I left the Capitol walking west on Pennsylvania Ave (if you've ever been to DC, you'll know that walking, excluding the Metro, is normally the fastest way to get around thanks to the traffic and the limited amount parking). These are a few things you can see on the way to the White House.

This was my first time visiting the National Christmas Tree while lit up. It's a live tree that was planted in the 70s. Unfortunately, the mob of people and security being annoyed by my tripod limited the shots I was able to take of the tree. It was still worth the visit. There were little trees with homemade ornaments from all 50 states and some model trains running around the big tree. I can understand why at least 10,000 people were attracted to The Ellipse.

I finished my trip back at the Capitol. I spent quite a bit of time shooting multiple long exposures that I blended together in Photoshop to form a single image. The benefit being greatly increased dynamic range. All these shots are examples of this technique. You can find an essay describing the technique in my Essays section.

It was nice to get back out and shoot after a long past few months of what seemed like endless school work. I hope you enjoy the photos and had a great '06 holiday season.