5:45am Washington DC

I stood in that very spot not months ago wishing for my long lens, but alas it was not a photo trip. Business you know. Thank you for a great view. Fantastic composition, the light is just right!

Bravo.

Knocked my socks off..... Inspires me to try and get up early....look what I'm missing... Wonderful approach to an oft shot item. Very Very beautiful.

I like this background a lot but a more interesting foreground would make this a better shot. Maybe a couple of tourists? The bush doesn't do it for me but the colors and haze make such a great backdrop.

A lovely new look at a familar landmark(s). Have you considered chopping off a wee bit of that shrubbery at the bottom? I think that would improve it even more. I'm also curious how long an exposure you used. Was it dark still, and you kept it opened long, or did it just look like that?

This is great. I've taken this shot myself about 4-5 times (I live really close) but none of them were of this quality.

 

Just great.

I've trying to find time on the right day to get a shot just like this one. Great work.

You have to get up early or stay up really late to get the great, dramatic shots in Washington DC.

Did you take the shot from here (3AM Iwo Jima Statue - Heavy Fog) or just in front of GW Parkway on the grass?

Wonderful Shot.

Regards,
Chris Grady
http://grady.org

Thanks ;-). In answer to the questions, it isn't so clear from this JPG/scan, but the vegetation on the bottom is actually the tops of the trees lining the GW Parkway. There's more shadow detail in the slide, and it's easier to tell that they are trees. If I were able to get up a little higher, I could have avoided including them entirely :/. And yes, the sky was really like that, it isn't a result of any unusual exposure choice. This was a particularly orange morning. Also, when you isolate a small area of the sky with a telephoto lens like this, it gives the impression that the whole sky was this orange, which of course it wasn't. Exposure time was probably around a second or two, but I'm just guessing. And this was probably shot at f/11, the sharpest aperture for this lens.

 

As for location, this was shot from the hill in front of the bell tower, a few hundred meters from the Iwo Jima Memorial. This is a pretty simple shot, really, just grab a 300mm lens (or so) and head out there one sunrise. Right about now is probably the best time to go because you can get the sun in the frame. Later in September, the sun will rise pretty much right behind these buildings. Note also that the scaffolding around the Capitol dome is gone now, so your shot should look better than this one ;-).

Great Shot. mood is the key with such familar settings. Thank you for sharing. I have visited our great capital many times but have managed few moments such as this. It reminds me why we should always take full advantage of the potential beauty in our own backyards.

Its another world when getting up this early,composed very well