World War II and Lincoln Memorials 2007

Not that the prior image isn't what I wanted to say but I could resist posting this one as well. I was aiming to capture the World War II Memorial with the Lincoln Memorial centered above it when the couple just happened to stop directly in line with Lincoln's statue and my camera. I could have edited them out, but to me their presence helped better portray the solemn mood I was attempting to capture. So too does the individual standing in front of the 4,000 gold stars on the Freedom Wall. The stars commemorate the more than 400,000 Americans who gave their lives during World War II.

Washington Monument, WWII Memorial, The Capital

My parents first took me to Washington D.C. as a pre-high school teenager. I have the family pictures to prove it. The memory that has stayed with me years later is how magificent the capital building and monuments looked at night. I am fortunate to travel there on business (or otherwise) fairly frequently. I look forward to slipping out after dinner to take a few photographs.

I had hoped to post this in time for Veterans' Day but computer "issues" (I now have a new system board) delayed it. I selected this image over others because the conjunction of the water from the WWII Memorial (foreground), the towering Washington Monument and the distant Capital Building. So, as a diverenge from the natural beauty I like to portray here, I thought this would be a way of remembering the dedication of others so we have the privileges we do.

Cathedral Rocks, Bridalveil Falls, Leaning Tower, Yosemite National Park 2007

I could write much about Yosemite but most of it has been better and more authoritatively done but others. It is enough to let the photograph say it.

We went to Yosemite (our second trip) in June of 2007. Yosemite has a great hotel, plenty to do, and, to my family's delight, the setting sunlight makes beautiful photographs. Morning is good too, but good photographs can be taken in the evening. The photograph above was taken near sunset (the sun was behind me) from the Merced River near Fern Springs and the Pohono Bridge. It is a popular spot, often photographed, though many photographs include El Capital (which would be to the left in this photo).

What astounds me is that Cathedral Rocks (the two visible peaks nearest the falls) reaches 6,644 feet in elevation (compared to an elevation of 3,881 feet where this photograph was taken) but yet King Huber and François E. Matthes, the USGS experts, state glacier covered the valley above the summit of Cathedral Rocks, with Mathhes saying they reached a depth of not less than 300 feet above the peak.

The only modifications to this phtograph I made was to brighten it and increase the contrast slightly. The beauty of the light from the setting sun did the rest.