Looking Up, Down, Thru Windows, Ahead etc

Good Day All:


 A few days ago I was in Baltimore, around 36th Street in the northern part of the city. I managed to take a number of "street" pictures, some of which I actually liked. Here are two of them.

Later that morning, sitting in a cafe I was trying to inconspicuously practice zone focusing - without much success - and I took a few pictures looking out of the window. Now this is "easy" street photography especially for those , like me, who find it difficult taking pictures of people in the street. I had, in fact, spoken to this lady earlier and she's actually blowing a raspberry. But don't examine  the picture too closely - the noise is terrible!

A few doors down is a wonderful used book store with most interesting masks and statues from Africa. The purchase of an old edition of Somerset Maugham's short stories softened the owner up enough that she let me take pictures; I think some of them may have turned out well, and when I get round to developing them, I'll post them.

So I found myself photographing out of windows, inside stores, in the street. When I looked  at pictures I've taken in the last fortnight I realized I've taken a lot of pictures Looking Up, and a few Looking Down.

Here's a Looking Down picture taken, actually, after our last class as I was taking the Metro home.

The ISO setting was 3200 and, on the little Sony Compact I was using, the colored version looks pretty awful. So I converted it to B&W where the graininess, I hope, is less distracting.

And now I must beg your indulgence, and even test your patience, in putting up a series of Looking Up pictures, all taken in Washington this last fortnight. Just walking the streets, and something catches the eye. Washington is, of course, franctic with new construction, buildings going up everywhere. It's quite a challenge - certainly it is for me - to get interesting pictures out of urban skylines. It probably is for everyone.

The next picture was taken in an alley around, if I remember , 9th or 10th Street. I saw a door I liked, walked up the alley and found this fellow up a tree.

The next is one of a number of shots of the perennially interesting Artillery grouping at the base of the Capitol. Mike, I believe it is, has already posted a couple of excellent pictures from this vicinity of the Grant Memorial.

About 10 days ago I was walking with my wife on the Mall and the sky turned interesting.  The first picture I took because it just struck me. The second, my wife said, "I think you ought to look at this": she had turned around, and seen these massing clouds over the MoNH; the third, I followed the clouds and got the shot of the scaffolding on the Arts and Industries Museum. Looking Up - don't often do it, but sometimes there are clearly interesting things to see.

 One can't Look Up in Washington without seeing cranes. Fascinating machines.  But how to photograph them without the picture coming out boring? Here are two attempts, around 12th street ( if I remember).

A background sunset or sunrise might have made these pictures more lively, but the clouds did fine. Gave me a serious neck-ache though, trying to get just the right framing.

This last week, I went over early to the Library of Congress, Supreme Court area. The first picture below is a ho-hum night view of the cupola atop the LoC - only put it here because I shot it handheld at 13 seconds and it didn't come out all blurry.  Walking around to the front of the building (the intersection of E. Capitol and 1st Street) I had a long and pleasant conversation with one of the Capitol Police. For once there were no hassles. Turned out that he had a degree in Criminology from the University of Maryland; he found Logic - a course he took in philosophy - the most difficult of all his courses. He was very interested in the "technical" aspects of photography. Looking to  south-east, we both noticed the sky ,and the second picture is the result. I've promised to send the officer the pictures I took.

While this particular officer was delightful to talk to, not so with the ones guarding the Supreme Court. I ended up talking to three, as I went back and forth three times as the light changed. The first officer was OK, but told me I could not advance up the last set of steps. The second officer informed me the same, but also said I absolutely could not use a tripod. ( I wasn't carrying a tripod as I'm well aware of the rules around that area; around the Grant statues, on the other hand, one can use a tripod). The third advanced on me after I had been shooting for a few minutes, and asked if I planned to "publish" the photos professionally or sell them commercially. I said"No". "Are you a professional photographer?" "No." "That looks like professional gear you are using". "It is, but I don't plan to sell or publish anything." She looked entirely sceptical but let me shoot away.

Now, I've never ever heard this rule - that one is not allowed to show publicly photos one takes of the Supreme Court. Probably another of those idiotic venalities the Capitol Police invent to show who is Boss. I thought that there was some movement last year to get an accepted set of rules for photography around the Capitol. Anyone know anything?

In any event, here is one of the pictures I took. The building is shrouded in a gauze netting as some repairs appear to be underway. Interestingly, taken from a different angle (not shown here), it looks like the netting has been painted over with a facsimile of the Court exterior.  I've seen this done in Paris - but here what we see is the Court exterior itself, through the netting.

 When I got back to my car, Halloween had arrived on a tree. I've taken similar pictures in Vermont; they always amuse.

Finally, on Friday I accompanied a visiting friend to the grave of her father at Arlington cemetery. As always the place is powerfully evocative, and the grounds are carpeted with the leaves of Fall. Here's a Looking Up picture - I'm not quite sure what to make of it; cemeteries arent' usually photographed like this.

A funeral was taking place and, as is customary, a salute accompanied the ceremony. The second picture below was pure chance - and I find it utterly iconic.

That's All. Selections from the last two-three weeks of shooting. Now, the real challenge is street-shooting proper!

Best all, and trust we all weather the hurricane without too many difficulties.

Farid