More Washington Monument shots

I've recently taken several additional shots of the Washington monument (in addition to the pretty vast collection I already have).

The first set of shots are taken from the Tidal Basin while the latter set is from the National Mall.
I think the last shot in this post is especially fun as I was able to capture a couple taking a picture of themselves in front of the monument.

FDR Memorial at night

Even though I've shot the FDR Memorial before, I was recently at the memorial at night and took some additional shots.

Here's a few of my favorites from my recent evening shoot of the FDR Memorial.

D.C. at night

The beauty of living in D.C. is that you can see all the great D.C. spots at night.

A couple of days ago, I went to the Tidal Basin parking lot (locals will know where this is) just to sit by the water in the dark and enjoy the scenery.  Of course, I took my camera so I snapped a few shots.

I've posted one particular shot -- the one of the Washington Monument -- in all three shades.  I can't decide which one I like best! 

The last two shots in this post are done at an (obviously) different angle.  I shot them like this to capture the night sky.  See, in D.C., there are no stars at night, but there's always very unique cloud formations that make for an interesting picture. 

Cherry Blossoms

The Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. is world famous and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors.  Matter of fact, I have never (and I mean never) seen as many people in downtown D.C. as I have during this past week.

The trees blossom only once a year and the blossoms stay open for just about a week.  While I knew they'd be pretty, I didn't know how I was going to photograph them with so many thousands of people gathered around.  So, I picked an unusually cold evening that was windy and quite unpleasant, and went when the sun was setting.  The cold weather combined with the after-hours time made for zero crowds and a beautiful sky that made an amazing backdrop.

I know that many of the pictures are similar, but the Cherry Blossoms are located in a part of D.C. known as the Tidal Basin which is, well, a basin.  It's a big, round circle so there isn't a lot of variance.  However, even if some of the pictures look similar, there are differences in position, angle of the camera, the timing of the sunset, etc.  Interestingly enough, most of the pictures in this sampling have literally zero editing done to them.  The conditions were just that beautiful.

I'm also including a couple of pictures in this sampling of some other trees in blossom that I found quite stunning.  These pictures will be the last two in the sampling and were taken in Old Town Alexandria.

Here are my favorites.

Tidal Basin

Well, I lied.
I said in my previous post that it was the last edition of things pertaining to the Tidal Basin ... well, here's one more!  Plus, the Tidal Basin is lined with Japanese cherry trees (sakura) and in a few short weeks, it'll be the National Cherry Blossom Festival.  I am definitely planning (or hoping) to photograph that, so there will be more Tidal Basin pictures coming.

As for this post, I was sorting through my pictures and I really liked the three I'm going to post in this sample, but I didn't want to include the first two with the Jefferson Memorial post since these photos aren't actually at the memorial itself, and the third picture (which is my favorite) isn't part of any of the other memorials that line the Tidal Basin.

The first two pictures are taken from the 15th Street SW side of the Tidal Basin looking towards the Jefferson Memorial.  The third picture is of a Japanese cherry tree that is on the Tidal Basin path.

Jefferson Memorial

Rounding out the third memorial on the Tidal Basin is the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

It's a pretty remarkable memorial.  It's quite grand and eloquent.  I've often wondered how George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson would really feel about their memorials if they could see them.  While all of them were certainly wealthy and predominant men of society, would they really like the grand and God-like memorials in their honor?

Regardless, the Jefferson Memorial is really interesting to shoot.  The round dome that revolves around a statue of Jefferson produces many interesting angles.  Plus, as the first picture demonstrates, you can see the Washington Monument from the Jefferson Memorial.  Here's a sampling of some favorites.

George Mason Memorial

I decided to follow the geography of the region from my last post (on the FDR Memorial) by doing a sampling from the George Mason Memorial.  My next sampling, which will be on the Jefferson Memorial, will round out this particular region of Washington, D.C.

In case you aren't familiar with the area, the FDR Memorial, George Mason Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial are all clumped next to each other on the opposite side of the Tidal Basin from the National Mall.

Let's talk about George Mason for a minute.  Do you know who George Mason is?  Many people have no idea who he is, but he is a big deal in the Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia area.  There are many streets, schools, programs, and even a university named in his honor.

So, in case you aren't familiar with him, here's a brief bio:
George Mason is considered one of the Founding Fathers. 
He participated in the drafting of the Constitution, but ultimately refused to sign it as he felt it lacked sufficient state and individual rights.  In time, he would go on to be one of the main contributors to what would become the Bill of Rights.

Like the more "unknown" people from history, his memorial gets little foot traffic.  However, it is an interesting memorial and the statue of him is much larger than it appears on film.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

The Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Memorial is located across a patch of the Potomac River (away from the National Mall) known as the Tidal Basin.

The FDR Memorial is actually very big and has several different areas or "rooms" to it.  It also has several famous quotes that speak volumes about the different times in FDR's life as well as his opinion on war and humanity.

Here's a sampling of some of my favorites.  Notably, the quote in the first picture -- which says, "Illness ... gave him strength and courage" -- was said by FDR's wife, Eleanor.  I like this quote because I think we can all relate to a serious illness -- whether it be physical, mental, or just trials of life -- and that we are capable of using it to become better.