Pictures in DC

[nonac]

Leaving for Washington, DC for two weeks, never been there before Most of my photo opportunities will be at night. I'll be taking a 5d III, 24-105, 135, and a 70-200 2.8 II. Plus tripod, remote release, no flash. Any suggestions for good spots to shoot on the National Mall or any other areas?  Thanks

[TotoEC]

Get onto the top steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  Setup your tripod and shot the Mall with the Monument as a backdrop.  Use you widest lens.  If you can, do the shoot in the evening or sunrise.  Then get to your hiking shoes and visit:  NASA museum, the Natural History Museum as well as the American History Museum.  Enjoy!

[al2]

Depends on what you want shoot.  The Jefferson Memorial is good at night.  It can be amazing in the spring with cherry blossoms.  Most of the federal buildings are well illuminated and can be dramatic at night.  Georgetown and the Adams-Morgan area can provide a completely different feel. 

[canon816]

Shoot the White House from Pennsylvania Ave at night.

[CTJohn]

Get onto the top steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  Setup your tripod and shot the Mall with the Monument as a backdrop.  Use you widest lens.  If you can, do the shoot in the evening or sunrise.  Then get to your hiking shoes and visit:  NASA museum, the Natural History Museum as well as the American History Museum.  Enjoy!

  Agree, but make sure the reflecting pool is full.  I was there a couple months ago and they were doing repairs on it.

[bseitz234]

Posting a question here, too, that I've asked in another thread in the hopes of catching a broader audience. For anyone who's been to DC, did you find it was worth having a UWA lens? Or, if you didn't have one, did you wish for wider than you have? I'll be going in the beginning of April, hoping to catch the tail end of the cherry blossoms, and considering grabbing a 10-22 before I go. I have very varied interests, haven't done much landscape, and haven't been to DC in years so I'm not sure what the sweeping wide scenery is like. The widest lens I have now is a 17-55, and the only body I have is a 7d, hence my hesitation about 17mm not being wide enough.

Thanks all!  (and sorry for the cross-post, other thread if you want to follow it is here: http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=5020.0 )
-Brian

[rexbot]

I did an early morning set, and it was well worth getting up. I showed up at the Lincoln Memorial about an hour before sunrise and walked around the mall a bit - Lincoln, Washington, etc. Got to the MLK monument just before sunrise. Very, very few people out (of course), which meant it was easy to setup a tripod to shoot.

FWIW - these are all from a Canon G11 with a little Tamrac Zipshot mini-tripod. I can't blow 'em up big, but they came out pretty well with such a small kit.

I don't think that a UWA lens would have helped with the monuments - you generally have plenty of room to stand back on the outside; and for inside stuff I just shot details (like the Lincoln shot here). And I like the angle for the Washington Monument shot with the capital building in the background instead of the usual straight-on with the reflecting pool.

[bseitz234]

I did an early morning set, and it was well worth getting up. I showed up at the Lincoln Memorial about an hour before sunrise and walked around the mall a bit - Lincoln, Washington, etc. Got to the MLK monument just before sunrise. Very, very few people out (of course), which meant it was easy to setup a tripod to shoot.

FWIW - these are all from a Canon G11 with a little Tamrac Zipshot mini-tripod. I can't blow 'em up big, but they came out pretty well with such a small kit.

I don't think that a UWA lens would have helped with the monuments - you generally have plenty of room to stand back on the outside; and for inside stuff I just shot details (like the Lincoln shot here). And I like the angle for the Washington Monument shot with the capital building in the background instead of the usual straight-on with the reflecting pool.

Thanks very much for the shots, and insight! I'm certainly not opposed to early mornings- sounds like a great idea!

[bseitz234]

For anyone who's been to DC, did you find it was worth having a UWA lens?

Brian, yes the UWA can be helpful with some shots.  For example, wide panoramas and narrow interiors.  Below are a few shots to give you some ideas.

The interior of the Lincoln Memorial on full frame at 17mm x 3 (shift pano):

Washington Monument (HDR panorama) by scrappydoggy, on Flickr

Panorama of the Capital Building on full frame at 24mm x 5:

U.S. Capital by scrappydoggy, on Flickr

Panorama of Great Falls (on the Maryland side):

Great Falls by scrappydoggy, on Flickr

The World War II Memorial Fountain on full frame at 17mm:

National World War II Memorial by scrappydoggy, on Flickr

Every time I see that shot of great falls (I've definitely seen you post it before- either here or POTN?) I want to hop in my kayak... stop tempting me!

You do bring up another interesting point that I never think of, though, which is stitching a panorama... seems like a less expensive way to get a little more of a view...

[aznstuart]

Here are a couple I took a week ago in D.C. I mainly used my 5D3 with 16-35 II. I used my tripod only for the Washington Monument picture. The rest were handheld. I didn't end up bringing my 70-200 II and didn't end up needing it either. The only times I wanted more reach were to get the White House and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. For those I had my 24-105 which was much lighter to carry than the 70-200 II. Be prepared to walk a lot!

I echo the previous poster about going in the morning. I went during the off season, but there was still quite a bit of a crowd, even at night!

I think an UWA is essential if you're really going for the full shot.

[aznstuart]

a couple more...

[RGF]

I have been told that April 1st is a good time for cherry blossoms.  YOu might get some great spring shots while those of us in the northern states are still freezing. 

[risc32]

rexbot, did you bring that light, or was that natural? 

[rexbot]

All my shots were using the existing lighting that is part of the monuments. The MLK shot is most striking - I got a lucky balance of the spotlights from the ground and some pre-dawn light in the sky. The Lincoln memorial is well lit on the inside (at least for a slow exposure - 1sec @ f8 ISO200). I brightened up the lettering a bit in both cases in post (LR4).