Tonight, I went to the U.S. Capitol to recreate a rather popular print of mine. I was never fully satisfied with it, and wanted to improve the end product. While I think I was successful in capturing the image I wanted, I also had to capture what turned out to be one of the best sunsets in Washington DC that I can remember. In looking up at the sky earlier in the day, I noticed the high cirrus clouds and had a notion that it might be a colorful sunset. Nothing I thought would have prepared me for the show I saw!
While I was shooting the U.S. Capitol, I kept turning around to see how the western exposed clouds looked. When they finally lit on fire, I ran into position to fire off a few to capture the moment. Here are two versions — one wider, that shows the Autumn colored trees that line the National Mall, and one closer, that silhouettes the Washington Monument:
A gorgeous orange consumes the western exposed sky towards the Washington Monument
The Washington Monument’s shape cuts into the bright, orange sunset sky.
I continued shooting past sunset to make sure I captured the U.S. Capitol shot I planned. After a while, the gorgeous clouds that enabled the orange sunset moved over the Capitol and slowly moved west. I was intrigued by the contrast between the warm colors near the U.S. Capitol and the blue/magenta sky that is so typical just past sunset while in the city. The small streak of the clouds iced it for me:
U.S. Capitol under Purple Clouds.
Hope you enjoyed the post! More photos to come from this (pretty productive) evening.