TPN DC Photo Outing Trip Report
Roger Maki and I first made friends through the Traveler's Photographers Network photo posting forum, on the new TPN 3.0 a few weeks after it launched. Roger had posted a photo of a Richmond battlefield memorial, and I asked him in a comment whether he was a Virginian, expressing an interest in getting together for a joint photo shoot at some mutually agreeable location.
Roger emailed me soon afterward, and it turns out he is a Marylander from the Eastern Shore, actually a couple of hours away from my home in Northern Virginia, USA. His distance from my home was farther than I expected, but such trivial distances are seemingly insignificant to TPNers, as Roger almost immediately agreed to join me for a photo shoot at the famous Great Falls along the Potomac River just outside of Washington, D.C. Great Falls is famous for attracting the elusive blue heron species, due to the excellent fishing that is typically available at the bottom of any waterfall which pushes such a great volume of water through such a narrow strait. Great Falls is known regionally to kayakers as the best rapids within several hundred miles - and is known equally well to herons as the best location for, almost literally, shooting fish in a barrel!
Meeting Up
So the promise of this opportunity provided the cornerstone of our plan, and we soon also agreed that after Great Falls we would continue on to Washington's National Cathedral, about ten miles to the east. This destination had been a goal of Roger's for quite a few years, and the sheer convenience of its proximity to Great Falls made it an obvious target for the outing. So, armed with an ambitious dual plan, we agreed to the date of 4 June 2011 and exchanged mobile phone numbers, eager for the outing.
TPN owner Walter Rowe happens to live in Columbia, MD, well within range of this outing, and both Roger and I independently invited Walter along for the fun. It turns out Roger and Walter had held loose plans of this sort for several years already, dating back to the years when both were contributing members to the original TPN community. And now both were eager to make good on that intention, so with serendipity waving its magic wand the plan grew to three strong - and suddenly this outing carried the aura of an Official TPN Adventure!
We all agreed to meet at the Tavern at Great Falls at 7am on 4 June, in time to catch not just the magic light of early morning, but also to hopefully take advantage of the feeding schedule of the herons who are known to frequent this location in early daylight. Having myself already been to this spot half a dozen times - all in the early morning - I knew from experience that sometimes a few herons are on the scene and sometimes none at all appear all morning. A key discriminator in that seemed to be water level, with high water completely discouraging herons away from the location.
Other factors bear on the prospects there as well. But it turned out that all of them favored our TPN outing that day! Rains had been minimal for almost a week, so the water was low and the fish had little room to hide. Furthermore, the annual shad run had just recently begun - and the herons instinctively knew it. Lastly, for reasons that still remain a mystery to me, almost no other humans showed up at Great Falls that early morning, meaning that nobody was clambering across the rocks, or competing via fishing rod with the herons, or in any other way scaring off the primary subjects of our visit. The result was that at least a dozen herons populated Great Falls that morning, and Roger, Walter and I had the best opportunity to photograph blue herons that I have ever experienced!
Shooting Great Falls on the Potomac
All of us used a similar approach to capture the falls in slow speed photography, mostly through long lenses with heavy polarizers or neutral density filters. Our intent was to capture the herons in their natural habitat, taking advantage of their famous capacity for stock-still immobility to photograph them while the rushing waters of the falls blurred past in the background. Some examples of our efforts appear with this article.
Walter, the enterprising TPN owner and ever the intrepid photographer, also captured quite a few shots of our outing that depicted the enthusiasm of our community for unique location shoots such as this. And when on a few occasions we were approached with interest by other local nature photographers, we explained our affiliation to travelphotographers.net and encouraged those like-minded souls to join our community here on TPN!
After three and a half hours at Great Falls and several hundred captures (at least on my camera), we finally moved on to Phase 2 of the outing at National Cathedral. It was approaching lunchtime when our caravan of three vehicles completed the journey across D.C.'s fabled northwest quadrant to its very highest point, upon which this towering cathedral is perched. And so, after parking in the Cathedral's underground lot, we set out on foot for a bite to eat!
The National Cathedral
The nearest eatery with space available was Cactus Cantina, one block north of the Cathedral. It is famous locally for its excellent Tex-Mex fare, its expansive and laid back ambience, and on weekdays its inexpensive Happy Hour. In this setting we availed ourselves of an extremely convivial atmosphere, and spent a pleasant hour discussing TPN's brilliant future and celebrated past, while attempting to make sense of the humongous portions we were provided. When the check came, Walter surprised us by picking it up all by himself - and Roger chimed in to me that now we were both on the hook for another year of TPN dues!
With our bellies filled and energy restored, we were off to the Cathedral where conditions outside were perfect - partly cloudy with patchy expressive cloud banks and excellent dappled lighting on the face of this hulking, humongous building. Walter captured a group shot of all three of us in front of the cathedral and each of us then took several portraits of the beautiful edifice from the grounds in front of its magnificent front facade. After that, we finally moved inside the building where the real magic happens!
The docents of the National Cathedral identify themselves by wearing flowing purple robes, and they place themselves throughout the gargantuan interior of the cathedral so as to provide insight, advice, and cautions about navigating this spectacular destination. The first docents we spoke to warned us that, although tripod photography is permissible here, it must be limited to areas where foot traffic would not be impeded. We all were impressed that such an accommodating policy exists there, and exchanged lauding commentary about such a forward thinking outlook by the Cathedral.
But with the possible exception of Roger, whose genteel nature is always so considerate of others, we all gradually proceeded to violate that policy! At one point I captured a shot of Walter set up with his tripod directly in the center of the main cathedral aisle with a line of tourists patiently waiting behind him for the chance to endeavor onward. And I later found myself doing exactly the same thing in front of a tour group at a nave statuary. Walter opined to me afterward that such was the "lengths we go to in order to perfect our craft!"
At the End of the Day
With gargoyles on the outside edifice (including one of Darth Vader, which a docent specifically pointed out to Roger and me) and elaborate stained glass windows throughout the interior of this building which is large enough to almost entirely contain the Washington Monument laid on its end, we spent another several hours wandering through one of Washington's best kept secrets. It is a gorgeous yet vastly uncelebrated Washington destination, despite being located so conspicuously at the highest point in the nation's capital.
The day was, by all accounts, a tremendous success, and for me it was one of the best photo outings I have ever undertaken - even though it occurred practically within my own back yard rather than Morocco or Mongolia, or any other exotic place that I still pine to visit. We three participants already have plans for a follow-up outing in Easton, MD - right at Roger's home this time! - for the annual Waterfowl Festival that occurs there in the second week of November each year. All TPNers are welcome, so book your flights now!
See More Pictures
Patrick's album "Great Falls National Cathedral Article (June 2011)".
Walter's albums "TPN at Great Falls, Maryland" and "TPN at the National Cathedral".
About the Author
Patrick Flynn is an avid travel photographer and a native and life long resident of northern Virginia. He lives in Old Town Alexandria with his wife and two children. His work for the US Navy has afforded him the ability to travel all over the world capturing images of scenic places and fascinating cultures. Click the Patrick Flynn link to view his member profile and make your way to his TPN Member Portfolio.
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