Washington D.C. in 4 days

cunarder534

Hi all,

Our flight home from vacation was cancelled so we will be in DC for 4 days. I will have all of my gear with me and will be itching to shoot.

Anybody have any suggestions. I will be there Jan right before the inauguration. I wonder if that will come into play?

Thanks for any ideas.

Cygnus Studios

There are a ton of options for DC and the surrounding area.

The tourist spots:

Memorials
Musuems
Capital
White House
River front
National Zoo
Aquarium
Naval Yard
14th Street Bridge

Near DC:

Pentagon
National Cemetery
Masonic Temple
Mormon Temple
Mount Vernon
The new Woodrow Wilson Bridge
Fort Washington Park
Roosevelt Park
Old Town Alexandria

Other suggestion:

If you have the opportunity....

Over on Duke St in Alexandria is a place called Generous George's Pizza. One of the best pizza's in the country.

cunarder534

Thanks.

I'm trying find the gems of the city where I can get some good shots. I want to try something different than the touristy shots so I guess I was hoping for some stuff that is off the beaten path.

Llywellyn

If you visit the Masonic Temple in Old Town Alexandria, you can go to the top and take some nice shots looking down King Street to the Potomac. Old Town is great for night shooting, too.

I'm not certain if they've moved The Awakening sculpture yet, but that used to be a hidden gem over on Hains Point.

At night, you can go to Gravelly Point to do some long exposures of planes taking off/landing as it's at the end of the DCA's runway. Not much else there, though.

I love sneaking out to Scotts Run Nature Preserve and walking around for photos. At the top of one hill is this amazing remnant of a chimney. Incredibly out of place but very cool. All of Scotts Run feels like a haunted wood to me, which is odd because it's very near 495 and has trails that people walk frequently. One of my fave spots, regardless.

Cygnus Studios

cunarder534 wrote:

I guess I was hoping for some stuff that is off the beaten path.

If you get out of DC say within half an hour, your possibilities really grow.

Maryland:

Marshall Hall Park. Great old cemetery and crumbling mansion. Also good river views including Mt. Vernon

Dr. Mudd House

Surratt House

Clinton Park with nature center

C&O Canal

Virginia:

There are so many Civil War sites, that you could spend a year visiting each.

The GW Parkway offers many quaint shops and river views.

DC:

There are plenty of old buildings and government offices to fill a few memory cards. Georgetown offers quite a few different urban and historic options.

Cygnus Studios

One of the coolest places.

National Postal Museum

zeroskillz

Calnumismatist wrote:

If you get out of DC say within half an hour, your possibilities really grow.

Take it a little further and there's Annapolis, MD. Boats, harbor, naval academy...

aj986s

Consider using one of the Tour Bus options for a day. They have stops at all the major landmarks/museums, and you can get on/off all day long. DC also has a fleet of Ducks, which would give you a ride on the Potomac River, too.

The Awakening Sculpture is gone from Haines Point; its now at a new development, National Harbor, next to the Wilson Bridge.

If weather is clear, the view from the top of the Washington Monument is spectacular.

Georgetown is a fun walking area, with lots of cool architecture, restaurants & shops.

Union Station is also a fun place to visit.

cunarder534

Thanks for all the help. Now I just need to prepare for the weather and try and find some new angles.