsay skated out and did some laps around the rink, and then the staff announced that they needed everyone off the ice so they can clean it with the Zamboni. It was then that Kevin drew her to the middle of the rink and got down on bended knee to ask her to marry him.

She said yes, of course!

Echoes of “Oh, my God!” were heard for a good long time afterwards.

And Lindsay didn’t have any idea we were there (even though she looked directly at me at least once). The look on her face when Kevin pointed out that she was on Candid Camera was almost as priceless as when he brought out the ring!

Thanks, guys, for having me be part of your special moment, and may your smiles and love never fade!

The entire set of pictures that I took (along with the wide angle ones that Ron took) can be found here. Kevin’s story of how it all unfolded can be read here.

Purple Eggs and Bacon

Purple Eggs | by Samer Farha

Sumac is a wonderful reddish-purple spice that’s made from the ground up berries of the plant of the same name. It’s used throughout the Middle East, and in Turkish dishes. Because of sumac’s tart, almost lemony taste, it is often added to fish, chicken, and salads.

This is a simple and yet delightful and very tasty breakfast. The simple addition of a spice can radically alter both the taste and appearance of your morning eggs and amp them up a bit.

If you don’t want to use bacon, skip to cooking the eggs, and use a combination of butter and olive oil. You’ll need three or four strips of bacon per serving. Place the bacon on a metal cooling rack, and place that on a half sheet pan. Place the pan in a cool oven and set the temperature to 400° F. When the oven reaches the temperature, start checking on the bacon every couple of minutes. Doneness will depend on how you like your bacon and how thick cut it was.

Purple Eggs and Bacon | by Samer Farha

Carefully remove the pan, and drain some of the bacon grease into a waiting 8″ frying pan. Make sure you have a thin coating over the surface of the pan, and dump the remaining fat. Place the pan over a medium-low flame and sprinkle some salt and sumac (not too much, maybe a teaspoonful).

Crack two eggs in the pan and let set over a low flame. Too many people cook eggs too hot and wind up with a burnt or rubbery texture. Try and avoid that. Once the eggs are close to setting up the way you want, hit them with some more salt and pepper, then sprinkle about a tablespoon or so of sumac over them. Don’t over do the salt, as most sumac has salt in the mix.

Serve with the bacon and enjoy. This works particularly well with ful mudamas (mashed fava beans), another Lebanese breakfast tradition.

Possibilities Exposed

"I Am Not The Sushi You Seek!" | by Samer Farha

I’ve narrowed down my choices for DCist Exposed 2009 to these 11 pictures. I’d love your help in determining which three should be submitted.

I have a very strong preference for one of the pictures, and a less strong preference for two others.

If you want inspiration, check out the Exposed winners for 2008 and 2007.

First, go view the set as a slideshow. Then vote by any of the following methods:

Pick one and favorite it.
Pick more than one:

• Tag them in order.
• E-mail me with names or links.
• Tweet’em in order.
• Leave a comment here.

It’ll be interesting to see what people like compared to what I like.

Closing date is Wednesday, mid-dayish. Or whenever I make up my mind.

*DCist writers and Exposed judges, your vote counts twice.

Pieces of Me

"Reflections on Art | by Samer Farha

Going all the way back to my days in television, I’ve been more interested in being behind the camera than being in front of it and a large part of the reason is that I don’t really like pictures of me.

I suppose most people at some point in their lives wind up disliking something about their self image. People don’t like hearing their own voice, for instance. They don’t like seeing their picture, even when others consider it art. God help them if they spot themselves on television.

I don’t know enough about psychology (and, frankly, neither do the psychologists) to tell you why this is. But people do become more comfortable with more exposure. When you do radio or television, even if it is rarely, you have to get used to seeing and hearing yourself. It’s like walking in front of the mirror. You get used to it, even if you don’t totally approve of what you see.

As I’ve befriended more photographers, and as I’ve gone to more and more Flickr outings, I find that I’ve had to become more comfortable with my image. Photography outings are as much about the portrait taking opportunities as they are about discussions on art or the drinking of beer. Pictures of me pop up here and there on the site, and I find that I cringe less and less.

Partly, this is because I’m more comfortable with who I am than I’ve ever been in my life. Partly, this is because of the “mirror effect”. Partly, it helps that many of the photographers are very talented and make me look good. But, on top of that, I also get to see more than a single view of me. Rather than one static picture portraying whatever state I was in, I can see changes over time. Like a documentary, but lived out over several months.

Because of my comfort, a smidgen of narcissism, and because I want to document my life over this year of change, I’ve decided to start doing a 365 project. The concept is simple: take and post a self image once a day for a year. I won’t always make the deadline, but I will try and make it up.

This is going to be a year of change and reflection: the new president and his agenda; work is becoming more challenging; plans for a more sustained push into photography and programming; my 40th birthday. It all adds up, and it all warrants documenting. Piece by piece.