Washington DC

Storms Across NoVA

| Tom

 

A rainbow appears above a horse pasture West of Leesburg
Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow: The Loudoun County Executive Airport
A post-storm sky full of Mamatus Clouds above the rural Loudoun Suburbs, West of Leesburg
Zoomed in, its clear to see the puffy mamatus clouds drooping beneath the thunder head. In the distance is Sugarloaf Mountain and Dickerson, Maryland

This past week saw some of the first thunderstorms of the season for 2017.  Rolling through on Thursday night, they caught most of us off guard, as the forecast wasn’t calling for thunderstorms until the following day.  Fortunately, I had the opportunity to head out, upon learning about them.

This shoot started on the West side of the storm as it departed Western Loudoun County.  Eventually, I ended up at Dulles Airport to shoot “The Iconic Dulles Shot” with lightning in the background.  This was by far my best image of the night.  I love how my D810’s imaging sensor was able to extract dim details from the scene, like the faintly visible mamatus clouds in the sky above.

Winter 2016

Image | | Tom

I’ve hinted in the past that while the vibrant “organic” colors that Spring through Fall bring make for amazing photographs. However, there is something to be said for the simple beauty of winter.  After all, the peaceful beauty that freshly fallen snow (let alone the peaceful silence of being out in the snow as it quietly falls) makes for great images.

While winter may have gotten off to a late start here on the East Coast, it made for some great photography: bringing the foggiest December on record to the Mid Atlantic.  Then in January, we were treated to a true whollop of snowstorm, bringing 34 inches to my backyard.  Some areas of West Virginia saw 40+”!  Unfortunately, this much snow made it extremely difficult for me to get to get to scenic locations to photograph, but my new pair of snowshoes got a lot of use for a week 🙂

Finally, we were able to make it up to Canaan Valley in the high Alleghenies of West Virginia for Winter’s last true stand.  While not quite as cold or beautiful as the winter of 2015, all-in-all winter 2016 did not disappoint.

Cheers!

-Tom

Blackwater Canyon in West Virginia
Starry night sky above Canaan Valley
Late day sky glow in Canaan Valley
Elakala Falls
Frozen rocks at Great Falls during a cold snap
The sun trying to poke through the clouds on a foggy morning
Reston during the blizzard
I was out during the peak of “blizzard conditions” and was impressed by the amount of snow blowing around
The neighborhood…more snow still had yet to come
Saint Mary’s Wilderness – George Washington National Forest
Bolivar Heights – Harpers Ferry. The mountains were completely obstructed by the fog bank pouring over them
Sunrise in Jefferson County, WV. Due to excessively warm/moist conditions, the grass was abnormally green for late December
Jefferson County, WV
Industrial Grittiness – Halltown, WV
North Landing River Preserve, Virginia Beach
North Landing River Preserve, Virginia Beach
North Landing River Preserve, Virginia Beach
North Landing River Preserve, Virginia Beach
North Landing River Preserve, Virginia Beach
North Landing River Preserve, Virginia Beach
North Landing River Preserve, Virginia Beach
A near full moon over Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Abandoned farmhouse – Great Falls, VA
Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Downtown on a February Morning

| Tom

I awoke early on Saturday morning to head down to Pennsylvania Avenue to catch the sun rising straight down the boulevard, with the Capital in the background.  However, when I looked out the window all I saw was a cloudy sky.  Not discouraged, I looked at satellite imagery and saw that there was a break in the clouds just East of DC.  I knew what this meant: spectacular sunrise.

Heading downtown, I could already start to see glints of light highlighting the clouds.  However, it wasn’t the ideal lighting condition to take pics down PA Ave as I’d originally planned, so I headed over to the Lincoln Memorial and got there just in time to take this:

Good morning, Washington
Good morning, Washington

It being a winter morning, there were few people down there, but those who were were staring at the sky.  I told several people visiting the city from out of town, “You could come down here 100 times and not see a sunrise anywhere near this spectacular, we were all very lucky to see this.”

View from the Lincoln Memorial
Like father like son

Even though the sky soon turned to winter overcast gloom, I hung around for about another hour because crowds were light, allowing for a great time to shoot the interior of the memorial.  I met a nice young gentleman who was taking self portraits at the memorial.  After chatting for a few minutes, he allowed me to take a few pictures of him, brushing up on my portraiture skills.

For a brief time out, it was a very successful morning of shooting.