A Shutterbug's Blog

A Panorama of the Cemetery

This past Saturday, I went back to the Congressional Cemetery in Southeast, Washington DC. I had been there some months ago, but that was before I discovered the beauty of high dynamic range photography, so I thought it would be a good idea to return. Anyway, the Cemetery is a place filled with ornate gravestones and exquisite statues, and it is of course saturated with history (see video of the pictures below and this link for the gallery where I posted them online).

Gateway to a Grave

As a subject, the Cemetery is pretty friendly to photographers. Unlike other parts of DC, it is not crammed with tourists...just a handful of people walking their dogs

Abstract Angels

Ornate Cross

Simple Cross

Stone Wreath

Stone Coffin

Four Stones

Road to Fate

Statue against a Barren Tree

Mourning Angel I

Mourning Angel II

Hands Graven in Stone

Simple Marker in the Grass

Red Brick Tomb

Ornate Carving

Elaborate Corner

Two final curiosities (that are definitely photogenic) are the Native American totem poles (forming a gate) that were presented to it some time ago as a September 11 memorial. They are colorful and undeniably beautiful and certainly stand out in the universe of gray and white that comprises a cemetery such as this (see photos below).

Totem I

Totem II

As for the technical details, I used my Canon EOS 50D SLR and my Canon L-series 24-105mm short zoom lens. Most of my shots were bracketed triples and I used Photomatix Professional to render them into HDR. I also converted a handful of single shots into pseudo-HDR also using Photomatix (and in both cases, I reduced the noise from the HDR conversion using the Noiseware stand-alone application).

The Pentagon 9-11 and USAF Memorials

2009-03-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

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This past Saturday I finally went down to see two memorials that on their face, I wasn't all that eager to see, the Pentagon 9-11 Memorial and the US Air Force Memorial. In the former's case, it being on the grounds of the Pentagon made it a bit more inaccessible than I like. In the latter's case, I have always felt that the giant silver arches that symbolize jets roaring into the heavens look like the ribs of some prehistoric monster as I drive past them on I-395 (see video of the photos I took and this link for the gallery of pictures I uploaded to the Internet).

Having now visited them, I think both were worthwhile, albeit for different reasons. The 9-11 Memorial commemorates something tragic, the brutal, cowardly murder of 184 innocent people by terrorists and when you wander through the benches that symbolize each life, there is a certain poignancy to it all. But I'm left feeling that the memorial needs something like a statue to finish it, the same way that the statues at the Vietnam Memorial on the Mall finish that one (see photos below).

A Moving Dedication

Water Under a Memorial Bench

One of the Fallen

Benches with the Pentagon as a Background

The Symbol of the Pentagon

Flag Over the Memorial

In the case of the US Air Force Memorial, I was surprised that once you are on its grounds, it is much more impressive than viewed from a distance (like the highway). I particularly liked the statues of the Air Force color guard (see photos below).

A Stone Marker

Contrails on a Hill

Up to the Heavens

The Color Guard

Standing at Attention

Solemn with Honor and Pride

Soaring

As far as the technical stuff goes, I used my Canon EOS 50D SLR with a Canon L-series 24-105mm short zoom and Tokina 12-24mm wide angle lenses. I used Photomatix Professional to make all of the images high dynamic range (HDR) or pseudo-HDR (done from a single image instead of three like one does with the standard HDR). On a final note regarding the video, I added a few pictures from the day of the attack on the Pentagon for context (and a news clip showing the fire) as well as clip of an F-15 soaring to set off the section about the USAF Memorial. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an appropriate song that Youtube would let me use as background, so it has no sound.

Flower Power!! Orchids in Bloom at Longwood Gardens in High Dynamic Range

2009-03-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, I went on a photo-safari led by Alan Defelice of Virginia Digital Safaris to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. Longwood is a series of twenty elaborate outdoor and indoor gardens. No matter what time of year, something is always in bloom there, and in March, it's orchids (see the video below for the pictures I took and this gallery for the pictures
themselves).

In terms of a photographic subject, I would give Longwood a mixed grade. They allow tripods, which is a huge positive and the gardens and flowers are exquisite. But the place got pretty crowded by the end of the day. Anyway, the photography I did breaks down into three groups, wide angle shots, shots I took with my short zoom, and my halting forays into the world of macro (extreme closeup) photography (under Alan's tutelage). All of these were done in either high dynamic range (HDR) or single shot pseudo-HDR (in both cases, I used Photomatix Professional to produce the shots).

The wide angle shots captured the totality of the gardens (see photos below).

The shots I did with the short zoom worked pretty well to capture individual flowers and groups of them (see photos below).

Finally, the macros showed just how beautiful just part of a flower could be (see photos below).

From St. Patrick's Day Parade, Alexandria, 7 March 2009

By and large, I think this was a good shoot and I give kudos to Alan for being the patient and knowledgeable teacher he is (the pointers he gave me on exposure compensation were very helpful). At the same time, every time I learn a little bit more about photography, I realize just how much more there is to learn, but that at least guarantees that I'll be making new discoveries and capturing new images so long as I can shoot a camera.

The Saint Patrick's Day Parade in Alexandria, Virginia 2009

2009-03-17T18:22:00.000-07:00

I'm really worried he didn't like having his picture taken.

On 7 March, the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Alexandria took place, and your humble photographer (me) was there to photograph the latter half (I missed the first part because it took a while to find parking). Anyway, it was a pretty photogenic event, and I had a good spot right by the reviewing stand. About the only negative was the fact that there was some obnoxious drunk who almost got in a fight with someone else (I just kept my head down and kept clicking)(see video of the pictures below that I took and this link for the gallery of pictures I've uploaded online).

I think that there were a lot of interesting displays, but my favorite were the Irish step dancers (see photos below).

From St. Patrick's Day Parade, Alexandria, 7 March 2009

A Local Pipe Band

From St. Patrick's Day Parade, Alexandria, 7 March 2009

The Democrats were in evidence.

From St. Patrick's Day Parade, Alexandria, 7 March 2009

And so was the Fire Department

From St. Patrick's Day Parade, Alexandria, 7 March 2009

And a Juggler Too!

From St. Patrick's Day Parade, Alexandria, 7 March 2009

Guys with beards were there as well.

From St. Patrick's Day Parade, Alexandria, 7 March 2009

They were part of a club.

From St. Patrick's Day Parade, Alexandria, 7 March 2009

Little dogs were in attendance.

From St. Patrick's Day Parade, Alexandria, 7 March 2009

And then came the step dancers!

From St. Patrick's Day Parade, Alexandria, 7 March 2009

Two Dancers

From St. Patrick's Day Parade, Alexandria, 7 March 2009

Kicking Up Their Heels

From St. Patrick's Day Parade, Alexandria, 7 March 2009

The Grand Marshal

From St. Patrick's Day Parade, Alexandria, 7 March 2009

Flags for the Occasion

From St. Patrick's Day Parade, Alexandria, 7 March 2009

Black and white seemed right for soldiers from WWI.

From St. Patrick's Day Parade, Alexandria, 7 March 2009

And there were a few Republicans too.

As for the technical details, I used my Canon EOS 50D SLR with a Canon L-series 24-105mm short zoom lens. I used Photomatix Professional to render some of the images as "pseudo-high dynamic range" (since you can't do normal shots of moving things like people).

Chasing Skaters: Smucker's Stars on Ice

2009-03-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

From Smucker's Stars on Ice, 7 March 2009

On 6 March 2009, I went downtown to the Verizon Center to watch the world class skaters engaged by Smucker's Stars on Ice perform. All in all, it was a great show. There really is something moving to see people perform something incredibly beautiful and graceful with indifferent ease (when you know it is really hard to do). I used my Canon Powershot SX1 IS point-and-shoot camera since the Verizon Center doesn't allow SLRs (see video of pictures I took below and this link for the gallery of the pictures I've placed online)

From Smucker's Stars on Ice, 7 March 2009

I would rate photographing figure skaters as about as challenging as photographing butterflies. The butterflies may move more erratically, but the skaters move over a wider range. I found my camera's ability to take bursts of photographs (instead of the typical point-and-shoot's single shot) a real asset (see photos below)

From Smucker's Stars on Ice, 7 March 2009

Overall, I really enjoyed photographing the figure skaters. It's made me think I'm going to look and see if there are other world-class figure skater shows (and other Olympic sports like gymnastics in the area).

Winter's Last Gasps: Snow in March in Alexandria and DC

2009-03-12T19:20:00.001-07:00

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This map shows where I took the shots in DC on 2 March.

On 2 March, we had a little visit from Old Man Winter in the form of a couple of inches of snow. I wound up taking a day off from work because of the road conditions, and one thing I did was snatch up my camera and go for a walk around where I live. Then, that night, I had occasion to go to a business dinner in downtown DC and then I had a couple of more days work in DC in which I got to use my camera some more (see video of photos I took and this link for the gallery where I've posted them online).

First up are the pictures of Alexandria (see below).

A Building Near Where I Live

A Light Display at a Gas Station in Alexandria

The Wall by the Pool at My Apartment Building

A Restaurant Near Where I Live

Next, we have the pictures from the late afternoon and early evening on 2 March in DC (see below)

Ford's Theater

A Grim Historical Marker

St. Patrick's Catholic Church

The Entrance to St. Patrick's

A Nice Block of Buildings

The Capitol Set Against Traffic

Then, we have some pictures from the 3rd and the 4th. The best of these were at the Grant Memorial by the Capitol and at an ornate building facing the Hotel Mariott Metro Center (where our conference was)

By the National Arboretum

General Grant

A Lion at the Grant Memorial

A View Across an Icy Pool

Stonework on Building Facing Hotel Marriott Metro Center

Intricate Detail

A Representation of a Tree in Stone

A Proud Eagle at the Eave

By and large, I thought it was a pretty good week for photography. I suppose that it would have been nice if there'd been more snow, but that's something outside my control...and there's always next year. I used my Canon EOS 50D with my Canon L-series 24-105mm short zoom lens on 2 March (in Alexandria and down by Ford's Theater) and also on 3 March. I used the Canon Powershot SX1 IS point-and-shoot on 4 March.

The National Building Museum and National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in HDR

2009-03-11T16:43:00.001-07:00

The Entrance Sign Showing the Museum's Distinctive Shape

On 28 February 2009, I went on a photo-safari led by Dave Luria of Washington Photo Safaris at the National Building Museum. This is a private museum in DC dedicated to...well, buildings. It used to be a government office where veterans of the Union Army from the Civil War got paid their pensions, but became a museum in 1980. In terms of photography friendliness, I would give the Museum a mixed grade. They don't allow any photography (flash or otherwise) of the exhibits (so I didn't even bother to torment myself by looking at them), and they enforce that rule to the point where I got told not to take any pictures inside the gift shop of all places. On the other hand, they allow people to pretty much photograph the enormous grand hall, which is a popular site for formal events like Inaugural Balls, to their hearts' content (with tripods if they want) and that is what occupied most of our time at the Museum (see video of pictures I took below and this link to the gallery where I've posted the actual pictures).

My photography on this safari breaks down into three categories. First, there were the pictures I took of the Museum's imposing red brick exteriors. Of particular note are the elegant stone carvings of Union soldiers "guarding" the building (see photos below).

One of the Main Entrances

Union Cavalry

A Sentry at the Corner

A "Classic" Sculpture

Then, inside the Museum, I focused on the hall and its elaborate columns and took some photos from high above as well (see photos below).

"A Bored Clerk in the Midst of Grandeur"

The Crown of a Column

An Oblique View

An Indoor Picnic

The Metal Vaulted Ceiling

The third subject were the statues of the adjacent National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial (see photos below)

"Are you a mouse?"

Inscription at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial

Watchful Guardian of the Law

Oh, and there were some nice stone carvings at the nearby Government Accounting Office Building too!

From Georgetown-Louisville BBall, 23 February 2009

I think it was a quite enjoyable safari. My only regrets are that they had such a rigid policy on photography and that the weather wasn't so great (I didn't want to do some sky swapping to get rid of the leaden skies). Some day, I will have to go back there to photograph the exteriors when the weather and lighting are optimal.

College Basketball, Louisville Stomps Georgetown 76-58, 23 February 2009

2009-03-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

These are photographs and video clips I took of the game where I got to see my beloved alma mater get stomped into the ground by the Louisville Cardinals. It was painful to watch, but I think I took some good pictures of the massacre with my Canon Powershot SX1 IS point-and-shoot (which also captured the video snippets interleaved with the pictures) (see video of pictures below, this link for the gallery where I have uploaded them, and the best pictures themselves below the video).

From Georgetown-Louisville BBall, 23 February 2009

As a sort of consolation prize, I thought I got a couple tolerable views of the Capitol and the poster for the Lincoln Exhibit at the Newseum (see below)

From Georgetown-Louisville BBall, 23 February 2009

Overall, I found it a rather difficult balancing act to keep the shutter speed up high enough without trading off too much in terms of image brightness or ISO (ISO 800 is about the maximum useful setting for the SX1 IS). I think I can do better with the SX1 IS but will probably not use it to photograph another basketball game at Verizon Center (since George Mason's Patriot Center doesn't have a problem with SLRs).

Down and Around the Old Post Office Pavilion, Washington DC

2009-02-28T19:27:00.000-08:00

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Last Saturday (21 February 2009), I had occasion to be in Washington DC not far from the towering edifice of the Old Post Office. Did I mention I had my SLR camera with me? Anyway, I took a fair amount of standard architectural shots (using bracketing so I could render them into high dynamic range). I also decided to go into the Old Post Office Pavilion itself and was very glad I did because of the commanding views of Washington DC one can have at the observation deck of the tower (see video of pictures I took and this link for the gallery where I've got them all posted).

Anyway, in terms of being a technical challenge, it wasn't that demanding a safari. The only limitation I ran into was the fact that the observation deck of the Old Post Office Pavilion was glassed in and large sections of it were covered with wires that signs told us not to touch. I thought maybe they were some alarm system to warn the authorities if someone was contemplating a swan dive off the tower, but apparently they were just there for aesthetics because I saw other people touch them without incident. I decided to make do by putting my camera lens flush against the glass (somewhat dirty it was) on the windows where the wires were not present, and I felt I did reasonably well (see photos below).

A Nice Corner of a Building

A Sign at the FBI Headquarters Celebrating Its History

A Pattern of Bricks Outside the Old Post Office Pavilion

A Row of Flags outside the FBI Headquarters

The Entrance to the Old Post Office Pavilion

The Castle Like Old Post Office Pavilion

Looking Up inside the Old Post Office Pavilion

The Food Court Inside the Old Post Office Pavilion

A Commanding View from the Observation Deck

Another Commanding View

A City Street from Above

Nearby Office Buildings

Almost like a Glass Cathedral