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Posts Tagged ‘Tidal Basin’

Event, Family, Personal, Photography, Travel | 0 comment

Peak Blossoms – Washington DC Photography

Photographers at sunrise Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media

Yes this blog post is very late today. I do have a good reason, though. The cherry blossom trees in Washington, DC are in peak bloom! Being a native northern Virginian, this has been an annual outing for my family for a VERY long time! The earliest photo that I have of my swaddled very well was less than a year after I was born. The crowds were a little less packed that the ones today, but there were already a flood of people walking the Tidal Basin with their best cameras in tow.

Nanay and GGB at the Cherry blossoms - ©TimeLine Media
Nanay and GGB at the Cherry blossoms – ©TimeLine Media

I am about the same age today as my mother was in the photo on the left. She still enjoys walking through the blooms, and taking lots of photos! It has never become cliché, and if anything, the event has become more popular than ever. It is inspiring to see so many photographers out there! And I don’t just mean at the peak times in the middle of the day. You have to carve out a spot even an hour before sunrise! That is another testament to digital technology making photography more accessible.

Photographers at sunrise Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media
Photographers at sunrise Washington, DC – ©TimeLine Media

Yes it does look like there is a lot of competition for photographers out there – and there is. For me, though, this is something I would do whether or not this was my main profession. But knowing what people do for photos out there really pushes me to make even better photos! There are just as many visions for capturing images as there are people behind the camera. The tools may be similar, but they can be manipulated in an almost infinite number of ways!

Portrait at cherry blossoms peak - ©TimeLine Media
Portrait at cherry blossoms peak – ©TimeLine Media

Get out there this weekend before the blooms blow away! They are already starting to fall from the trees as of Friday evening. I have lots of editing to do with the many photos made over the passed few days. I’ll be sure to update the blog as I finish them. Happy Spring!

Self Portraits at cherry blossoms peak - ©TimeLine Media
Self Portraits at cherry blossoms peak – ©TimeLine Media

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703-864-8208

Personal, Photography, Travel | 0 comment

Tidal Basin Evening

Finally had a little break from dance photos to look back and some images that I may put into the portfolio. The winter evenings also brought some opportunities to go out and get some photos of the capitol city. During this evening, I took my gear out to the Tidal Basin. I do not normally visit this area unless it is bursting with cherry blossoms! It is probably one of the most photographed areas in DC during those few early Spring days, but on a week night evening, all the traffic is on the surrounding streets and bridges with commuters heading home for the day.

Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial in evening - ©TimeLine Media
Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial in evening – ©TimeLine Media

The parking lots are very accessible during this time, and there is not too much foot traffic around the basin. This gives clear vantages to the Jefferson Memorial, the Washington Monument, and even the White House. The fading light will also give you streaks of lights from air traffic going in or out of Reagan National Airport, and there is a faint glow from the traffic and building lights from across the Potomac River. It is a peaceful time if you are there for photos, and not in your car just trying to get home.

HDR22-Jefferson-Memorial-after-sunset-20140131-0004_5_6_7_8_9

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Personal, Photography, Travel | 0 comment

MLK Memorial at sunrise

Martin Luther King Memorial, Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a holiday in the United States observing the birthday of the great civil rights leader. He fought for equal rights in the 1960’s using non-violent marches and speeches as his main vehicle for his message. There is a new memorial to MLK located at the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC, a place that does not have many monuments to people that were not presidents of the nation. It is concurrently right in the line of cherry trees that bloom in spring bringing many visitors to the area.

Tidal Basin

On this morning, there were so many photographers and TV stations that were there to cover the holiday. There were speeches and other presentations that would take place at the memorial, and of course I wanted to see what the scene would be like. It was probably not the best day to get a distraction-free view of the memorial with all the people in the area, but it was so nice to see so many that took time out of their day off to pay tribute to such a historical figure on the holiday created in his name.

Martin Luther King Memorial, Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media
Martin Luther King Memorial, Washington, DC – ©TimeLine Media

It was an awesome sunrise this morning. There were lots of clouds in the sky that reflected the sun nicely across the tidal basin, and right into the memorial. With his statue facing East, the sun makes for nice portrait light when it is low in the sky. This is what so many of the photographers that got up early were waiting to capture, and today did not disappoint. After I got many photos from that vantage, I wanted to try and get something different. There are some really nice stone walkways that lead visitors to the memorial, with quotes carved into the stone.

Off Camera Flash

Martin Luther King Memorial, Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media
Martin Luther King Memorial, Washington, DC – ©TimeLine Media

I did not like how the default camera settings were making the image, so I thought that adding flash would help! Here is what the manual settings in the camera looked like. I wanted to keep the deep blue in the morning sky since the blown out look did not add anything to the photo.

Martin Luther King Memorial, Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media
Martin Luther King Memorial, Washington, DC – ©TimeLine Media

Next I added some flash that is warmed with an orange, or CTO gel on the front:

Martin Luther King Memorial, Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media
Martin Luther King Memorial, Washington, DC – ©TimeLine Media

I really liked how this turned out – so for the final shot, I just moved back a little from the wall, and zoomed the lens out as far as it could go. This way, I could get in some of the large white stone in the background that was reflecting the rising sun. I was happy with how it came out!

MLK Memorial, Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media
MLK Memorial, Washington, DC – ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

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