(click thumbnails for a larger view of photos)
I went to Washington D.C. on a business trip Wednesday. The business part of this trip wasn’t going to be a full day on Thursday, so I decided to lug my camera equipment out there hoping to photograph some of the memorials.
I should have prayed instead of hoped.
The weather was miserable. The humidity was like fifteen thousand percent. Instant sweat factory. It really hit home how nice it is in the desert where humidity hardly exists.
So off I went to my first stop, the Lincoln Memorial. 
I take my camera out of the bag and started to take a photo when I noticed something is amiss. Everything had a haze to it. Taking a closer look, the lens and filter had instantly fogged up when I took it out of the bag. I’m guessing it did this since the camera bag was still cool on the inside from my air conditioned hotel room. Once the camera warmed up, everything was hunky dory. For the camera’s sake that is.
Taking photos of the memorials proved difficult. 
Waiting for visitors to disperse from my frame took patience and time. Time which I didn’t have, as I’d find out soon enough. The visitors flock here in crowds, and for good reason too. They are spectacular. It really hits you hard seeing all the names of people that have died for our country and the people who have lost their loved ones who visit and pay their respects.
Walking out of the Lincoln memorial, I see this gorgeous view of the Washington monument. 
I must have snapped off a dozen shots from the steps of the Lincoln memorial. An issue here is that there is this unsightly fence in the foreground, the lighting was too bright on the monument, and of course, more visitors.
So I decided walk up past the unsightly fence and closer to the water for a better shot. Still more visitors, and a new problem. The lighting was still too bright on the monument and I couldn’t get all of the water in the frame. I did the best that I could and continued on.
While walking towards the monument, I see these nasty storm clouds rolling in. I get to the World War II memorial at the end of the water and took about six photos before it started pouring like crazy. The camera was starting to get wet and I was getting drenched. No where to run or hide from the rain, I stood under a tree with many others, as lighting bolted across the sky and the thunder that sounded like it was right on top of me. Not a very comfortable feeling being under a tree during a big storm.
After the rain took a break, I decided to head to the hotel to start packing. Good thing too. The rain started up again with a vengeance. Later, I’d see on the news the many cars that stalled or got stuck from the flooded freeways under bridges and interchanges.
What kind of pictures did I get out of all of this? Snapshots! Upon reviewing the photos from the trip tonight, I’m stuck with snapshots. Not a single photo that really stood out for me of great value. Just snapshots that can be found all over the web. Next time? Next time I’ll hopefully be there when it’s not so humid and do some night photography.
