Monuments at Night

After giving an orientation on the basic techniques of nighttime photography, WPS Instructors take you to the most photogenic areas on the western end of the National Mall. We begin our DC at night photo tour along the Mall at the Lincoln Memorial with its majestic statue of President Lincoln. From there we walk along the Mall and visit the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Three Servicemen Statue, the Vietnam Women’s Memorial. At each location on this DC photo safari, David reviews exposure, how to shoot at night without using a flash, white balance settings, and how to achieve interesting composition with close-up detail that truly brings out the meaning of each memorial and statue. These memorials photograph much better at night than in the daytime and this safari helps you achieve beautiful, postcard-quality images of the Nation’s Capital. Great for black and white photography too!

Photos by Keith Hans

From Kaypea53 of Maryland (rated 5 Stars on Trip Advisor!):

Great experience!

DC Monuments at Night Photo Safari

I am a longtime Washington area resident and amateur photographer; like many locals, I don’t often go into DC proper unless I have company to show around. The evening spent with David Luria of Washington Photo Safari was great, and I learned things I never knew about DC, in spite of my living here most of my life! David is clearly knowledgeable about his field. He is encouraging and supportive… and very entertaining! I learned a lot about how my camera works, and that there is a great deal more to it than the automatic setting! Overall, a great experience.

Thank you for the message and for all that you have done and continue to do to help us amateur photographers.  As you probably know, I participated in several of your safaris.  The most helpful of all of them was “Monuments at Night” because that was the moment when you said at the beginning, “Put the mode selector of your camera on ‘M’.”  Although I sort of understood the relationship among shutter speed, aperture, and ISO for exposure, I had never let go of the crutches of “A” or “P” mode.  In that moment, as a participant of your safari, I did as a you requested, quickly mastered the settings choices, and have always kept my mode selector on “M” since then.  It was like the moment when we master riding a bicycle – we make a seemingly instantaneous transition from fear of falling to confidence of balance with the pleasure of the wind in our face.

 Dan Pence, Washington, DC

Follow-up Comment from Dan:

My photographic skills have come a long way since the day I participated in the Monuments at Night workshop with you, and the first thing you said to the group was “Please turn the mode selector on your camera to “M”.  That was a big leap for me, but I never turned back.  Like learning to ride a bicycle, that was the moment when everything clicked (no pun intended) for me in terms of my relationship with the camera.

Dan Pence, Washington DC, WPS client since 2011

“I had an amazing time with my instructors. I took two different safaris. I learned an incredible amount about photography and using my camera. Both of my instructors were incredibly patient with me. David’s sense of humor is top notch. Every moment and coin spent was well worth it. I hope to return again when I’m in the DC area.”

Roberta S.

I spent Saturday evening with the Washington Photo Safari and Professional Photographer   E David Luria, learning how to photograph a few monuments and memorials on the National Mall and Memorial Parks. Mr. Luria taught us how to take photos with our DSLR or mirrorless cameras—explaining how to use F-Stops and Shutter Speed to take pictures at night and how to change the settings on our camera to take black-and-white photos. One of my big takeaways from the class is how the picture you’re taking should look like what you’re seeing.

Wesley F.,  Germantown, MD