A Trip to the Capital
April 5th, 2007 by Benji Mast
It just occurred to me that I live one hour away from the center of power of the most powerful nation in the world presently. Since the destructive power of nations today is greater than any other time in history, I live next to the most powerful city in the history of life, the universe, and everything. Like whoa!
So like I have this theory. I goes something like this:
“The fun quotient of an activity is directly proportional to the impulsiveness thereof.”
I’ve been working on it for a little over a week now and it’s held true so far. Anyway we, our family, decided to run into D.C. on somewhat short notice, a few hours, and visit the zoo and see the cherry blossoms. And… Cha-Ching! We had a ball!
I think I broke a compositional rule for this one, props to whoever comes up with the one I was thinking of. Don’t really care, like it anyway. Hmm… I don’t often use back lighting because it usually creates shadow/highlight issues.
Shadows
Nouvelle Vie!
A Beautiful City
This picture of the Washington Monument really underscores some the differences I perceive between New York City and Washington D.C. D.C. contains more old architecture, monuments, and statues. Along with this are parks, cherry blossoms, and miles of biking trails. NYC is the wealthy, bustling, skyscraper-laden, never-sleeps, icon in my mind. Even though I loved visiting and shooting NYC while I up there, D.C. would get my vote any day. What do you think?
The Jefferson Memorial
I think my favorite is “A Beautiful City,” and here’s my reason: You composed the image with a balanced amount of extra things (the tree, water, and the green grass at the bottom) that gives the monument depth. These things aren’t just “things”, they actually can mean something. For instance, the blossoming cherry tree speaks to me of life, the calm water speaks to me of serenity, and you could go on and on picking meaning out of this picture.
Anyway, those are my two bits. Peace and Love,
thesinger
Sweet pics. Arlyn
the second-to-last picture is stunning!!
looks like fun shots!
Lovely photos. You’re thinking of the rule…never place the subject in the center of the frame?…I break that rule quite frequently, when done right it looks great. (I love breaking all the rules of photography!) I didn’t know the Washington Memorial leans. =)
Whoo Hoo! Amber wins!
Of course the monument leans….especially when your dad is waiting for you to hop back in the vehicle, the traffic is beginning to move, and you just want to take one more…
Yay! Do I get one of those little prizes now?! Again, Lovely lovely photos! I really like you fist one. I love black & white! And I adore light! Shadows also fascinate me! Great job! Especially on getting that quick last shot. Sometimes those are the best!
“The fun quotient of an activity is directly proportional to the impulsiveness thereof.”
The above quote from our son Benji was quite amply illustrated when he and his sisters and young brother and another friend were driving up our driveway after church after dark. Upon spotting some foxes in the field, Benji impulsively left the roadway and into the field to better see the foxes. Midway into the field, the front wheels sunk into the mud and when mother and I walked into the house later on that evening, we were greeted by some numerous pairs of mud caked Sunday shoes in the entry way. Monday morning duties including getting a 4 wheel drive to extract the vehicle backwards and onto to the driveway. Perhaps Benji will post photos of the front wheel covers and what about the fox photos??