A Radiant Autumn Sunset at the Washington Monument and U.S. Capitol

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:

 gorgeous orange consumes the western exposed sky towards 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.

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.

U.S. Capitol under Purple Clouds.

Hope you enjoyed the post! More photos to come from this (pretty productive) evening.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *