Three-Day Safari in Washington DC: A Photographer’s Paradise in the Summer

We have it all: statues, monuments to the nation’s history, churches, museums, waterfalls, wild animals, a wide variety of architectural styles, and artistic graffiti!

So Washington Photo Safari, one of the nation’s oldest and largest photography training programs, has designed a three-day photography package that provides basic training in travel photography and includes all the major iconic memorials by day and by night, an afternoon at the Library of Congress, a morning at the Smithsonian national Zoo, and an insider’s view of Reagan Washington National Airport.

We have planned the three-day itinerary with special regard to people coming from out of town , allowing them to arrive in DC on Friday by noon check into a hotel and get to the first safari, and then depart on Sunday afternoon. Our last safari on Sunday even takes place at the airport!

Day 1: Friday
8 pm – 10 pm – Monuments at Night One of the best ways to see the most famous and historic monuments on the National Mall is through the viewfinder of your own tripod-mounted camera at twilight and at night, guided by professional architectural photographer E. David Luria.($89)

Day 2: Saturday
9:40 am to 1:15 pm – This is an opportunity to participate in our most popular safari, Monuments and Memorials, which instructor E. David Luria begins with a 40-minute orientation on travel photography techniques in Lafayette Park, followed by picture-taking at the White House. We then go by car to the National Mall for daytime shots of the Albert Einstein Memorial, and the Lincoln, Korea and Vietnam Memorials by day, ending up inside Union Station to discuss interior photography without flash or tripod and how to use slow shutter speeds to make moving people disappear or turn them into ghosts! (Transportation from site to site is provided by Washington Photo Safari) ($89)

2:30 pm to 5 pm – The Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress is one of the most beautiful buildings in the nation’s capital with its ornate interiors and grand staircases. We have timed our Library of Congress Safari so that the afternoon sun falls on the exterior and spills into the Great Hall interior. After an orientation on architectural photography, we’ll begin this Safari by photographing the fountains and the exterior of the building. ($79)

Day 3: Sunday 
7:45 am to 10 am – Sunday features an early-morning visit to the Smithsonian National Zoo, led by animal photography specialist Julie Gould, who knows where and when to get the best pictures of the tigers, the lemurs, the birds, the apes, and the panda bears, all of whom prefer to come outside in the cooler morning hours. For this safari you will want to bring your longest telephoto lens and a tripod or monopod. If you are planning a trip to Africa or other wildlife destinations, this safari will give you many tips on animal photography ($99)

2:30 pm to 5 pm – Our final safari in this three-day series gives you exclusive “insider and outsider access” with tripods to the beautiful Reagan Washington National Airport, designed by Cesar Pelli Architects and inspired by the ribbed domes of Thomas Jefferson’s home at Monticello. Les by architectural photographer E. David Luria, this safari guides you to exterior shots of the airport from the adjoining garage roof, and to close-ups of the built-in artwork at the airport. David also teaches you how to make all the moving passengers on the main concourse disappear with slow shutter speeds. It ends in the iconic Terminal A, the original airport terminal, with its Art Deco hallways and huge picture window view of the airfields.(If you are flying home from this airport, you can check your bags with the airline and then join the safari) ($79)

Book all 5 safaris together and get $40 off of the full $435 retail price!