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Recently, we've been taking advantage of the weather to update our
photos of some of the local
monuments. The metro Washington, DC area is one of the top places for
monument photography, but
many places have their memorable monuments. We thought this month we
would suggest a few tips for
monument photography.
Our focus tends to be on outdoor monuments, and we apply many
well-known techniques from landscape
photography to monuments. Below are a few things that we have found
helpful.
1) Be respectful. Don't go tromping through the landscaping to get
the ideal shot, or digging up
the flowers planting your tripod. Don't expect everyone to clear out
of your way by putting your
tripod up in the middle of a crowd mid-day. Know what the local
regulations are on photography,
using a tripod, and where you are and aren't allowed to be. Being
obnoxious is a good way to get
asked to leave by the local security, and makes people less likely to
cooperate with future
photographers.
2) Go early. Take a look at some of our monument photos in the web
version of this article.
Many of them were taken before 6:00 AM, and some of them were taken
before sunrise (this of course
assumes that the monument you're visiting allows people there that
early). We've gone to monuments
on the Mall at DC at 4:30 in the morning, and essentially had them to
ourselves. Sunrise is a
wonderful time to catch distinctively shaped monuments in silhouette
or near-silhouette, and the
early morning golden light shortly after sunrise can give dramatic
light and texture to stone or
metal monuments. Sunset would do equally well as sunrise from a
lighting standpoint (in the
opposite direction), but you may have to deal with crowds, depending
on the area. Use Ephemeris or
other software, or the local weather service to find out when sunrise is.
3) Bring a tripod. Especially if you are shooting in the dark or
sunrise/sunset photos, a tripod
will be helpful. If tripods aren't allowed, consider a beanbag, or
put your camera on a rock,
banister, garbage can, etc. to brace it (MAKE SURE it is a secure
place to put your camera - there
is nothing like watching little parts of your camera rolling away as
it falls off and smashes to
pieces on the ground). If necessary, use high ISO film/digital
setting and brace yourself against a
wall while taking the photo. Be careful setting up a tripod in
crowded settings, and know whether
they are permitted (e.g. you will NOT be permitted to set up a tripod
on the National Capitol
grounds unless you have a permit - and the Capitol police don't seem
to know where to get a permit
when you ask them).
4) Try to get some unusual angles and such. Get something other than
the cliché shots. Don't
worry about getting the cliché shots (they aren't that cliché if you
don't have them), but try and
get some close-ups of interesting details, or an angle that strikes
you as interesting.
5) Plan your visit. Know when you can get in to the monuments. Know
where the parking spaces
are (trying to find parking spaces at 4:00 AM is tough - there's no
one around to ask).
6) Don't forget to have fun, and see the sights while you're there!
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