DC Capitol at Night

Earlier in December a small group of us braved the freezing cold and winds to photograph some of DC by night. It was absolutely freezing and I'd not brought any gloves with me thinking it would impede my camera actions. So stupid! I didn't even think about carrying my metal tripod around and it sometimes felt that my fingers stuck to the legs.

We didn't wander too far and for the first 20 minutes or so stood like penguins staring at each other and clapping our stiff arms in front of us. Finally someone was brave enough to open their mouth against the icy wind and suggest walking the short distance to the Capitol. No one argued and we mutely plodded towards the building.

The views of the Mall were impressive and we swiftly snapped our shots and then decided to head for the back of the building where it would hopefully afford some protection from the elements.

We spoke with a very friendly policeman who begrudgingly informed us that we weren't allowed to use tripods to take photos on Federal land without a permit, but showed us where we could get one. We snuck in a few anyway when his back was turned but most of our shots after were hand held or taken with cameras balanced on walls.

I loved the Art Deco lighting lining the walkways in front of the building. After the Capitol, we walked to the next closest building of interest which was the Library of Congress.

This fountain is called the Court of Neptune' created by Roland Hinton Perry in 1895. Our group numbers had dropped by now and we decided warming up was a necessity. Rushing back to our cars, we then drove to a bar on Pennsylvania Ave where we chatted and drank beer until we'd thawed out. Times such as these when the weather or other factors are against us make me wonder why I take part in some of these activities but afterwards I'm always glad that I did!