The Smithsonian subway station during a civil rights march.

I have recently gotten back into photography after a long hiatus.

The freedom of digital has allowed me to experiment affordably,

though I do miss the darkroom. Please don't feel like you have to

pull any punches. I appreciate criticism as much as praise.

Being amatuer in regards to photographic knowledge, it is not my place to criticise, however i do feel that i know a brilliant image when i see one, you know that feeling that makes your hair stand up and you get a chill because its that good. i know what you mean by begging... great image.

Erik, This is a very good image, You are right in that this was begging to be taken , and you captured it very well. The shadows and textures are wonderful. Regards, TK

Just because it begged to be taken doesn't mean you didn't capture a great moment. Nice shot.

Love it, no comments just perfect. Thank you for sharing. (by the way, all your pictures are awesome.)

Wow, what else can I say. POTW, anyone?

Nothing I can add, very nice.

Very well taken. I was in the station a couple of years back but had forgotten to bring my camera to Washignton DC. I had taken the picture with a disposable and it came out bad.

Erik, I love it just as it is. I do also wonder what it would look like with no train (or two trains) and no people? Maybe use an ND filter to get rid of any extraneous people moving around?

 

Also, if you are in the DC area you should go to the the Dupont Circle entrance to the subway. I remember going down the escalator into the station thinking to myself that there was a picture to be had from the top of the escalator or as you head down. Of course, I had no camera with me. I do my best photography when I have no camera.

 

Again, very nice picture!

Thanks to EVERYONE for your input. Jamie, I thought about some of the same things you did. What if there were no people? Better lines, but less of a sense of life. Two or no trains? Perhaps, but I kind of like the way it throws off the symmetry to have just one. I'm afraid a symmetrical image would lose some of its interest and feel flat. As for the DuPont Circle station... I know exactly what you mean. I took a few night shots looking up that cavernous escalator, but they didn't come out well. I was dealing with an on-board flash that wasn't powerful enough to illuminate its length. I live in the Kansas City area, so I wasn't able to come back better-equipped to explore some of the possibilities you mentioned.