Piedmont Bluesman | Rick Franklin

Columbia Pike-based Piedmont style blues guitarist and vocalist Rick Franklin recently performed at the dedication of a historical marker to Leonard "Doc" Muse at Green Valley Pharmacy in Arlington.

Rick proudly and ably carries on our regional Piedmont blues tradition pioneered by Blind Blake, Cephas and Wiggins, Archie Edwards, John Jackson, Reverend Gary Davis, and other greats. He regularly performs locally and internationally as an ambassador of this distinctive and lively form of the blues.

In addition to playing a mean guitar and wailin' the blues, he's a great guy.

Photography by Lloyd Wolf

Pink snow coat girl

Taken along Columbia Pike after the recent big snows.

Pink coat.

Columbia Pike Documentary- new work

I had a productive day yesterday working on the documentary project of Columbia Pike, in Arlington VA, that I am working in collaboration with Mimi Xang Ho, Paula Endo, and Duy Tran.

To see much more of this work, please visit:
http://cpdpcolumbiapike.blogspot.com

Mekbib Gebertsadik

I recently photographed the exceptional Ethiopian-born artist, Mekbib Gebertsadik, for the Columbia Pike Photographic Documentary Project. He has a degree from an art college in Addis Ababa, and is currently pursuing his MFA at Howard University. He arrived in Arlington seven years ago, part of the large Ethiopian community that has settled in the Washington DC area. His parents, Wodajo Gebretsadik Worke and Tadesech Tafferi Wube, just arrived in the United States one month ago.

Mekbib's website, which also highlights the work of his wife, painter Meseret Desta is:
www.artmesk.com

Columbia Pike Photographic Documentary Project- new work

This new work is part of the ongoing project I am doing on the Columbia Pike neighborhood in south Arlington, Virginia, near where I live. I am collaborating with two other sensitive and capable photographers, Xang Mimi Ho and Paula Endo. Mimi and I recently spent time documenting people and places we found compelling and indicative of the Pike's blend of character.

Right now, the area along Columbia Pike is among the most ethnically-diverse locations on earth. It is a magnet for new immigrants from every compass point, mixed together with old Arlington, the remnants of pre-strip mall and condo culture, and the large transient population that comes to sojourn here in the shadow of the federal government.

As Columbia Pike is currently undergoing rapid and aggressive gentrification, much of this vibrant melange of peoples will likely begin to lose its particularly blend of pungencies.

So- a bit of what I see, here, now.

Bob & Edith's Diner - Columbia Pike Photographic Documentary Project

Some images from Bob and Edith's Diner, late last night. It's an old-school American 24-hour chrome diner,
located at 2310 Columbia Pike, in Arlington, Virginia. www.bobandedithsdiner.com

Neon and cheese.

These images are part of the ongoing Columbia Pike Photographic Documentary Project I am working on with fellow photographers Paula Endo and Mimi Xang Ho. The area around Columbia Pike is one of the most ethnically-diverse neighborhoods on the planet.
Home.

Ethiopian Community Development Council

Dr Tsehaye Teferre and Ms. Konjit Moges of the ECDC, a program in Arlington, VA, well-regarded for providing effective services to the many immigrants to the area. Dr. Teferre is the president and founder of the organization.
www.ecdcinternational.org

These portraits are from the ongoing Columbia Pike Documentary Project, in collaboration with photographers Mimi Xang Ho and Paula Endo.

Chris Zimmerman

Chris Zimmerman is a member of the Arlington County (VA) Board. He lives along Columbia Pike, and is deeply involved with the neighborhood.
Chris used to work as a union movie projectionist in the old Arlington Theater theater, now the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse.

This is an image from the ongoing Columbia Pike Documentary Project, in collaboration with photographers Mimi Xang Ho and Paula Endo.

Ahmed Osman

Ahmed Osman is a Sudanese refugee working as a computer lab supervisor in the Arlington Mill Community Center in Arlington, Virginia. A former journalist, he fled Sudan because his articles exposing the government's egregious behaviors in Darfur and other areas of the country angered those in power.

This is an image from the ongoing Columbia Pike Documentary project, in collaboration with photographers Mimi Xang Ho and Paula Endo.

Pastor John Nicholas

Pastor John Nicholas Jr., of St. John's Baptist Church, in Arlington, Virginia. A thoughtful, graceful gentleman, who has served his congregation for over thirty years.

This is an image from the ongoing Columbia Pike Documentary project, in collaboration with photographers Mimi Xang Ho and Paula Endo

Kim-Hanh T. Nguyen

Ms. Kim-Hanh T. Nguyen, a thoughtful Vietnamese-American Buddhist, praying at home, in South Arlington, Virginia.

Photography by Lloyd Wolf