Anticipating the approaching storms today, I headed down to the Washington Monument. I was practicing some techniques ahead of my Washington DC Nature & Landscape Photography Summer Bootcamp 2014, including perspective blending and panoramas. I’m glad I went shooting because I was again reminded about how epically beautiful the sky can be, including at sunset. It seems like each picture of the sky is unique in its shape and color — though I know that’s not entirely true.

This first image is a 3 shot panorama:

This next image is a 4 shot perspective blend:

I also was intrigued with the texture of the marble of the Washington Monument. I grouped it with the contrast of colors between the warm rock and the cool blue clouds and the shape created by the wide angle at close focusing distance. I used a wider aperture for a more artistic effect and a vignette:

If you enjoyed these shots and want to observe how I make my images, consider joining one or some of my Washington DC Nature & Landscape Photography Summer Bootcamp 2014!