Lee Foster - The Photographers Guide to Washington, D.C.: Where to Find Perfect Shots and How to Take Them

Where to Find Perfect Shots and HowtoTake Them

Lee Foster & Ann F. Purcell

THE COUNTRYMAN PRESS
WOODSTOCK, VERMONT

Copyright 2009 by Lee Foster & Ann F. Purcell

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced

in any way by any electronic or mechanical means, including

information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in

writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer,

who may quote brief passages.

ISBN 978-0-88150-818-5

Cover photos by Lee Foster

Interior photos by Lee Foster and Ann F. Purcell

Book design and composition by S. E. Livingston

Maps by Paul Woodward, The Countryman Press

Published by The Countryman Press,

P.O. Box 748, Woodstock, VT 05091

Distributed by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,

500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110

Manufactured in China

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Frontispiece: The White House

Right: The Lincoln Memorial

We dedicate this book to each other and to our children as we celebrate the Washington, D.C., area

Reflecting Pool at dawn

Photographing Washington, D.C., is an opportunity to capture political grandeur, past and present, in the capital city of one of the worlds major political forces. Whether you are a visitor wanting to get some good shots of the citys icons or a dedicated professional building a photo portfolio of Washington, this book offers you practical comments about where to go, when to go, and how to get perfect shots.

Pierre LEnfants 1791 grand design for Washington called for wide boulevards and plenty of green, open space, showing magnificence enough to grace a great nation. The height limit placed on buildings, keeping them below the elevation of the U.S. Capitol, lends a human scale. The solidity of the marble and granite structures, many executed with a 19thcentury sense of large salon-type space, lends a regal air to the setting. All of this is exciting to photograph.

Washington is also an intense city to photograph because it is one of the great imperial cities of our time, comparable to Beijing or London. What happens in Washington will affect the world. Plus the city is a major repository of American culture, especially with the Smithsonian Institutions 19 different assets.

As a photographer, part of your challenge will be getting a fresh image of such well-known places as the Washington Monument. Remember, no one will ever see it in exactly the light in which you see this iconic place. (You may have to walk around the monument meditatively, viewing it both up close and from afar, but chances are you will make a satisfying portrait of this as well as other historic landmarks.) Or consider that the precise light that you experience over the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall has never been seen; you may stumble on beautiful light and come away with astonishing images.

The Thomas Jefferson Memorial during cherry blossom season

While Washington, D.C., is perennial, there are always new nuances, making it repeatedly interesting to photograph and experience. Someone who tells you that the Mall is the Mall; there isnt anything new there is mistaken on closer view. Consider just two recently opened sites that we discuss: One, the National Museum of the American Indian, has a sinuous outline that presents a refreshing architectural photo unlike anything else in Washington. And the other, the Newseum, has a sixth-story-terrace shooting platform that offers a fabulous, fresh image of the Capitol.

Come. Washington, D.C., beckons. Let us be your guides for a celebratory photo encounter with this remarkable city.

Icons of Washington at night

In this book weve approached Washington, D.C., in a methodical way. Starting with the major icons that any citizen with a camera will want to encounter, weve outlined 11 major themes that might interest you as a photographerones that weve enjoyed photographing ourselves.

We realize that readers of this book may fall into one of several groups. Possibly you are a talented amateur photographer, with a capable six megapixel or more digital camera, wanting to get some terrific images of Washington, D.C. With the help of this book, chances are good that you will be successful. Or perhaps, like us, you are a dedicated pro, deeply into the business of publishing photos. In this book well give you our best collective judgment on where to go and how to get the great shots in our city. Maybe you arent a photographer but are accompanying one whos immersed in the scene. Or perhaps youre simply a visual adventurer who wants to see the great views, capture them in your memories, and store them on your hard diskyour own mindforever. Follow this book, and youll be able to view all the grand sights, from the best angle, and at the right timeeven if your camera is invisible.

But be courteous while doing so. Courtesy, when photographing here, has two aspects: your fellow citizens and political/media celebrities. As to the former, the Lincoln Memorial will probably be your most congested moment when shooting in Washington. Allow a little time for people to move in and out of the frame; then be prepared to shoot quicklyto commandeer the area is rude. As for the latter, photographing political/media celebrities in their private moments is definitely taboo here in Washington. We remember one day going for lunch at a Georgetown restaurant and being seated near famed columnist George Will, who was enjoying lunching with a colleague. It is not OK to shoot a celeb in this situation. Washington isnt Nashville. There country music fans literally run up to the stage at the Grand Old Opry and snap photos of the musicians, who would in fact be disturbed if they were ignored. In Washington, however, George Will and others of his ilk deserve a little privacy. A quick shot of the restaurant interior would be OK, but be aware of effects of your photo behavior on others in these situations. Learn to photograph quickly and discreetly rather than make a spectacle of yourself.