DC: The Stair

You can tell a building is magnificent if it's stairway alone holds countless treasures.

DC: Arlington Cemetery Part III

This was one of the most beautiful things I've had the honor of witnessing. You want to to talk about real reverence for something? These guys exuded it. Hattie and I had the opportunity of sitting by a soldier named Robert Neidlinger who was on the Honor guard in 1989 as far as I could tell from his paperwork. He told us that this ceremony is conducted 24 hours a day 365 days a year although not always in this format. The soldiers change guard every half hour. I also found out from a documentary I watched about this group that the group is very elite and they dedicate a year of their lives to the Guard.

Sergeant Neidlinger explained to us that they do this out of honor for the soldiers who died without being honored and for their families who have no grave to visit to mourn their death. The original tomb of the unknown soldier houses a soldier from WWI and soldiers are buried throughout the cemetery who represent each of the major U.S. wars.

He also told us that you cant imagine how cold it is in the middle of the winter in the dead of night and that you also can't imagine how beautiful it is to see a sunrise over the nations capitol while guarding the tomb. He had to memorize the whole history of the program to qualify. The ceremony is meticulous and painstakingly slow, purposefully, to show their respect for the unknowns.

Another great reminder of what our great country is really about. Let's all slow down and show more respect for what we do and value the lives we live. Be great at what you do and honor those that made it possible to do it by giving their lives.

Thank you Sergeant Neidlinger for taking the time to help a couple American citizens appreciate this ceremony better.

DC: Arlington Cemetery Part II

It's awe inspiring how many men and women of every race, creed, religion and color have died for this great country. Deists, atheists, artists, dreamers, drop-outs and dead beats. Mathematicians, orators, scientists and poets. Lovers, leavers, the mischievous, the serious and the mysterious. All of these men and women had such great potential. Some reached a portion of that potential and others were cut down far too early. They say war can be a great equalizer but whoever they were these men and women stood united to defend one common belief...the belief that this country is great and worth fighting for. A sobering reminder of our obligations to out country.

DC: U.S. Capitol

Hattie is ever with me on these photo excursions and really does a great job on the photos that she takes. Here are some photos that we collaborated on. Hattie took these at the U.S. Capitol and I did some processing on them. It was a great day for photos but unfortunately I had to work most of the day so I was glad Hattie was with us for these.

DC: Arlington Cemetery

One of my primary objectives in DC was to get to Arlington Cemetery. I could have spent a week there as a photographer but that would have required an actual vacation instead of a work trip. I was able to get the greatest quantity of pictures at Arlington despite time constraints. I'm just posting a few today and will do more posts after Scout Camp next week. Enjoy this preview.

DC: Washington Monument

So today's post is from another iconic American monument. It's in the current Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer, it's the penultimate site in Dan Brown's last novel and it's in countless PBS Civil War documentaries. It's the Washington Monument. One great thing about this structure is that it's viewable from pretty much anywhere in DC which means it is possible to get pictures of it in a lot of different lights both physically and philosophically speaking. Who knew a monument could be so multi-dimensional.

DC: Architect

All throughout DC there are great little architectural accents. Some are very old and others are fairly new. Can you tell the difference?