A perspective on Washington, D.C.

David — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:47:02 +0000

About three weeks ago I traveled to Washington, D.C. and decided to take only my Lumix G1 and what was at the time my only lens for it, the 14-45mm “kit” lens (28-90mm 35mm equivalent). These were some of the more experimental images I made on the walk around the National Mall, the National Museum of the American Indian, and a few rides on the metro.

Washington Monument. Panasonic Lumix G1 and 14-45mm lens; exposed 1/2500 sec. @ f/5, ISO 200

The idea I had in mind for this image came through almost as well as I had hoped, aside from a compositional error that left the monument not quite centered. Also, I have no idea why I allowed the camera to go up to ISO 200 or chose f/5 instead of f/8. I will say that some dials can move inadvertently with that camera when walking around with it hanging at my side.

Museum of the American Indian, interior. Panasonic Lumix G1 and 14-45mm lens; exposed 1/50 sec. @ f/5.1, ISO 400

The style and mood of this image is an homage to that of one of my close friends from college, who recently earned her M.F.A. and was also married, Meghan Kirkwood. I actually enjoy the wide expanse of negative space on the left, but I appreciate that it’s not for everyone.

Metro train. Panasonic Lumix G1 and 14-45mm lens; exposed1/30 sec. @ f/4, ISO 1600

The D.C. metro provided a lot of opportunities for photography. I wish that the G1 was less noisy in these situations, but I think the grain adds something to this scene. Still, it’s certainly not like the 5D II or the Nikon D3 or D700 in its low-light abilities!

Metro train blur, duotone. Panasonic Lumix G1 and 14-45mm lens; exposed 1.6 seconds @ f/4.8, ISO 1250

Probably the most conceptual of the images I’ve made in a while. I intentionally overexposed the train tunnel to give the scene a black and white negative-like look.

blog | photography by David Kennedy » Washington Monument

A perspective on Washington, D.C.