A Walk in Washington, D.C.

I’ve always enjoyed visiting Washington, D.C. and have visited several times. This week I happened to be in northern Virginia to help my dad with some things, and I took the opportunity to make a quick morning trip into the capital.

First, some observations. I remember visiting with friends when I was in college, and it seems so different now. It has grown quite a bit, but it’s not just that. It seems a little dirtier, with papers, cups and other trash on the mall and the surrounding area. And there’s construction everywhere. I know it’s very busy here, and lots of people visit the city. I also understand that keeping the city clean is a huge task. I know it’s not easy – so I’m willing to give some grace and benefit of the doubt. Maybe I just came at a bad time.

On a positive note, I love being in the capital, much like people in other countries must feel when visiting their capitals. It’s very cool and very special to be in the place where everything happens, in the heart of our country.

Here are some of my photos from this morning’s walk around the mall area. I very much enjoy the monuments and buildings because I love history. A new item on the mall since I was last here are all the scooters – just like back in Austin. I should have used one to get around… I could have saved my feet a little, but I wouldn’t have gotten all my steps in!

You’ll notice from my photos that it was quite moist this morning. You can see that the Washington Monument is somewhat covered at times by the low clouds. It appears that I just missed seeing the cherry blossoms in full bloom, but there are a couple photos of the few blossoms I could find.

Here’s a map of my walk around the mall. Starting in front of the capitol building, going down to the Washington Monument, over to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, back past the Holocaust Memorial, and back into the mall area, and back to my car.

My equipment included my Canon EOS R with EF 50mm f1.2, EF 28mm f1.8 and my Sigma 24mm f1.4 ART lenses.

Let me know if you like to visit your country’s capital. I encourage you to visit if you haven’t, and I’d love to see some of your photos!