1000 words

Danny Harris is a DC-based photographer, DJ, and collector of stories. In September, he launched People’s District, a blog that tells a people’s history of DC by sharing the stories and images of its residents. Every day, People’s District presents a different Washingtonian sharing his or her insights on everything from Go Go music to homelessness to fashion to politics.

“I am a preacher’s daughter from Whitefish, Montana. I grew up in barns, and we would go out on stampedes and round up the young bulls in the spring and castrate them. I saw the force of life from a very young age and was taught not to flinch. Education was a huge emphasis in my family, and there was always that push to seek knowledge. I definitely credit the area where I grew up for a lot of the qualities that now make me a Dominatrix, like hard work, education, and loyalty.

“When I tried to break into the Dominatrix scene in D.C., no one would give me an opening, which is how I ended up stripping out on the Eastern Shore. During that time, I went out to San Francisco for S&M training and really benefited from the networking. I found people whom I could call when I had questions as a young Dom. Three weeks after my Dad died, I put up an ad on Craigslist as a Dominatrix. One of the major reasons I do this work is because I know that my father was submissive. I know that if he had understood himself, he’d still be here today.

“When people don’t accept who they are on whatever level, whether sexual, social or personal, they can do a lot of damage to themselves because of how unhappy they are. I just want every father, mother, daughter, and lover out there to be able to know who they are and honestly communicate that to their partner, whether it is vanilla sex or extreme kink. If someone is coming to me to induce a feeling of shame because they don’t feel comfortable with what they desire, they need to seek a psychotherapist, not me. I only want to play with people who are comfortable with their desires and embrace their identity. I screen people using extreme intuition and patterns. When you are in the business long enough, you learn who the wankers are and you can point them out in ten seconds. Continues after the jump. (more…)

© 2009 Kay Rousslang

Local photographer and Petworth native Kay Rousslang writes the A Flaneur in Washington blog.   The term flaneur, from the French verb flâner, means “to stroll”.   In Charles Baudelaire‘s essay The Painter of Modern Life, Baudelaire describes the flaneur as the ideal modern man, one who “sets up house in the heart of the multitude, amid the ebb and flow of movement, in the midst of the fugitive and the infinite.”  The flaneur “makes it his business to extract from fashion whatever element it may contain of poetry within history, to distil the eternal from the transitory.”

Danny Harris is a DC-based photographer, DJ, and collector of stories. In September, he launched People’s District, a blog that tells a people’s history of DC by sharing the stories and images of its residents. Every day, People’s District presents a different Washingtonian sharing his or her insights on everything from Go Go music to homelessness to fashion to politics.

“I’m 33. I was born in the Dominican Republic and came to the U.S. in December 1983. My family first came to New York and then we settled in Hyattsville, Maryland. I have been doing construction since I left high school in 1995. I did general labor, demolition, asbestos removal, whatever. Being out there in the field, I was exposed to a lot of the injustices that people in the work force deal with, things like poor or no pay and mistreatment. I am fortunate because I am bilingual, so I could speak up for co-workers who didn’t speak the language. There were a few times when I would be let go for speaking up, but the way I look at it, I am not going to let anyone disrespect me or my co-workers.

“My whole time in construction, I was never in a union. I don’t have a pension or insurance, none of that. With my health, I always just crossed my fingers. I got hurt a few times and always had to pay out of pocket. Back then, I didn’t know about the unions. It’s not like contractors were telling us about our rights. Their bottom line was making money. The last thing many of them wanted was for us to have the knowledge that if we joined with our co-workers, we could have what they had — a contract. No job gets done in this city without a contract, yet we never had one. Part of that may be that union density in D.C. is not like New York. Here, there isn’t that mentality where your Dad and Granddad were in the union.

“When I was given the opportunity be an organizer, I said, ‘Heck, yeah.’ Now I’m able to give back. I spend a lot of my time in the field talking with people. I have been in their shoes, so I know how to relate to them. I think that it’s important to even the playing field. If you want your community to thrive, you need to give your community the resources and options. Without options, people unfortunately turn to other means. Continues after the jump. (more…)

Ojo Latino is a series by Néstor Sánchez Cordero. Nestor writes, “I’m working on a new project with my friend María Alejandra and her beautiful creations. She weaves outstanding and unique necklaces, gloves and scarves…” (more…)

Ojo Latino is a series by Néstor Sánchez Cordero. Nestor writes, “This week I’m featuring my good friend Valentina and some experimental shots.” (more…)

UNTITLED © Ricky Carioti / Washington Post

A flock of birds swarm a field in Loudoun County, Va., during a light snowfall on Dec. 5, 2009.

In yesterday’s LOOK post,  most people commented on the context of the photo, the WAPO article, rather than the photograph itself.   Here’s another photo from the 2010 WHNPA awards.  The Pictorial Category awarded 8 photos.  Which of the eight photos is your favorite and why?  Ricky Carioti, from the Washington Post, won an award of excellence for the photo below.

BIN BOY © Michael Williamson / Washington Post

Daverena White’s young son, Milique White, 4, sits in a plastic storage bin as he plays a video game at the apartment in Germantown, Md., Nov. 24, 2009, where the family now lives. His family had been homeless for months but got housing through a special county program.

More from the 2010 WHNPA awards.  The Feature Category awarded 7 photos.  Which of the seven photos is your favorite and why?  Third Place went to Michael Williamson of the Washington Post for the photo titled “Bin Boy”. 

Danny Harris is a DC-based photographer, DJ, and collector of stories. In September, he launched People’s District, a blog that tells a people’s history of DC by sharing the stories and images of its residents. Every day, People’s District presents a different Washingtonian sharing his or her insights on everything from Go Go music to homelessness to fashion to politics.

“I first came to D.C. in 1991. I really just fell in love with the city. Before D.C., I was working in a costume shop in Philadelphia. When I came here, I worked at Backstage when it was still in Dupont Circle. Eventually, we moved to a bigger space in Southeast and then I bought the store from the original owner. Before us, there really wasn’t a supply house in the District of Columbia for either theater books or dance wear. We are also one of the few places where you can do custom costume orders. You can come in with a sketch and we will build it.

“Theater and art are things that I have always loved. I also did a bit of acting, but I stopped because I got too nervous at auditions. My love for costume design really picked up in college where I was able to combine my love of sewing with learning about the historical components of how things were made and the materials that were used at different times in history.

“In D.C., I have gone in directions I never thought I would go into with costume design, like working with lobby groups. These groups usually do not want the kings, queens, and renaissance style costumes I thought I would do when I first got into this business. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals asked us to make a broccoli costume. An environmental lobby group had us build smoke stack and tree stump costumes. Another group had me make large hamburgers and huge pill capsules stuffed with styrofoam pellets, as they were picketing places that used meats with antibiotics. Now, a couple of those restaurants say they will not use meats that have antibiotics anymore. I am proud of things like that. I feel like I played a part in something bigger.

“With costumes, I think that when people wear them, their personality can change. But I also feel that a lot of times, their personality has been there the whole time and they just don’t let it loose. In this business, I learn a lot about people and their behaviors. I can usually tell how long a couple has been together when they come in. A lot of newer couples want matching costumes where even the fabric has to be the same. Whereas couples that have been together for years are okay for one to go as Elvis and the other to go as a clown. They don’t have to match because they are more secure in their relationship. It is fun to figure people out through working in this business. There is definitely a psychology behind costumes.”

Backstage is located at 545 8th Street Southeast.

Danny Harris is a DC-based photographer, DJ and collector of stories. In September, he launched People’s District, a blog that tells a people’s history of DC by sharing the stories and images of its residents. Every day, People’s District presents a different Washingtonian sharing his or her insights on everything from Go Go music to homelessness to fashion to politics.

Scarlet O’Snap on the D.C. Rollergirls

“I grew up in Baltimore. Every Saturday, I used to skate at the Putty Hill Skateland, where the Charm City Roller Girls started. When I was younger, I was really athletic and then, in college, I basically did absolutely nothing until I joined the derby four years ago. That was around the same time that the league got started. One of my good friends lives in Chicago, where I went to undergrad, and started the Windy City Rollers. She said, ‘When D.C. gets a roller league, you need to join.’ I finally saw something on Craigslist and joined the derby because I wanted a different social scene. I really stuck with it because I liked the athletic part.

“D.C. used to have a derby league called the Washington Jets, which was a co-ed, banked-track derby league in the 70’s. I don’t know what happened to them, but what we do is obviously very different. Our league started after the Rollergirls TV series on A&E, but the whole movement began well before that. The Texas Roller Girls were really the first modern derby league. It was very theatrical and wrestling-like. Rather than a penalty box, they had a spank alley where you would get spanked. Now, it draws more athletic people who don’t want an alter ego on the track or all the theatrics. I am the same on and off the track. I do have a derby name, Scarlet O’Snap, but I’m kind of over it now. I wanted something recognizable and sassy, and thought it was really funny four years ago when I picked it.

“The thing that makes D.C. really different from other leagues is how transient of a city this is. It is hard to keep people on for more than one season. We have three home teams: Scare Force One, The Cherry Blossom Bombshells and the D.C. Demoncats. We did have a fourth team, the Secretaries of Hate, which we had to fold because we didn’t have enough people. We are also known as a conservative league around the country because we’re not all covered in tattoos, and we all have 9-5 jobs as lawyers and teachers, or work for non-profits. I don’t think there’s one person in this league who does not have a 9-5 career, whereas in other leagues, it’s more the counterculture: bartenders and artists. But that is not what D.C. is like at all. Continues after the jump. (more…)