Going Underground

On Sunday we met up with DCUE at Dupont Circle to go underground. We'd managed to get permission to go down and photograph the old trolley lines, a place that few people in DC know about, let alone have visited. There have been many suggestions to convert it to an art gallery, bike park and for a short time there was a food court down there. Here is a brief history of Dupont Underground.
We all met up and walked down the ramp into the tunnel going under Dupont Circle, cars whizzing past and passers by looking at us wonderingly. There was a door at the bottom which our guide unlocked and as we all traipsed through, I thought, so this is what it must've felt like on Platform 9 3/4 in the Harry Potter books as they passed through the wall leaving the Muggles behind..
It was pitch black inside and we all huddled together tightly clutching our flashlights as we listened to our guide's instructions. We were given the choice of having a few lights turned on or being left in the dark and using our own light for photographs. We all chorused together that yes, we'd like some light please.
Once he had thrown the light switch we all got down to business, extending tripods, connecting shutter release cables and rummaging for alternative forms of lighting. This was a great opportunity to play with light and we all did our own thing but coming together occasionally to work as a group.

Jason patiently posing for me.

I used a colored flashlight to paint some walls or the floor.

This was one person walking towards me with their flashlight in hand while I kept the shutter open.

In the old food court area I found this room, completely dark, but with a microphone, so I set up a self portrait.

Another self portrait with the lighting set up by Jason.

We had a great time being creative in the tunnels and our guide left us to our own devices, just meeting us at the end. We promised to set up a Flickr set for him so he could take any of the photos he wanted. Afterwards Emily and I decided to stroll around Dupont for a bit. Of course we found a bar and sat in the window, having a great time people watching as we sipped our beers.

It was fun photographing people as they walked by and after our drinks we walked back to the circle where we continued to photograph folks.

We found a great little book store which I was really pleased to see was jumping with customers. I can't accept that books will eventually be all electronic and refuse to buy a Kindle or something similar. Nothing will ever be able to compete with the weight of a good book in your hand, the pleasure of turning the next page or the smell of the print. And obviously these folks shared my sentiments, preferring the lure of a good publication than a digital screen or TV.
And so another weekend ended but I have to mention for those of you who e-mailed me wondering where last weekend's wedding photos are, they won't be published here on my blog. They were extremely pleased with the photos but didn't want the publicity so asked me not to publish any of them. Sorry...