Autumn at Arlington National Cemetery

I'd like to claim that these beautiful pictures from Arlington National Cemetery were taken on a crisp, autumn day.  Truth is, they were taken in December.  Isn't that amazing?  Just as the hot, humid summers never seem to end here, the fall season lasts long beyond the typical October expiration date prevalent in other areas of the country.

I know some of the pictures are a bit similar to one another (especially the sign for the "Tomb of the Unknown Solider"), but sometimes it is just too hard to pick a favorite shot or angle. 

The last shot (the shot with the stars) is a fence at Arlington that I thought was really interesting.

Click on individual images to see full-size.







 

Arlington National Cemetery at Christmas

Arlington National Cemetery is a wonderful place to spend Christmas ... seriously.

I know because I spent Christmas 2009 there.

Every year, a group called Wreaths Across America places wreaths on the headstones at Arlington National Cemetery.  Combine that with a recent snow storm D.C. had gotten and I knew I had to see the cemetery snowy and wreath-covered.

It was beautiful and very humbling.

The first set of pictures were taken at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers (casually called the "Tomb of the Unknowns").  It was a very dreary and misty part of the day.  Because of the somber feel, I played with the tones to help the pictures reflect that.

The second set of pictures of just the headstones are whiter and brighter.  Obviously snow is much brighter than a dreary sky, plus, I didn't want to rework the tones on the headstones as there's just something so striking about how white they are.

My very favorite picture of all (and one of my favorites of all time) is the second to last picture (headstone James Edward Branson).

Click on individual images to see full-size.

First Round of Arlington National Cemetery

This is the first of what will be many samplings of my shots of Arlington National Cemetery.

I live 1 1/2 miles from Arlington National Cemetery and (literally) go past it every single day.  Thus, I have been there many times and photographed it quite a bit.

These particular pictures were taken December 2009.
A friend of mine's step-father is buried at the cemetery and she asked me if I would go for the anniversary of his passing as she lives too far away to go herself.

I took with me a rock and a penny.  It is an old Jewish tradition to leave a rock at a loved one's grave.  I'm not sure where the penny tradition stems, but I decided to do both for good measure.

While I love all of the shots, my favorite (by a long shot) is the first.  That's the Pentagon in the background of shot one.

Marine Corps Memorial/Iwo Jima Memorial

The Marine Corps Memorial (also casually called the "Iwo Jima Memorial") is amazing!

It is so much bigger than any picture would ever lead you to believe.
It's location right next to Arlington National Cemetery makes it very accessible as well.

The day that I shot these photos (in September 2009), I made the choice to stay well past dark in order to get some sunset and after-dark shots.  The walk back to the metro alongside a very dark trail was a bit scary, but definitely worth the results.  Here is a small sampling.

Click on the individual images to see full-size.

New York City

New York City!

These shots were taken February 12-15, 2010.

Click on the individual images to see full-size.



(5th Ave. and approx. 90th.)


(5th Ave and approx. 85th.)


(Michelangelo's "Young Archer" at the Met.)


(The Met.)


(Times Square.)


(Times Square.)


(Inside a Broadway theater.)


(Radio City.)


(Rockefeller Center.)


(Subway.)


(Subway.)


(A band performing in the subway.)


(From the ferry looking back at the city.)


(Statue of Liberty.)


(City skyline.)


(Statue of Liberty taken from Ellis Island.)


(Statue of Liberty.)


(Statue of Liberty.)


(The LDS (Mormon) Temple.)


(The LDS (Mormon) Temple.)


(Columbus Circle, Central Park.)


(Columbus Circle, Central Park.)


(Central Park.)


(Central Park.)


(Tom's diner.  Better known as the Seinfeld diner.  I actually didn't intend the fire-like blur -- the camera started to slip out of my hand!)