Photo aficionados, rejoice: this week marks the second annual FotoWeek DC photography festival—much of which is based right here in Georgetown.

The nucleus of this year’s FotoWeek is at 3338 M Street, just a hop skip and jump away from campus.  Among the exhibits there are:

• Finalists from the main FotoWeek DC competition, as well as finalist from the youth competition
• “Dreams in Color,” an exploration of the “dawn of color photography” through the National Geographic
• An exhibit on the U.S. curated by Elizabeth Krist
• The best of this year’s National Graphic’s Your Shot, a feature that spotlights readers’ photos
• “Until the Grass is Gone,” an exhibit of photos of Northern Uganda by Peter van Agtmeal and Pete Muller

Besides the festival headquarters, quite a few Georgetown galleries are also participating in FotoWeek, including:

• Addison/Ripley Fine Art (1670 Wisconsin Avenue) is hosting James Osher’s “Three Seconds with the Masters” and a collection of photos from “America: Now+Here”
• Cross Mackenzie Ceramic Arts (1054 31st Street) is showing photographs of ceramic artist Walter McConnell’s works
• Here on campus, GU Art Aficionados is hosting an exhibit in the Walsh Gallery featuring student work that explores the themes of micro and macro
• The Govinda Gallery (1227 34th Street) is hosting “Sound Kapital,” Matthew Niederhauser’s shots of bands at Beijing nightclubs
• The French Embassy (4101 Reservoir Road) is showcasing the work of four contemporary French photographers

The events are free, but you can register for easier entry and check out the full slate of events on the FotoWeek DC website.

FotoWeek DC (Nov. 15-22), a weeklong celebration of photography, is this week and centered around Georgetown. Galleries, embassies and museums are hosting events all over the city, but the headquarters (or “FotoWeek Central”) are at 3333 M Street.

Right next to Sweetgreen, in what used to be a ridiculous furniture store, a spacious, two-level white-walled storefront now houses a barrage of photography exhibits: giant contact sheet prints showing the process of photojournalism, Hurricane Katrina photos, hundreds of photography books meant for perusing, and more.

Across the street, another storefront houses even more exhibits. The best part is that it’s all free, as long as you wear the bright red button they give you when at the entrance.

Photo from Flickr user c00lmarie used under a Creative Commons license.