I had another opportunity to fly up to Reagan Airport early last Sunday for a business trip, and spend a few hours in downtown Washington D.C. on the National Mall.

The Washington Monument in infrared

I brought my Olympus cameras, including my IR modified E-PL1.  I’m really enjoying the way it lets me see things differently.  So much so that I have to be careful not to over use it.

I also brought an app I discovered for my iPhone:  The NPS National Mall and Memorial Parks app is very useful – I highly recommend it if you travel to Washington D.C.  And it’s free! (Update, October 2020: Doesn’t seem to be available now.)

Using the app, I followed the “4 hour tour” and saw several memorials that I haven’t been to, including the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.  I also went by the Jefferson, Lincoln, and Vietnam War Memorials and of course – the Washington Monument.

Breadline and fall color, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial – Washington, DC.  The inscription reads: 

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”

I was talking about my visit with my friend Patrick and he said something that really resonated with me:  These memorials are named in honor of our famous founding fathers, or events from our history.  But when you visit them, one thing you notice is that at each there are words / thoughts written in the stones that make up each monument.  And it’s really these ideas that we should remember.  Maybe a periodic tour of the monuments along with a test on every inscription should be required for members of congress.

I was also surprised by how much color remained in the foliage – quite pretty.  And I was grateful that the weather was so different from my last visit.  This time it was partly cloudy and cool – very good walking weather.

And just because I can’t resist, here’s one more IR photo.  This one’s a false color image of a small Japanese Pagoda located near the Roosevelt Memorial.

Japanese pagoda on the west side of the Tidal Basin, Washington, DC. Given to Washington DC city commissioner Renah Camalier by Yokohama Mayor Ryozo Hiranuma in 1957 and subsequently donated to the city. This pagoda may be from the Kamakura period (1192–1333).

You can see other photos I’ve made in Washington D.C. in this set on Flickr.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2011, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved