Washington D.C.
A bench on a wet morning outside of the Smithsonian Castle.
The gardens at the Smithsonian Castle.
Cherry tree by the tidal basin.
Bobby Kennedy's grave. Interesting history, it is the only wooden cross at Arlington and is in a spot on its own. The singleness of this particular site gives some time to think about your surroundings....
A site that could only be in D.C., a beautiful, blossoming cherry tree in the midst of thousands of like headstones. This particular cherry tree is right outside the Tomb of the Unknown.
My son, Kai, had me set up and take this picture. We were walking along the National Mall late at night and he was intrigued by how the Washington Monument reached up into the low-hanging clouds and moisture. So I set up and took it and sat with it for a while. What I like about the picture (a full 30 second exposure) is that it conveys the evening perfectly. Dark, dank, wet, sparse, but quite beautiful.
The Cherry Blossoms of Washington D.C., I have this in canvas in my house, it turned out beautifully.
Cherry Blossoms in Washington D.C.
This was a tricky shot, the sun was in front of me but as you know, our eyes see much more than our cameras. I went with an HDR approach on this one. As I was working with the image I crossed this point where it seemed almost pastel, I decided to stop here. This was the day before Easter and this had the Easter feel and morning look that I was hoping for and is closer than you would think to the original scene (backlit cherry blossoms, backlit trees and backlit capital building). Enjoy, this is definitely one of my favorites.
These are more HDR pictures as I tried to catch the brightness of the Spring leaves as they open up. This picture is along the side of the national mall, glance across the mall and you can see the cherry blossoms ;-)
This is about 8:30am on the National Mall ... it's amazing to walk down the middle of the mall. You can see all of the monuments and you just have that air of walking through history ... but if you want an intimate picture ... walk along the sides in the trees, a sunrise in DC pushing through Springtime leaves is well worth the walk on the side.
This is morning at the tidal basin ... Thursday at the peak bloom. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were almost total chaos with people at this hour but Thursday at dawn it is yourself, a few photographers that are equalled in number only by joggers. It is quite serene when you think of the storm of people due to arrive the next day.
Having a wind-free sunset gives beautiful reflections in the reflecting pool ... but alas, the stuff all drifts toward one side. Still, I did find it added a certain amount of character and moment. Very majestic.
I follow up the photo, again, with an HDR version. Here the stuff in the pool really adds amazing character and the trees come out more as they are at dusk, I'm very happy with this particular shot.
And here is the capital building at night with the lights burning bright. This is HDR but I cranked it down quite a bit. The goal was to make this as "real" as I could. Notice the curvature of the pool makes the picture look off balance, yet the capital is in balance ... I wanted the shot off center so this is the price one pays :)
Here is the capital at night, just before it is completely dark and the light is still just a shade purple from the sunset. Like the previous HDR picture, I am offset with the pool so the arc of the pool comes toward us on the right but the capital takes on the illusion of tilting.
Not everything in DC is memorials ... there is chocolate and eating during the Cherry Blossom Festival ... I like the texture in my son's hand ... you can't tell the age from this picture.
Ok, one picture ... this is Kai loving the Cherry Trees. There is great picture taking of individuals down along the basin.
Whenever I wait in line for tickets up the Washington Monument I am amazed at the sunrise. I think this must be the pollution in the air but the sky turns orange over the capital and it is incredibly bright as the sun comes up over the horizon. Look for the bird above the capital dome in this one :)
