Spotsylvania Battlefield

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I've recently been to several battlefields/Civil War sites in the Virginia area.  I have finished editing the pictures on another batch from these sites.  This batch contains images from Spotsylvania Battlefield.

It is just so hard to pick favorites when I end up loving so many pictures, so here's a few (or several!) of my favorites from Spotsylvania Battlefield.

More D.C. at night

It may sound corny, but there are few things in life I enjoy doing more than taking pictures.  So, sometimes after a rough day, I'll pack my camera up, go for a drive, and take pictures.

Recently I did just that -- at the National Mall.

Taking these pictures of the Vietnam War memorial, the Washington Monument/Reflecting Pool, and the Korean War memorial at night was one of the more difficult photo shoots I've had recently.  Night pictures can be a bit challenging and the night these pictures were taken proved that.

My favorite shot -- the last shot in this posting -- was an extremely difficult shot to get.  I didn't have a tripod with me, the Reflecting Pool is actually quite disgusting (lots of dirt and goose poop!), and as is the case with all things D.C., there were lots of tourists (and they can get in the way).  Because of that, I thought it'd be fun to include a picture that shows first hand the little hassles that can get in the way during a shoot.  The second to last picture shows a bird that plopped right out of sky and landed right in my shot.  Very funny!  In the end, I ended up with some great shots of D.C. at night.  Enjoy!

Chancellorsville Battlefield

I recently visited the Chancellorsville Battlefield of the Civil War. 

Not only was the experience incredibly humbling, it was some of the most beautiful scenery I've seen.  The fields were full of beautiful grasses and flowers, and thick forests surrounded the area. 

Here's some pictures from my visit.

Stonewall Jackson sites

In recent weeks, I've had the opportunity to visit many Civil War sites in Virginia.  I'm excited to get the pictures edited and posted.

The first set, contained in this post, are from sites that are specific to Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.

I had the opportunity to visit the Stonewall Jackson Shrine which is where Stonewall Jackson died.  I also visited the Ellwood farm which is where Jackson's arm is buried (it was amputated after he was mortally injured in the Battle of Chancellorsville).  Both spots made for some great pictures!

D.C. evening

Good news: I have lots and lots of fantastic new pictures to post that I've taken over the last couple of weeks.
Bad news: I'm behind on getting them all posted.

I'm hoping I can get that done in the next day or two inbetween some crazy scheduling and a lot of out-of-town time.

In the meantime, here's one of my favorite newer shots:

Philadelphia

I recently went to Philadelphia. 
Wow, what an amazing city!  So much to do and so many things to take pictures of!

You may notice that a couple of the shots are very similar or are in different shades.  I found that there were a few shots that were of the same place, but the sky/clouds/etc. were a bit different and I had a hard time deciding which one I liked best (so I posted both!).  Or, in other cases, I couldn't decide which coloring scheme I liked best (so, again, I posted both!).

Finally, yes, Independence Hall was covered in scaffolds when I went.  Just my luck!  I tried to make the best of it by either flat out including the scaffolds in the picture or trying to work around them.