After returning from Poland and Germany, I had a week at home before setting off for the East Coast with my kids to visit our very good friends in Loudoun County, Virginia. We went a bit later in the Summer this year, which meant that the mall in DC was free of all of the crazy fencing that is usually up for the Forth of July. I kept an eye on the weather while I was out there and ended up making about four trips in to DC at 4:15 AM in order to try to get some color in the sky. This particular shot was taken on my second attempt at the World War II Memorial as the sky in the East lit up behind the Washington Monument. On my previous trips to the Mall, this hadn't been an option due to the barricades.
As the sky lit up, I tried the Rokinon 12mm fisheye and found that I was able to pull in the Pacific and Atlantic arches on either side. There are so many incredible places to shoot around the Mall area in DC, but the World War II Memorial is now my favorite spot after my last trip, edging out the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Having just come back from Auschwitz in Poland and after watching Band of Brothers on HBO after returning, it really is sobering to walk along the perimeter of this memorial which was long overdue to honor those who gave their lives on their way to becoming America's greatest generation.
This tends to be a spot that is generally overlooked by photographers as there was only one other photographer nearby as I was shooting. I shot the Lincoln Memorial on my way back to the car, and found it to be swarming with visitors. I would highly recommend adding the World War II to your list on your next visit to DC.
William McIntosh Photography
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Tags: World War II Memorial Sunrise Washington DC Washington Monument Reflection
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I've just returned from a trip with the kids back to visit some of our good friends in Northern Virginia. We've been making the trip to Virginia since 2007, and I've always meant to shoot a sunrise or sunset in DC each year, but have always run out of time between events with the family or other places to shoot. I thought I was going to get my chance last October, but our stupid congress shut down the entire city just before I arrived. This Summer, I knew I wanted a shot of the US Marine Corps War Memorial at sunrise shooting East back toward DC. If you've been shooting for any length of time, you may have heard the adage "F8 and be there" when people ask how you were able to get a particular shot. In this case, I woke up at 3:30 AM 5 out of the 7 days I was there in order to make the drive into DC and be in position by 5:15 AM. Finally, on the day before I left, the sky lit up, and I was able to get my shot.
I should also mention that from here, I dashed back down the Roosevelt bridge and grabbed a shot of the Jefferson memorial and then the Lincoln memorial before the light was gone for the morning. During that week, I took many wrong turns, fell on my butt in the mud on Roosevelt Island, and came across many disappointments as much of the mall area and the capitol were taken over by the 4th of July fences, tents and speakers, but overall, I had a great time shooting while getting to know a good deal more about how DC is laid out, where to park, etc, as well as getting to hang out with some very good friends for the week. I'm already looking forward to next year.
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Tags: U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial Sunrise Iwo Jima Washington DC Arlington Silhouette
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About 10 minutes after I took the previous shot, I flew back down the Roosevelt Island Bridge, found parking, and dashed up to the Lincoln Memorial where I spent another half hour or so shooting. I wasn't planning on shooting from inside the memorial as I thought there just wasn't enough light to shoot without the tripod (I was told by a very polite park officer that tripods were not allowed inside) but I ventured in anyway and was preparing to shoot Lincoln (that doesn't sound quite right) staring down at me when I noticed another photographer shooting back towards the entrance. I turned around and immediately knew that I wanted a shot looking back towards the Washington Memorial. This was obviously handheld, so I had to crank up the ISO. (F16, ISO 1000, 5 frame bracket +2/-2 with the Nikkor 14-24, 2.8.)
I took more than a few shots from the mall area before the nice morning light disappeared.
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Tags: Lincoln Memorial Sunrise Washington DC HDR
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Another shot from the Lincoln Memorial that was taken during my mad dash from the Iwo Jima Memorial down to the Jefferson before arriving at the Lincoln. This angle turned out to be a bit wonky, but I loved how the light was reflecting off of the pavement and steps. It really turned out to be a spectacular morning, and I shot for well over two hours before finally heading back to Loudoun County for some much needed sleep.
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Tags: Lincoln Memorial Sunrise Washington DC
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This was taken on another 3:30 AM morning as I had hoped to get my Iwo Jima Sunrise shot. But when I arrived in Arlington, the cloud ceiling was a bit too low, and there was no color to be found. I finally gave up on Iwo Jima and drove down to the Capitol to scout for other shots. One of the other spots I was hoping to shoot was the reflecting pool in front of the Capitol, but everything had been completely taken over for the Fourth of July celebration. I finally gave up and started to head back to Loudoun County but as I crossed the Potomac, the sun suddenly broke out from behind the clouds and lit up the sky. Frantically, I began to look for a spot to pull over after I had crossed the 395, but there was NOTHING between 395 and the Theodore Roosevelt Island Memorial Bridge. Just as I gave up, I found some parking for Theadore Roosevelt Island, grabbed my camera and ran back across the bridge for a couple of shots.
After taking the above shot from the bridge, I took the other trail onto the island which you can see in the distance above. I spent the next 40 minutes or so shooting on the island, which features a memorial to Theodore Roosevelt. (Go figure!) It was on the other side of the island where I foolishly tried to edge down a slick boat landing and landed on my butt. Limping back to the car, covered in slime, trying not to get it all over the rental car…not one of the better moments of my trip, but that's what photography is all about….right?
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Tags: Arlington Sunrise Potomac River Virginia Theodore Roosevelt Island Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge Washington DC
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