Calling all photographers—and anyone with a camera! The Washingtonian is starting a monthly photo contest to feature the work of talented photographers throughout the area. This month’s theme: summer memories. Interpret it as you like. 

The top three photographs will run on our Web site, and you, the reader, will vote on which you like best. The winner will be featured in the September issue of The Washingtonian.

Submit as many photos as you like to photocontest@washingtonian.com. Please attach only one photo per e-mail, and include the photographer’s name, e-mail address, phone number, and place of residence along with a sentence or two about where the photo was taken. Photos should be 300 dpi and at least four by six inches in size. The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, July 22. Semifinalists will be contacted when the reader voting goes live.

Oh, and one more reminder: All photos must be taken in the Washington, DC, area—including the Maryland and Virginia suburbs—and the photographer must be local. While we’re sure the photos from your vacation in Cancun were nice, we’re The Washingtonian and our first love is Washington. You do the math.

Good luck!

ABC Newsman George Stephanopoulos and wife Ali Wentworth feted author Michael Sean Winters last night at their Georgetown host to celebrated the publication of his new book, "Left at the Altar: How the Democrats Lost the Catholics and How the Catholics Can Save the Democrats." Winters, who used to manage the Dupont institution Kramerbooks and Afterwords Cafe, above which Stephanopoulos lived when he first moved to Washington in the 1990s, served as a speech writer on General Wesley Clark's 2004 presidential race and now lives in Connecticut. See below for our photos of the evening.

Founders Greg Letourneau and Will Jerro—both of Northern Virginia—created the site to provide free step-by-step instruction from experts or professionals. The two recruited local “experts” to help build an initial library of 5,000 videos—a number growing as users and the founders post up to 100 new videos a day.

Videos—made mostly in high definition as opposed to the often grainy clips on YouTube—are organized under umbrella categories. In Food and Drink, Bob Kiebler, food and beverage chief of Morton’s Washington steakhouses, teaches how to become a grill master, while the Pets category includes Krista Heinz of Doggy Style Bakery in Dupont Circle teaching how to cook up homemade dog food.

User-submitted content is on the site, but it must meet stringent standards—although some videos still raise eyebrows: User “Gianny 1” considers herself an expert in crafting a bra from a pair of underpants. The video does what it promises, proving that everyone can be an expert in something.

This article appears in the June 2008 issue of Washingtonian. To see more articles in this issue, click here.

DC “shadow representative” Mike Panetta realized US territories could have their own Olympic teams in 2004 when he saw Puerto Rico beat the United States in basketball. For the 2006 Torino winter games he helped field a DC curling team, which, although it didn’t compete in Italy, did land a sponsorship from Labatt Breweries.

For the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Panetta and his medal wannabes are organizing a race-walking team.

The International Olympic Committee does not recognize the DC Olympic Committee (DCOC), nor has the DCOC officially petitioned to compete. But more than 10,000 people filled out the “Join the DCOC Team” form online at Dcolympicteam.org.

“We knew we were being silly,” says Panetta. “It was just a bunch of guys in their thirties who said, ‘Yeah, we’re an Olympic team, too.’ ”

This article appears in the June 2008 issue of Washingtonian. To see more articles in this issue, click here.

Once patrons of Yvonne Hair & Nails in Alexandria get past the initial shock of seeing these toothless little eaters covering their feet or hands, some become hooked on the experience, known as the Dr. Fish Massage.

The fish species, Garra rufa, was discovered in the hot springs of Turkey and originally used as a treatment for psoriasis and eczema.

“When I first saw the fish, I thought, ewww,” says Susan Valentine, a client. “They convinced me to try it. I went from ‘Ewww’ to ‘Ooohh, this feels good’ and sat there for 40 minutes.”

Clients sit on a leather banquette and dangle their feet into the salon’s pool, which is kept at 94 degrees and contains 7,000 fish.

“The sensation is tingly,” says Kate Sargent, another salon client and fish convert. “The results are amazing.”

A fish pedicure costs $40 and includes a 25-minute fish soak; a $55 version features a more luxurious pedicure. Fish manicures are $20 or $30.

Although Yvonne’s treatment is for hands and feet, the fish were imported from Asia, where spas provide full-body experiences.

Wondering how safe it is to have fish nibble at you? “I don’t know of any risk the fish would impose,” says Dr. Paula Bourelly, a dermatologist with Georgetown University Hospital.

Related:
Washingtonian Spa Database

This article appears in the June 2008 issue of Washingtonian. To see more articles in this issue, click here.

The Washington National Opera hosted its annual ball on Friday, June 6, 2008, which in recent years has grown into one of Washington's most elite social events and this year attracted more than 500 opera fans, including cabinet secretaries, congressmen, senators, and government officials. Tickets, which started at $1,000 a person, included dinner at one of 22 embassies around the city—from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan—and then an elaborate ball at the French Ambassador's residence in the residence's fancifully decorated garden. Click below for our photo slideshow.