Union Station Reborn!

It’s been 5 years since Union Station finished its 5-year multimillion dollar cleanup and renovation program after the 2011 earthquake, and the place looks beautiful!

The cracks in the ceiling’s plaster have been repaired, the vaulted bay has been repainted, and there’s new gold leafing applied to its ornate, 24-carat gilded panels. The café, previously located in the center of the Main Hall, was dismantled and its removal allows station visitors to fully appreciate the space as it was historically designed in 1907. It’s the first time in a half-century that the space has been largely unobstructed.

And it is a paradise for architectural photographers! So we have designed this Safari for intermediate to advanced photographers with super wide and/or fisheye lenses.

You can get great shots in color or black and white, swirling lines of the staircases, colorful murals in the food court, and the nice aerial views of the entire Main Hall from an upper level, plus close-ups of architectural detail in the station.

Got a super wide or fisheye lens? This is the place for it! Full frame camera users should bring a 14-24 or 16 to 24-millimeter lens, APS sensor cameras bring a 10-20mm or an 11-16mm super wide lens. For detail photos, bring a telephoto lens. No tripods allowed on this safari.

If you do not have one of these lenses, you might consider renting them for a day from a local camera store like Embassy Camera, Ace Camera, or District Camera in Burke, Service Camera in Baltimore, or from a lens rental website like F8 Rentals in DC and Reston.

Architectural photographer E. David Luria will show you how to get the best pictures by shooting in the Manual mode and playing with the white balance menu. If your camera gives you the opportunity to shoot in kelvin temperatures, he will show you how to do that to get the most accurate color rendition. He will also bring a 28mm PC shift lens and a 10.5 mm fisheye lens for Nikon users.

Here are samples of the photos you will get on this safari:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/albums/72177720296169412

Don’t like seeing all those people in the station? Learn how to make them all DISAPPEAR! How cool is THAT?

Rainy day or sunny day, this place is it architectural photographers Paradise!