National Cathedral and Gothic Archway

National Cathedral and Gothic Archway, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

I was immediately struck by 2 things upon entering the National Cathedral in Washington D.C.
First it's a huge space, probably the largest space I have ever stood in. Second the colored light streaming through the large open space was strikingly beautiful and ethereal.

While framing up this shot I decided to tilt my ultra wide angle lens a little to add a bit of interest. Not sure how well that worked out.

Udvar Hazy SR-71 Blackbird

Udvar Hazy SR-71 Blackbird, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Udvar Hazy Museum's SR-71 Blackbird spy plane.

Positioned front and center, this aircraft greets all visitors to the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center located at Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia.

No other aircraft in history operated globally in hostile airspace as successfully and for a longer period of time than the SR-71. No aircraft was ever lost to hostile fire.

On its last flight Lt. Col. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in 1 hour and 4 minutes averaging 2,124 miles per hour. Upon landing, the air force donated the aircraft to the Smithsonian.

Smithsonian Castle

Smithsonian Castle, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

This was the original Smithsonian museum building.

Attention all Security Guards

Attention all Security Guards, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

If you want to get the attention of any Smithsonian Museum security guard, just lay down on the floor. This worked for me. Elapsed time about 10 seconds.

Storm Coming

Storm Coming, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

And it did rain on Kathy and I this night. We were on our way to the Lincoln and Korean War memorials.

Bike Station - Washington D.C.

Bike Station - Washington D.C., originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Interesting architecture. This bike station was located between Union Station and the old Post Office building.

Cathedral Hallway

Cathedral Hallway, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

The National Cathedral has lots and lots of little chapels and hallways. All of which were lighted beautifully by the abundance of stained glass windows.

Hail Columbia

Hail Columbia, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

In July of 1969, Mike Collins, Edwin "Buzz Aldrin" and Neil Armstrong flew in this spacecraft and made history as part of the first manned space mission to land on another heavenly body.
This is the Apollo 11 Command Module which re-entered the earth's atmosphere at greater than 25,000 miles per hour and you can clearly see by it's burned and charred skin that it must have been a pure "E" ticket ride.
This photo was taken from the second floor of the National Air and Space Museum. Again they don't allow tripods so I used my trusty Gorillapod to steady my camera.

In Honored Glory

In Honored Glory, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Korean War Veterans Memorial

Korean War Memorial, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

19 United States soldiers on a night patrol

Kathy and I were walking around Washington D.C. on what would prove to be our longest day there. We had started out fairly early walking from our hotel over to the National Cathedral and then walked around the Smithsonian museums for quite a while. We both had our cameras of course and we took turns carrying our tripod which came in handy as the sun went down and darkness closed in. We walked from Union Station, along the mall all the way to the base of the Lincoln Memorial. Once there, it was Kathy's idea to walk over to the Korean War Veterans Memorial. 

It was very striking and a little sad. Several of the figures of the soldiers seemed to have haunted or frightened looks on their faces. But they were brave. They answered not only their nations call, but helped another country facing aggression. 

Taking photos here was a little challenging. There were just too many people milling around to risk setting up a tripod as somebody might trip on a leg and get hurt. I decided to use my gorilla pod, and just wrapped the legs around one of the metal poles that supported the chains that surround the memorial. This worked pretty well, with the longest exposures being 30 seconds long and still very sharp.

A plaque near the memorial reads "Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met."