bartholdi fountain

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Since I’ve photographed Washington DC so much, I sometimes play tricks on myself and try to park my car in different places so I can find different perspectives in photographing the landmarks. That way I will force me to walk different directions than I’m used to and hopefully see things differently. I think this trick works well, as long as you remember where you parked your car 🙂

So I was driving around, trying to look for a different parking spot when I noticed the Bartholdi Fountain flowing with water at sunrise. I was surprised it was on because even the World War II memorial on the National Mall doesn’t start the water until 6 am. So when I drove past around 5:30 am, I was excited and knew that I wanted to photograph the fountain.

It’s been a while since I have photographed it. Almost 4 years! But I do remember thinking that I wanted to get back there one day for sunrise. So I finally did it and concentrated on creating layers with the US Capitol dome. The sunrise itself didn’t have any clouds in the sky so I really wanted to fill the frame with the dome, water, and fountain. I made sure to have a “slower” shutter speed so you can see the steam of water flowing well against the almost white sky.

My camera settings for this image is F20 at 1/15th sec and ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm.

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I have to tell you something.

I have been working on 2018 Dynamic DC Calendar for the past few weeks and it’s going to be so awesome. I don’t know why but I’m so excited about this one. Next year’s calendar is going to be better than ever. Pre-sale announcement will be coming out soon. If you’re planning on getting one, I’d suggest to get it at that time. There is only a limited amount and they usually go pretty quickly. (Especially since my parents always order a whole bunch. Thanks mom and dad!!!) So be on the look out for that and make some space on your wall. It’s gonna be outstanding!

Unfortunately, this image is not in the calendar this year. I tried my best to get a variety of sunrise/sunset images but also colorful ones, night sky ones, etc. But maybe next year….

I love this fountain. It so beautiful and whenever I’m driving by or stopped to take pictures, there’s hardly anyone around. I have no idea why. It seems like such a cute little park with beautiful landscaping and flowers that everyone would want to hangout at. It sort of reminds me of being in France. Do you feel like that? Anyways, the sculptor who designed this is also known for designing the Statue of Liberty. Isn’t that so cool? I could definietly seem some similarities between the two. In case you were interested, the designer’s name is Fréderic Auguste Bartholdi. The fountain used to be in Philadelphia but I’m glad it found it’s way to DC’s US Botanical Garden.

The settings for this image is F/9 for 30 seconds at ISO 50. My favorite part of the image is seeing all the little swirls the water creates. It’s so interesting to follow the pattern all around the image.

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Finally finalized all my travel arrangements to San Francisco next week! I’ve never been so last minute before. It’s all exciting and kinda hard to believe. So, if you’re in the bay area try to come out to the last stop on Trey’s Photowalk tour. It will be a great time!

Three things that I am grateful for:

1. Celebrating the beautiful life of Donald Hulbert at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.

2. Discussing my plans for Sphere 2 with some new & old friends

3. #neverforget My family and friends who are safe and for the brave individuals who have risked their lives to keep us that way. Thank you.