Unarmed Truth - Day 74

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant." Martin Luther King, Jr. Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Oslo, Norway, 1964.

Korean War Memorial - Day 50

National Korean War Memorial 19 figures representing those who fought. 19 x 2 equals 38 a number representing the 38th parallel and the 38 month duration of the war.

National WWII Memorial - Day 46

Georgetown Glow - Day 45

Bands of Friendship by Vikas Patil & Santosh Gujar in collaboration with light art collection and Amsterdam light festival, India #georgetownglow2017

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial - Day 44

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial at night. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Three - Day 10

A Space Geek's Nirvana

Made my third trip to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center outside of Washington DC today. Seeing the Space Shuttle Discovery never gets old. Can't wait for the Orion NASA's next generation space vehicle that will take man to Mars in the next 20 years. iPhone 6 using the Camera+ app.

Blackbird

No aircraft in history operated globally in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71 "Blackbird", the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War.

This Blackbird accrued about 2,800 hours of flight time during 24 years of active service with the U.S. Air Force. On its last flight, March 6, 1990, Lt. Col. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging 3,418 kilometers (2,124 miles) per hour. At the flight's conclusion, they landed at Washington-Dulles International Airport and turned the airplane over to the Smithsonian. From The Smithsonian

Really W i d e

- I used my Sigma 8mm F3.5 EX DG Circular Fisheye lens for this picture from the hangar overlook facing the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk and the Vought Corsair at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. The overlook provides a sweeping view of aircraft hanging throughout the Boeing Aviation Hangar. In photography, a fisheye lens is a wide-angle lens that takes in a broad, panoramic and hemispherical image. They provide a unique, distorted appearance. Canon 7D, 1/25 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 800.

67 Years Later

- Sixty-seven years ago today my father's unit, Company C of the 13th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division, United Sate Army went ashore at Normandy France to take part in the invasion of Europe during WWII. My father was 17 years old at the time and would celebrate his 18th birthday five weeks later on August 15th near Rennes France after fighting through the hedgerows. By the following Spring he was a hardened combat veteran wounded five times and earning two Bronze Stars. He fought through the longest single battle in U S Army history in the Hürtgen Forest between Belgium and Germany. This photo of the Washington Monument taken from the Wold War II Memorial is dedicated SFC Edward H. Sullivan, a member of the "Greatest Generation". Canon 7D, 1/800 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 400, 70mm focal length.

National Mall Sunset

- Looking west from the World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington DC towards the Lincoln Memorial shortly after sunset. The 30 minutes after sunset there is a very special time called "Civil Twilight" when there is still some light in the sky. The sky starts to turn a deep blue or purple in color. This special time is very short lived but cherished by photographers for city scenes. Canon 7D, 5 seconds @ f/22, ISO 100, 70mm focal length and mounted on a tripod.

For the People

- "government of the people, by the people, for the people" is Abraham Lincoln's famous phase from the Gettysburg Address. Here the Lincoln Memorial floats in darkness as hundreds still visit at 11:00 PM on a beautiful summer night. Canon 7D, 2 seconds @ f/8.0, ISO 100 mounted on a tripod. The epitaph above Abraham Lincoln's statue reads:

IN THIS TEMPLE
AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE
FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION
THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
IS ENSHRINED FOREVER

360 View

- The Donald D. Engen Tower at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is an observation tower providing a 360 degree bird's eye view of Washington Dulles International Airport and the surrounding area. As you can see view is impressive but so is the tower room itself. Canon 7D, 1/125 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 100, 8mm fish eye lens.

Three Alone

- The bronze sculpture entitled the "Three Servicemen" stands a short distance from the Wall as part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. The three statues stand alone looking towards the Wall and the names of their 58,272 lost comrades. Canon 7D, 5 secs @ f/8.0, ISO 400 converted to black and white.

Blackbird Fly

- Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
By Lennon and McCartney from the Beatles White Album

SR-71 at the Smithsonian Air & Space Center at Dulles Airport. Canon 7D, 1/15 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 800.

89 - Clerestory Colors

From 365 Project

Colors stream from the clerestory windows at the National Cathedral in Washington DC. The massive vaults support a ceiling 100 feet over the isle of the naive. Canon 40D, 1/25s at f/2.8, ISO 800, 57mm effective focal length. View more of the pictures from our visit to the National Cathedral.