Washington at Night

Annette and I have not been very active with our photography since the big trip to Death Valley at the beginning of December.  But in January we took two trips to Washington, DC.

The first trip we were showing some of the mall to some friends.  We went to the National Air and Space Museum on the mall.  We didn't think that we would have and opportunity to go anywhere else, so we didn't bring our big cameras.  The only cameras that we had were our cell phone cameras.  What were we thinking!!!

After the Air and Space museum, we stopped to see Albert Einstein and then walked over to the Lincoln Memorial.  It was dark out and we saw some great shots, but cell phones cannot do the shots justice.  We decided to come back the next  weekend better prepared.

When we arrived we found parking on Constitution Avenue near the Lincoln Memorial.  The plan was to go over to the Jefferson Memorial and then make our way back past the Lincoln Memorial.  It didn't quite work out that way.

By the time we got to the Jefferson Memorial, the sun was down and the light was almost gone.  We didn't get many shots with color in the sky.  So we went to work on night time shots.

For this first shot, I was over on the side of the building and included some of the front entrance columns.  I din't know how much trouble I would be in if I moved the little sign.  There were a couple of Park Rangers patrolling the memorial.  But in retrospect, I should have moved it.

Can you see the silhouette of the couple?

For these next two pictures, I was shooting for symmetry.  

I had to wait a few minutes for people to get out of the first shot.  You can still see a partial person beside the column.  Hey, they have just a much of a right to be there as we did!  This is another one where the sign needs moved.  Next time I'll send Annette up to put the sign behind the column and then put it back when we are done.

It's amazing how the architects also like symmetry.  I moved to the center and found that the seam in the concrete was right in the center.  I didn't have enough time to wait for all the people to leave, so I had to accept them in the picture.  See the flash going off?  Was that guy taking a picture of me?  I wonder if I cluttering up his shot.

At our camera club, the next competition has the theme of "Reflections".  So Annette and I were conscious of the reflections in the Tidal Pool.  Annette has a very similar image that I think she is going to use for the competition.  Notice how clear the air is and how still the water is.

From the time that we took the picture above and walked around the Tidal Pool to the Washington Monument, the air went from seemingly clear to very foggy.  See the image below.

You don't get much opportunity to take foggy pictures, especially at a location two hours from home.  So we decided to experiment with the fog.  We got a couple of pictures of the Washington Monument and then moved to the World War II Memorial.

By the time we were done with these shots it was 9:00 p.m. and we still had a two hour drive to get home.  So we decided to leave the Lincoln Memorial for another day.  

Harrisburg from City Island

Back on November 11, 2012, the Harrisburg Camera Club had a group photo shoot on City Island.  Over 20 members showed up to take pictures.  One of those members was me.

The Harrisburg Marathon was on the same day and the place was packed.  Hurricane Sandy had put a serious damper on the New York marathon so there were plenty of runners looking for an outlet for all of the training and preparation they had made.  So, instead of the New York Marathon, they ran the Harrisburg Marathon.  We photographers found room to shoot once we got away from the race route.

My best pictures from the outing were of the Harrisburg skyline and the Susquehanna River.

One of the upcoming competitions has "Reflections" as the theme, so I was looking for reflections.

All in all, it was a beautiful day with time spent shooting and conversing with other photographers!

Great Falls - Reflections on a Great Day

On Saturday, The Harrisburg Camera Club went on another photo outing, this time to the C&O Canal National Historic Park near Potomac, MD.

But first...If you get a chance to drive through Potomac, MD, do it.  That has to be one of the richest areas in the country!  I wish I had the Mercedes-Benz dealership there.  It seemed like every other vehicle was a Mercedes!

And the houses!  Wow!  They were mansions.  Huge homes!  Massive homes!  Wow!

But anyway, the camera club went to the C&O Canal Park. We had to leave our house at 6:00, in the dark.  That is when I am normally just crawling out of bed on a work day!

It was just a gorgeous day.  The sun came up and the sky was blue.  It was a little chilly at first but warmed up to a manageable temperature.  Just beautiful!

Since it was the nearest thing to the parking lot, we started out by the C&O Canal Tavern with the sun just coming over the hill.  I tried to get some pictures of the Tavern reflected in the canal.

I got the reflection, but the tavern was in the shadow of the hill and was not in the sun light.  Kind of flat to me.

Next we crossed over the canal and found this large viewing platform.  This is the view...

Some times I think I am going to quit trying to take landscape pictures.  They never convey the feeling that you have when you are standing there.  This one gave me such a great tranquil feeling, the still water, the reflections, the beautiful sunlight.  But this picture only hints at the magnitude of the scene.

As we looked up the canal tow path, this is what we saw.  A beautiful scene complete with the trees providing shelter by arching over the path and the canal.  Assuming that these trees, or ones like them, were here by the canal in the days the canal was in use, imagine the cooling shade, the protection from the sun and the wind that these trees supplied!

Just downstream of the Tavern was a barge, which, for only $5, would allow you to climb aboard and enjoy a tow by mules up the canal. 

I wish I had seen the barge move.  It is one thing to know that they hitched the mules to the barge and had them pull the barge along the canal.  But it is another thing to actually see the mules accomplish this.  Without seeing it you have no idea of how much effort the mules had to exert.  You have no idea of how complicated, or not, it was for the mule handler to hitch up and control these animals.  And maybe there are other aspects to it that we cannot imagine, not having seen the barge in operation.

Not to be too obvious, but I am sure by now that you have figured out the "reflections" of the title has two layers.