Washington DC Monuments by Moonlight Photowalk

Final Update and TipsAugust 11th, 2022

Friends,
Only two more days! I am so excited, and it looks like our weather is going to be perfect!

The forecast in Washington DC has no rain and a high of only 81. It should be a very comfortable day for all of us!

Here are some last-minute reminders for you before our walk. I want this experience to be so enjoyable for all of you, so I tried to cover everything in this update and past updates to make sure you have everything you need to have a great time and enjoy yourself.
• We will meet at the Southeast corner of the Washington Monument at 7pm. This is the side of the monument by the glass enclosed entrance. We will be taking our group photo there right at 7pm, so please try to arrive on time so that you are in the photo!
• When I went out on my Monday evening dry run, I took note of all the bathroom locations for you. There are bathrooms along our path so if you need help finding one, please let me know and I can help you.
• The terrain we are taking is paved, flat and very easy to walk on. We do not have steep hills, other than the Lincoln Memorial steps should you decide to climb them. When it gets dark out in the second leg of our walk, the paths are well lit.
• I would definitely recommend dressing comfortable and wear comfortable shoes. You may even want to consider insect repellent, for the mosquitoes are drawn to the reflecting pool and the nearby Tidal Basin. I will be wearing a Kelbyone Photowalk 2022 t-shirt and shorts.
• I will have name tags for everyone, pre-made for you with everyone’s name on them. When you come to meet us at the Washington Monument, just please come pick it up. With our group size at 40 right now, I thought that this would be helpful to help you all remember everyone’s names. I will be wearing a KelbyOne Photowalk 2022 t-shirt and shorts.
• Please remember that safety is most important for everyone! Please stay hydrated and bring water with you.
• If you arrive late, or for whatever reason lose us, please refer to the itinerary I sent out two days ago. We are going to try to follow this very closely so that if anyone gets behind for whatever reason, you will know exactly where we are and when we will be there.
• Finally, if anyone has any questions at all, please go to our walk page on worlwidephotowalk.com and ask them there in the discussions tab. I will be checking this frequently, just in case anyone has any questions or comments, and I will reply there.
• I am bringing my camera gear, but I am planning mostly on just helping people who need it and answering any questions you may have. There is a photo contest that you can enter and I would highly encourage you submit your best image! We are going to be visiting some pretty awesome places and the potential to capture creative shots (especially at sunset and at night) will be everywhere! It would be great to have a winner from our group!
This should be my last update prior to our walk. Now we just need to meet at 7pm and have some fun!
Please remember that my phone number is 443 547-5850.
Have an awesome rest of your week and I will see you Saturday!

Our Itinerary for our Photowalk Saturday!August 9th, 2022

Hello all and Happy Tuesday!

Only five days until our walk! I cannot wait to meet you all there!
I had an opportunity on Monday evening to do a test drive of our scheduled walk this Saturday evening. And I did it in real time, trying to stay as close to the actual times we will be in each location. The evening on Monday and the sunset were just so magnificent, and watching the early evening sunset disappear, and the lights of the monuments come to life on a gorgeous summer evening was truly awesome. And with the weather forecast for Saturday in DC looking to rival Monday’s weather, it should be even more awesome for all of us!

For our walk on Saturday, I feel that we have a fun itinerary planned. Our path will pretty much take us from the Washington Monument around the reflecting pool, in a counterclockwise direction. (There is a reason for this, which you will learn later.)

Here is a schedule and a timeline for you to have, based much on what I learned during my dry run on Monday:

7:00pm: Participants arrive @ Washington Monument, check in and get nametag. We have almost 40 people signed up, so since it is a great crowd, I will make it easier to remember everyone’s names and bring name tags.

7:00pm to 7:15pm – We will do a group photo and then begin to walk west to the WWII Memorial

7:20pm: We will explore & photograph the WWII Memorial. This is a fantastic spot with endless opportunities for interesting compositions. We will be at this location twice on our walk, once during daylight and once at night. You will love having opportunities to photograph this location during the daylight and again at night. If you really want to have fun with this, I recommend a tripod or a platypod with an ND filter and use a slow shutter speed to give the moving water a silky look. I took my tripod out and nobody said a word to me.

7:40pm -7:55pm – walk west towards the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

7:55pm to 8:10 – explore the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and photograph. At this point, the sun should be setting, and all the monuments should start to have an orange warm glow. I found that at the Vietnam Memorial, reflections are a lot of fun to play around with and get creative with photographs.

8:10pm meet at soldier statue and walk to Lincoln Memorial

8:15pm explore Lincoln Memorial and photograph. We should stay here for 30 minutes and really take it all in and capture some beautiful photographs. During this time, the sky will become dark and this is when the real magic happens. Have some fun and photograph the reflecting pool and the memorial; climb the stairs to Abe Lincoln. One thing that is very important here. Tripods are forbidden in the Lincoln Memorial. I never had a problem with a Platypod, though!

8:45pm We will meet at the (SW corner) righthand side of reflecting pool edge and begin to walk to Korean War Memorial

8:50pm: We will explore the Korean War Memorial and photograph. This is why we are doing this part of the walk in the night, and why we started in a counterclockwise direction around the reflecting pool. This particular monument is not only haunting, but at night it absolutely stunning beautiful. You can capture some really beautiful images here, that stir up emotion and drama.

9:00pm meet @ American flag pole and walk along reflection pool to WWII Memorial

9:15pm explore the WWII Memorial again and photograph at night.

After this, we can then proceed to the CITY TAP Kitchen & Craft (next to Renaissance Hotel) It will be so great to meet so many new faces! Once inside, just tell the hostess that you are with the Photography Group and they will bring you over to our location. We have reserved for 40 beginning at 10pm.

I even went and had a meal inside the restaurant on Monday and it was great! The atmosphere is very casual, and it has kind of like a sports bar atmosphere. It was really good and it will be a lot of fun for all of us to enjoy!

Also, some tips for you about the restaurant location:
1. I drove into Washington and found a parking garage right next to our restaurant that only cost me $8.00! It is literally right next door and I used Spothero to reserve the spot. Very convenient!
2. I found that the best way to get to the Washington Monument from the restaurant is to take an Uber or Lyft. It only cost about $8.00. You can take the subway or the bus, but I found it is quicker and not much more money to just take rideshare.
3. The restaurant is reasonably priced and they accept all the major credit cards.
The restaurant time will be fun for all of us to have some good food and drink, socialize, maybe share some photos you took, anything at all!

I know that this was very long. But I hope that this is helpful for you to have, and maybe even helpful to those who want to know where we are at any given time during the walk.

If you need me for anything, my cell number is 443 547-5850. Please call or text anytime!

So excited to see you all there! Let’s take lots of photos, and I would love to see someone from our group win the photo contest! Also, let’s make sure that we support The Springs Of Hope Kenya Orphanage with our generous donations!
Thanks all!

Warm regards,
John

UpdatesAugust 4th, 2022

Hello everyone! Happy Thursday! I hope that wherever you are and whatever you are doing, that you are out of the heat and in comfortable air conditioning somewhere. It is HOT outside!

Just a couple of quick updates. And welcome to our newest members!

I was down in Washington DC last night, just checking out the areas we will be walking in and looking to see if there is any visible construction or scaffolding on any of the monuments along our planned walk. As of last night, everything looks awesome and we should have no issues!

One thing I did notice that despite the heat and humidity, it was still very crowded, especially in the Lincoln Memorial area on the steps. This should not be too much of an issue, for you can still get beautiful shots across the reflecting pool and the the Lincoln Memorial across the reflecting pool from the WW2 memorial. I still would recommend bringing a light tripod because since this is an evening sunset and night walk, you may want to set up a tripod to capture crisp and sharp images while still keeping your camera at it’s lowest ISO.

Right now, the planned walk is going to take us along the reflecting pool on both the North and the South sides, as we head east and west towards the Lincoln memorial and then back again towards the Washington Monument. We will have many beautiful places to shoot, including the monuments I mentioned, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Korean War memorial, which will look hauntingly beautiful for a night shot.

Also, please do not think you need to haul around heavy gear. You can even bring your iPhone with you and capture beautiful images. If you want to know what I plan on bringing, I am taking my Canon EOS R5, with my Canon RF 14-35 f/4 lens, and my Canon RF 70-200 lens, all in a thinktank backpack. But if all you plan on bringing is a smartphone, that is fine, too! I would travel as light as possible and definitely bring water! It is most important that we stay hydrated and healthy!

Also, I did stop at the restaurant we will meet at after the walk. It is in a great area, and the manager is very friendly and accommodating. The Tap House restaurant is located right next to the Renaissance Hotel. You do not need to go into the hotel and just simply walk to the corner on the same side as the hotel entrance and it is right there. The atmosphere is very casual, kind of like a sports bar atmosphere. It will be a lot of fun!

The restaurant is 1.3 miles from the Washington monument, which will be the last spot on our walk. If you want to take the Metro there, it is only two stops away. From the Smithsonian metro station, take the blue, orange, or silver line to Metro Center, and then a short walk to the restaurant from Metro Center. It is on the corner of I St. NW and 9th St. NW. We will have a table reserved for 30 under the name “Photography Photo-walk”.

My next update will likely be on Tuesday of next week, for I plan on going to the location one more time before our walk. I want to make this a very enjoyable and pleasurable experience for all of you, so I feel like there is never too much planning that could take place. On Monday, I am going to go to each of the locations we will shoot at, and try to match the approximate times we will be there, so I can look at lighting conditions at each spot which I hope will be close to the conditions we have on the night of our walk.

Thanks again for joining us! Let’s have some fun and please don’t forget to support the Springs of Hope Kenya Orphanage!

Have a great weekend, everyone!
John

Late Night DinnerAugust 2nd, 2022

OK, we have our table reserved! We will have to order off of the late night menu but it looks good and cheaper than the regular hour menu. But we are at the City Tap Country and Craft restaurant and our table is reserved under the name “Photowalk”.

901 9th St NW IN Washington DC is the address.

I’ll send out more information when we get closer to our walk date, but just know that I’ve reserved a place for us!

If anyone would like to see the menu, please email me at john@johndukesphotography.com. it doesn’t appear I can send screenshots or attachments in here.

Update on Restaurant meetup after the walkAugust 2nd, 2022

Hello everyone!

Can you believe that our walk is a week from Saturday? It is getting so close and I am so excited!

Thank you to everyone who has signed up for our Photowalk! We have almost 30 people registered so far. We even have some folks traveling from out of town to join us. It will be a lot of fun!

To those who have just recently signed up, please be sure to read the previous updates I sent out. It has some good information on parking, lodging, transportation, etc., along with my cell phone number, which I will provide again is 443 547-5850. I am hopeful that all of this information is very helpful for you.

I am working on securing us a place to eat after our walk. There are no shortages on good restaurants in Washington DC, but for a party of close to 30 people, most are looking for us to book a private event. As of right now, I am having a conversation with the restaurant manager of the City Tap Kitchen & Craft restaurant (https://www.citytap.com/location/penn-quarter/) but nothing is finalized yet. More to come so please check the updates.

I am still scoping the area and finalizing a walk map for us. More to come on this in the next few days and I should have something finalized no later than a week from today.

We are going to have a lot of fun enjoying the beautiful scenery, taking pictures, sharing some laughs, making new friends, maybe even winning a photo contest in our group (wouldn’t that be awesome?!). But please, in the midst of all the fun we are having, let us not lose sight of what this walk is about.

Your donations to the Springs of Hope Kenya Orphanage are so very important to these children. Even if each of us just donates as little as $1.00, your donation will go a long way in ensuring that these orphaned children are fed, housed, and educated. It is so awesome that we are part of a global movement to help these children. I am honored to participate in this and I hope you are, too!

More updates to come! I cannot wait to meet you all! Have an awesome Tuesday and enjoy the rest of your week!

Warm regards,
John

Updates on our DC PhotowalkJuly 29th, 2022

Great afternoon to you all! And Happy Friday!

I just wanted to keep you all updated on some things I am working on to make our DC walk fun, memorable, and enjoyable for all!

First, I want to thank the newest friends who have signed up as recently as yesterday and this morning! We now have exactly 20 people registered for our walk! So exciting!

I am working on securing us a place close by to the National Mall where we can all grab something to eat and enjoy some drinks and fun times at the end of our walk. I am trying to find a place that can support a group of 20 or possibly more, so more to come on this. I will let you know when I secure a spot for us.

I am also going to be preparing a map, which will outline the path we will be taking. I plan on making a few trips down to the area to make sure that everything is photograph friendly (no scaffolding, construction, etc.), so please stay tuned for this, too.

If you have not yet updated your phone with my number yet, I would recommend that you put it in your phone. Just a reminder that my number is 443 547-5850.

We are just a couple of weeks away! I am super excited to see you all there! I hope that you have a fantastic weekend, and thank you again for joining us on our evening walk in the nation’s capital!

Warm regards,
John

Update and After Walk MeetupJuly 26th, 2022

Thank you to our newest walkers who will be joining us on our photowalk! We are now up to 14 who have signed up for our walk.

I am working on securing us a restaurant or a bar where we could all meet after our walk is over. I have not yet secured a place for us yet, but I will let you know when I do.

I will be sending out updates to everyone when I have new information to give. For now, I just wanted to let you all know the number of participants we have to date and that I am working on securing a place for us to have fun and mingle after.

We will have a lot of fun and I am super excited to see you all there!

John

Tips on Washington DC Lodging – Parking – Public TransportationJuly 24th, 2022

Hello DC Photowalkers and Happy Sunday to you!

I know that we have a few folks who are from out of town who will be joining us on our Photowalk, so I wanted to make sure that you had some good suggestions on lodging, parking, and public transportation.

First, the DC Metro is the best way to travel around the Washington DC area, Trains are inexpensive, clean and efficient, and very likely convenient to just about anywhere in the city at all. Now, it is important to keep in mind that even though things may look relatively close on a map, it’s usually a requires some walking to get where you want to go. Nothing like a marathon, but it is rarely like New York City where the subway leaves you right at the front door of whatever destination you choose.

The closest Metro stops to our meeting place at the Washington Monument on the day of our walk, are Federal Triangle and Smithsonian. Either one of those stops will take you within walking distance of the Washington Monument.

Also, photography tip: the Smithsonian Metro station is awesome to photograph, too! The repeating patterns on the ceiling and the ability to get on the overpass above the tracks and shoot down as trains roll into the station make awesome compositions and interesting photographs!

Uber and Lyft are also very good options to travel. They are plentiful around the DC area, but more expensive than taking the trains.

If you are taking a car and driving, please be aware that parking can sometimes be a challenge in the DC area. I strongly recommend downloading an app on your iPhone called Spothero. Spothero is awesome with finding the many parking garages around the area and finding one close and within your budget. Parking can range anywhere from about $10 up to $35. I found one for $13.00 on Spothero at 424 11th St. NW.

VERY IMPORTANT! Be sure that the garage you choose to park your car is open at the time you want to pick up your car! Not all garages are 24×7 and if you come back too late after the garage closes, you might not be able to get your car until it opens the next morning! Make sure that you know this when you park. Spothero will give you the hours of the garage, so be sure to look at this when you reserve your spot.

For lodging, a great hotel to stay at that is only 1 mile away from the Washington Monument is The Marriott Marquis at 901 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20001. Hotels.com is a great place to go to find this hotel and others. You can even put in Washington Monument as your location, and the search engine will find the closest hotels.

I was also asked in the KelbyOne Community chat about safety in Washington DC. Washington DC does have bad areas, especially at night. But you almost have to deliberately and intentionally look for them to find them. The Federal Triangle area is very safe, and the area in the NW quadrant of the city is very safe.

By the way, when you see NW, NE, SW, SE, etc, this is how Washington DC is divided up and it sometimes confuses people from out of town. The locations are relative to the Capital building. For example, NW means that you are in the quadrant that is north and west of the capital building. This is important to remember when traveling around DC, for the same address, such as 123 Main St NW, and 123 Main St NE, are two different locations. Just a little tidbit on getting around.

I hope that you find this helpful! I cannot wait to see you all on the walk!

Warm regards,
John

Thank you for signing up for our Photowalk!July 22nd, 2022

Hi everyone! John here. I just wanted to send a great big thank you to all who have registered for our photowalk so far! We already have a dozen people signed up, with some familiar faces and some I have never met before. We are going to have a lot of fun and I am praying for good weather for our walk!

I will be sending out updates to all of you as we get closer to the date. Please check these messages for I will be sending out some details and important information that will be helpful for you in preparing for our walk together.

In the meantime, I just wanted to thank you all again and I want to especially thank you for your generous donations to Springs of Hope Kenya Orphanage. It is so awesome to think that we are part of a global effort to educate, house and feed those young orphans.

Stay tuned for more updates! And just as a heads up, my cell phone number is 443 547-5850. It would be a great idea to save this number in your phone now, just in case you need it. And please feel free to reach out to me for anything at all you might need. I am here to serve you and make your walk with us a memorable, pleasant and enjoyable time.

Hope that everyone has a great weekend! And thank you once again!

Warm regards,
John Dukes