- Night Safari
- 2 Hours
Come join us for the best view of DC, from the 35th-floor Observation Deck of the Central Place Tower in Arlington, at twilight.
Quick Details
Think you can take better pictures than the ones you see on the postcards? Here is your chance to prove it by capturing a spectacular view of all the monuments in DC from the 35-story tower of The View of DC in Arlington, VA!
The observatory of the View of DC offers an extraordinary view of the entire Washington DC landscape, the same airplane view that one gets from the left side of the plane for about 20 seconds when landing at Reagan Washington National Airport from the north. Our clients will be able to get a lovely shot of the full moon coming up just to the right of the Washington Monument, with the Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall and the Capitol all included in this great view.
To the Southeast there is the Pentagon and National Airport. To the northeast you see the beautiful National Mall with all the monuments. To the north you see the Kennedy Center, the Watergate complex, the Potomac River, Roosevelt Island, Washington Harbor, Georgetown University and, in the far distance, Washington National Cathedral.
The 12,000 square foot observation deck of The View of DC has two levels, one is an outside level with huge, 10 feet tall and 3 inch thick glass panels designed to keep you from falling down into the city but, as a favor to photographers, they have graciously put 3 inch wide gaps in between the panes that are just wide enough for a camera lens to look through and get an unobstructed view of the city!
Our Safari begins with a brief orientation on architectural photography by Washington Photo Safari director E. David Luria as we meet outside the Rosslyn Metro station, right across North Lynn Street from The View of DC. Then we will walk down to Key Bridge to get great views of Georgetown University, Washington National Cathedral, Washington Harbor and the Potomac River.
We then return to The View of DC and rise up the elevators which themselves offer great views of the city as they zip up to the 35th floor.
We will spend 90 minutes up in the tower taking as many pictures as you like as Mr. Luria guides you in composition, exposure, white balance and other settings to give you the best pictures as the sun sets slowly in the west and the moon rises.
True to our tradition of only taking you to the BEST places in town for photography, this safari is available only to the first 84 photographers who apply.
Recommended equipment: DSLR or mirrorless camera with adjustable shutter speeds, Manual Mode, lenses from 16mm to 200mm recommended, no tripods allowed We also recommend a $58 Lens Skirt available from B and H Photo Video to block reflections of lights in the windows when shooting through them, If you do not have one, Mr. Luria will lend you his!
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- Camera
- Extra camera battery
- Extra memory cards
Tripods are not allowed on the Observation Deck, so if you bring one, you will not be allowed to take it with you.
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Meet just outside of Rosslyn Metro station exit on N. Lynn Street, Blue/Orange/Silver Lines. Here is a map!
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E. David Luria is founder and director of the Washington Photo Safari, which has trained over 41,500 amateur photographers – an average of 5 people every day, 365 days a year, since it was founded in 1999. Trained in Paris by a protégé of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Mr. Luria is a member of the American Society of Media Photographers and the Society of Photographic Educators and has had his images of DC appear in over 100 publications, calendars, and postcards and on 30 magazine covers.