DC Doors

I take loads of photos of fenestration (translation = doors and windows).  In Prague a few years ago we learned about the once-upon-a-time pastime of defenestration which is a 'polite company' word for throwing people out of windows.  Fun folks were the Czechs of by gone times.

So while out and about with our group in DC the subject of door photos was being kicked around and it became a bit of a game; others in our party selected the doors and windows and I took the photos.  I rather like this scene in Georgetown; it has a nice casual look about it the appeals to me.

Industrial Abstracts Courtesy of NASA

This latest addition to my industrial abstract collection is a detail photo of the heat shield on Gemini space capsule.  photographed at the Museum of Flight in Washington DC.

Korean War Memorial, Washington DC

Since returning from DC I've commented to several people that 'those folks in DC know how to build a monument'.  The Washington Monument, Vietnam War Memorial, FDR memorial, Martin Luther King Memorial, Jefferson Memorial...Lincoln...there are a lot.  My personal favourite is the Korean War Veterans Memorial. Work on the memorial commenced 1992 June 14 and the dedication occurred 1995 July 27 - the 42nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the war.

The memorial has a triangular plan and is comprised of a long black granite wall on the east into which are sandblasted images of the land, sea and air troops who fought in the war.  Along side the granite wall is a triangular park where nineteen 7'-6" high stainless steel statues representing a members of the army, marine corps, navy and air force are placed.  They are dressed in full combat gear and are dispersed among strips of granite and juniper bushes placed to simulate Korean terrain.  The western side of the triangle is open to the National Mall

The Korean War lasted from 1950 June to 1953 July.  The exact number of military and civilian deaths on both sides is uncertain but a figure of around 1.2 million is generally accepted as accurate.

I wanted to record a series of images that did not include any visitors and with persistence and patience I managed a few.  I also thought that rendering the images in black and white would be appropriate - one does not need the distraction of colour to come to grips with the look of terror depicted in the faces of the statues.

The photo was taken with my Canon G15 and the RAW file was edited in Adobe Lightroom.  I did the black and white conversion with Nik Silver Efex Pro software.  Final Contrast adjustment made in Adobe Photoshop CS6.

National Zoo, Washington DC

Usually visiting a zoo at mid day is a guarantee that you won't see many of the residents as it's nap time for most of them.  Pandas are an exception, in fact they seem to like the attention in whatever form they can get it.