Monuments at Night
Friday, June 1, 2012 | 7:59 pm
Monuments at Night is offered every Friday during Spring, Summer and Fall.
As the calendar changes, sunset times do, too. These Safaris start 30 minutes before sunset and last 3 hours.
Washington DC’s National Mall is the showcase of the nation’s capital, home to its most famous and historic monuments. One of the best ways to see it is through the viewfinder of your own tripod-mounted camera at twilight and at night, guided by a professional architectural photographer.
After giving you an orientation on the basic techniques of nighttime photography, Washington Photo Safari director E. David Luria will take you to the most photogenic areas of the National Mall. Your Safari begins at the new World War II Memorial, with its beautifully illuminated ornate fountains and columns framing the nearby spotlit Washington Monument in that “magic hour” of deep-blue twilight. Then you walk along the famous Reflecting Pool on your way to the poignant Vietnam Womens Memorial, the powerful Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the extraordinary Korean War Memorial with its illuminated, fear-filled faces of men in combat, and then to the awesome Lincoln Memorial with its majestic statue of President Lincoln. We end up at the whimsical and brightly illuminated Albert Einstein Memorial at 22nd St and Constitution Ave NW.
At each location on this Safari, Mr. Luria reviews white balance settings for digital cameras and filter usage for film cameras in nighttime shooting, how to shoot at night WITHOUT using a flash, and how to achieve interesting composition with close-up detail that truly brings out the meaning of each memorial and statue. This Safari will help you achieve really beautiful, postcard-quality images of the nation’s capital.
NOTE: Non-photographer companions/spouses are welcome to attend at no charge. However, please bear in mind that this is a workshop in nighttime photography, not a traditional “tour” of the monuments at night. We spend much more time at each monument and statue than one would spend on a typical tour, discussing such issues as composition, white balance, exposure, lighting and camera usage, issues a non-photographer might find BORING! For a historic overview and genuine tour of the DC monuments at night, we recommend any of DC’s excellent guided tour companies.
Sturdy tripod required.
Offered every Friday during spring, summer and fall.
Instructor: E. David Luria
- David Luria is the founder and director of the Washington Photo Safari™.
David Luria is a DC-based professional commercial photographer specializing in architecture, landmarks, restaurant and event photography. Trained in Paris at the Parsons School of Design by a protégé of Henri Cartier Bresson, he is a member of the American Society of Media Photographers, the Association of Independent Architectural Photographers, and the Society of Photographic Educators. His images of Washington DC have appeared on 30 magazine covers and in over 100 publications, including 24 photographs in the coffee-table book "Washington DC Visions."
He also serves as Contributing Photographer to WHERE-Washington Magazine, the Entertainment Book, and the Washington Post’s Apartment Showcase and Washington Spaces Magazines, and his Washington Photo Safaris have trained over 21,000 amateur photographers in basic techniques of travel, landmark, portrait, museum, nighttime, and other photographic specialties.
In addition to serving as the prime instructor for Washington Photo Safari, he also does photography instruction for Penn Camera, the Smithsonian Resident Associates program, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Kreeger Museum, Things to Do DC, Professionals in the City, and many local camera clubs. Mr. Luria has appeared as photographic expert on WAMU.FM's Kojo Nmandi Show and also as a luncheon speaker at the National Press Club.
Attend this Safari
Meet at entrance to World War II Memorial on 17th St NW between Const. Ave and Independence Ave.
Location: World War II Memorial, Washington, DC 20006
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