Washington DC Photo Essay (death to dial-ups)

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Washington DC Photo Essay (death to dial-ups)

Posted: 3/18/2006 7:22:47 AM EDT

I spent a couple of nights walking around the National Mall this week.

Posted: 3/18/2006 7:23:51 AM EDT

[#1]

Great pics!

Posted: 3/18/2006 7:24:00 AM EDT

[#2]

Thank you.

Posted: 3/18/2006 7:25:04 AM EDT

[#3]

Posted: 3/18/2006 7:25:28 AM EDT

[#4]

cool pics

Posted: 3/18/2006 7:26:45 AM EDT

[#5]

Your camera takes good night shots.

Posted: 3/18/2006 7:28:26 AM EDT

[#6]

It's a five year old 4 Mp Olympus E-10. I was using manual settings, a tripod, and a remote control cord to prevent shakes.

Posted: 3/18/2006 7:28:31 AM EDT

[#7]

if you were really brave you would have walked around away from the mall and taken pictures of all the crack dealers, you know, just to see how well your camers takes night pictures while your running for your life

Posted: 3/18/2006 7:28:34 AM EDT

[#8]

I could not believe it when I went to DC.

It was like a giant ghetto in some african shithole country. Crazy people and trash everywhere.

I went into a restaraunt to make a phone call and it was full of nothing but dozens of lesbians.

I will never go back.

Posted: 3/18/2006 7:32:14 AM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:

That is by far my favorite of the "Big Three" (Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson) around the mall.

Reading those words and principles of Jefferson make my heart so heavy to see how far we've fallen as a nation.

Thanks for the pics.

Posted: 3/18/2006 7:34:33 AM EDT

[#10]

Awesome pics!

Does it always seem like all of the lights are off in the White House?

Posted: 3/18/2006 7:41:36 AM EDT

[#11]

Great pictures. I wish during the nine months that I lived in DC I got out and took more pictures of the sites. I like this one I took, it's a view from the top of the Capitol Dome.

Posted: 3/18/2006 7:45:10 AM EDT

[#12]

great pics! makes me want to go to DC again

Posted: 3/18/2006 7:57:28 AM EDT

[#13]

Paul, they are spectacular pictures, you have a good eye for pictures.

BTW, where's the pics of the Vietnam Veteren's, Korean War Memorial, Arlington National Cemetary? I know you went to those places?

Posted: 3/18/2006 8:14:18 AM EDT

[#14]

Nice pictures... no.. .AMAZING pictures!

I'm going to be going to DC in a month or so to visit my buddy Handsome_Rob and his new wife. They live on Bolling AFB (she's AF), which is only like 3-4 miles away from the National Mall. I have a decent Kodak SLR-like 5Mpix camera with 10x optical zoom. I just ordered a set of lenses and filters (wide angle, 2x tele, Polarizing filter, UV filter and Flourescent filter) to try to help get some good pictures. I want to get a lot at the National Mall, all the memorials, and hopefully the Smithsonian and other touristy stuff.

Any advise on settings for some good pictures like that? My camera can be set to full manual, and the timer is good for setting it up on a tripod and letting it shoot a pic without shaking.

I will post some pictures here (in a new thread!) when I get back. I've been really 'trigger happy' with the camera the last couple times I went out of town... two different trips, I ended up shooting over 250 pictures... each!

Posted: 3/18/2006 8:23:39 AM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
Paul, they are spectacular pictures, you have a good eye for pictures.

BTW, where's the pics of the Vietnam Veteren's, Korean War Memorial, Arlington National Cemetary? I know you went to those places?

I didn't make it to Arlington

it took all of the legs I had left to manage the mall and the Metro doesn't stop there after the Cemetary closes. The Viet Nam memorial was difficult to shoot - glossy black wall, dimmly lit, I'm trying to see if Photoshop can do anything for me as the flash destroyed everything. The Korean War memorial was so creepy at night - the soldiers walking looked like ghosts. I got tunnel vision - I walked right in front of another serious photographer in the dark and didn't even see him just a couple feet behind me. When he said excuse me he scared me half to death! The pictures there look creepy blurry making the soldiers look like ghosts.

I'll be back for a second round of meetings in May when the sun is up longer and places are open later. I've got the National Archives, Arlington, and the Viet Nam Memorial on my list. I also want to visit the WWII memorial when the water is in the fountain.

I skipped meals both nights and was walking around and doing deep thinking late. I didn't get home until after 10:00 both nights.

Posted: 3/18/2006 8:23:42 AM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
Quoted:
i6.photobucket.com/albums/y215/paul1960/Washington%20DC/JeffersonMemorial02.jpg

That is by far my favorite of the "Big Three" (Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson) around the mall.

Reading those words and principles of Jefferson make my heart so heavy to see how far we've fallen as a nation.

Thanks for the pics.

Indeed.

Posted: 3/18/2006 8:27:27 AM EDT

[#17]

Awesome pictures, thank you for posting them.

Posted: 3/18/2006 8:31:15 AM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:

Any advise on settings for some good pictures like that? My camera can be set to full manual, and the timer is good for setting it up on a tripod and letting it shoot a pic without shaking.

Use a tripod and a remote release so that there is no shake induced. I lost my remote cable when the wind picked up above 45 mph and nearly blew my tripod and camera with flash into the Washington Memorial refecting pond! I was holding the release as the tripod started to go over and yanked the thing back just enough for me to catch the camera and bounce the flash off the concrete (it's OK).

For the most part you do not want to use a flash unless you're really close - inside of 20 feet with a built-in camera flash or follow the guide number of the exterior flash - mines about 80 something.

You'll want to expose night shots like this at normal and then one and two stop below the automatic meter's recommendations to darken the darkness and not blow-out the lights. This is the most common mistake next to not using a tripod and remote release cable/remote control. The way to get super dark saturated blacks is to under expose from the camera's recomendations.

The last picture of the moon rising over the Capital dome was shot so fast that I did it in automatic and that's why the sky is too bright. When I saw the moon rising I was at the Washington Monument and hauled all my gear back about a quarter of a mile to get this quick shot.

Posted: 3/18/2006 8:35:56 AM EDT

[#19]

Home, home, home home...

Great pics. Funny how other peoples pics make you take notice of things you are so used to seeing almost every day.

Posted: 3/18/2006 8:45:47 AM EDT

[#20]

Great pics, thanks.

Posted: 3/18/2006 8:52:53 AM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
I could not believe it when I went to DC.

It was like a giant ghetto in some african shithole country. Crazy people and trash everywhere.

I went into a restaraunt to make a phone call and it was full of nothing but dozens of lesbians.

I will never go back.

Do you have the address of the lesbian place? [;0]

I live just outside of DC and the memorial and museum areas are pretty nice. Big parts of the rest of the city are being gentrified and fairly large sections of town are now safe to travel in. Some peole are projecting that blacks will not be the majority in the District in another 10-15 years.

Posted: 3/18/2006 9:13:50 AM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:
Quoted:
I could not believe it when I went to DC.

It was like a giant ghetto in some african shithole country. Crazy people and trash everywhere.

I went into a restaraunt to make a phone call and it was full of nothing but dozens of lesbians.

I will never go back.

Do you have the address of the lesbian place? [;0]

I live just outside of DC and the memorial and museum areas are pretty nice. Big parts of the rest of the city are being gentrified and fairly large sections of town are now safe to travel in. Some peole are projecting that blacks will not be the majority in the District in another 10-15 years.

I have to admit it has gotten a lot better over the last 15 years or so. It still has a long way to go though.

Posted: 3/19/2006 4:31:04 AM EDT

[#23]

I wish I could take pictures that good. Nice work Paul.

Posted: 3/19/2006 4:40:42 AM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
I could not believe it when I went to DC.

It was like a giant ghetto in some african shithole country. Crazy people and trash everywhere.

I went into a restaraunt to make a phone call and it was full of nothing but dozens of lesbians.

I will never go back.

True!

And don't forget that DC is full of corrupt, sleazy politicians!

The pictures are pretty........but the Founding Fathers would puke if they knew what has happened to their dream.

Posted: 3/19/2006 4:43:32 AM EDT

[#25]

These are grrrreat pics! Far better than any I've taken, and I get to see this stuff everyday.

I haven't encountered any lesbian bars yet, but I was hit on by a chick a few weeks ago in Arlington.

Posted: 3/19/2006 4:47:59 AM EDT

[#26]

I stayed in Washington for a week in 1988 when my brother graduated from Marine OCS in Quantico VA, and i have been wanting to carry my daughter now that she is old enough to care and becuase is is really big on history and science. She would absolutely love it, especially the Smithsonians, i sure did. I would have stayed two weeeks because one week wasnt enough if i could have. Excellent pics BTW, you are a gifted photographer.

Posted: 3/19/2006 4:49:05 AM EDT

[#27]

Beautiful pics of a mostly beautiful town.

Too bad it's full of assholes and slaves of government.

Posted: 3/19/2006 4:52:54 AM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:
I could not believe it when I went to DC.

It was like a giant ghetto in some african shithole country. Crazy people and trash everywhere.

I went into a restaraunt to make a phone call and it was full of nothing but dozens of lesbians.

I will never go back.

You gotta know where to go and not to go. The fine folks at the Radisson hotel made sure we knew that, one of the coolest thins was getting to see the USMC Presidents band perform,that rifle team is one of the most remarkable things i have ever saw.

Posted: 3/19/2006 4:58:57 AM EDT

[#29]

"What would you do? If you were asked to give up your dreams for freedom?"

Great pics!

Posted: 3/19/2006 5:02:45 AM EDT

[#30]

Quoted:
"What would you do? If you were asked to give up your dreams for freedom?"

Work for FedGov in Washington DC.

Posted: 3/19/2006 5:09:02 AM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:
Quoted:
"What would you do? If you were asked to give up your dreams for freedom?"

Work for FedGov in Washington DC.

Just making a funny about Team America.

But it does stir patriotism for me, though.

Posted: 3/19/2006 5:35:08 AM EDT

[#32]

Paul,

Aweome pics, thanks for sharing!

Posted: 3/19/2006 5:56:08 AM EDT

[#33]

You know why all of the gov't buildings are white, right?

If the light reflects off the buildings just right, it will blind you to the river of bullshit flowing in and out of that place!!

Posted: 3/19/2006 6:22:41 AM EDT

[#34]

Love the pics!! I have never had the chance to go there myself but I hope to soon. Those pics make me feel good about the work that I do on the stryker vehicle(s) production. Rock on USA

Posted: 3/19/2006 7:23:45 AM EDT

[#35]

Quoted:
Quoted:

Any advise on settings for some good pictures like that? My camera can be set to full manual, and the timer is good for setting it up on a tripod and letting it shoot a pic without shaking.

Use a tripod and a remote release so that there is no shake induced. I lost my remote cable when the wind picked up above 45 mph and nearly blew my tripod and camera with flash into the Washington Memorial refecting pond! I was holding the release as the tripod started to go over and yanked the thing back just enough for me to catch the camera and bounce the flash off the concrete (it's OK).

For the most part you do not want to use a flash unless you're really close - inside of 20 feet with a built-in camera flash or follow the guide number of the exterior flash - mines about 80 something.

You'll want to expose night shots like this at normal and then one and two stop below the automatic meter's recommendations to darken the darkness and not blow-out the lights. This is the most common mistake next to not using a tripod and remote release cable/remote control. The way to get super dark saturated blacks is to under expose from the camera's recomendations.

The last picture of the moon rising over the Capital dome was shot so fast that I did it in automatic and that's why the sky is too bright. When I saw the moon rising I was at the Washington Monument and hauled all my gear back about a quarter of a mile to get this quick shot.

Thanks for the tips!

This one is excellent - you even picked up the stars in back!