Lone Tree

The starkness of winter's trees fascinate me. Other than the colors of autumn, the barren trees during the winter months are my favorite to photograph and keep my camera and creativity riveted. Walking through the National Mall just after dawn last week, I enjoyed how the gray overcast skies made this leafless tree look so isolated and solitary.

Vietnam Women's Memorial

While Washington, DC has many monuments and memorials, there are not many in honor of American women and their contributions to the nation. However, the Vietnam Women's Memorial Foundation worked to fix this oversight and honor the more than 11,500 American women who served in Vietnam War with this sculpture on the National Mall. About 90 percent of women Vietnam veterans served as medical personnel, providing medical treatment and comfort to an estimated 300,000 wounded military service members during the conflict. The memorial consists of four figures -- three nurses and a wounded soldier. Designed as a sculpture in the round, the third nurse is not visible in this photograph. Here's what its sculptor, Glenna Goodacre, shared about the memorial's design:

My first concern in designing this sculpture was to arrange the four figures in a composition that is interesting from all angles: a true sculpture in the round. The photos from Vietnam often included stacks of sandbags. It seemed natural for a nurse – in a moment of crisis – to be supported by sandbags as she serves as the life support for a wounded soldier lying across her lap. The standing woman looks up, in search of a med-i-vac helicopter or, perhaps, in search of help from God.

The kneeling figure has been called “the heart and soul” of the piece because so many vets see themselves in her.She stares at any empty helmet, her posture reflecting her despair, frustrations, and all the horrors of war. The soldier’s face is half-covered by a bandage, creating an anonymous figure with which veterans can identify. Even though he is wounded, he will live. I want this to be a monument for the living.

Located near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial which is a memorial honoring the dead, this tribute to the living is the perfect juxtaposition. It beautifully expresses their emotions of compassion, anxiety, fatigue, and dedication during this conflict.

A Single Wreath

What a sad Friday. My heart hurts watching footage of Japan's destruction and loss due to an 8.9 earthquake, tsunamis and subsequent aftershocks. As we saw in Haiti, Chile, New Zealand, Pakistan, Mississippi, Louisiana, among other places, nature is a powerful force and natural disasters can happen anywhere. We, humans, are merely pieces on the Earth's chess board. Today, I will honor those still trapped in Japan's rubble, in danger due to the failure of damaged nuclear plants, and those already lost in my thoughts and prayers. This moment is a reminder that while we cannot stop natural disasters from occurring, we must prevent human-caused disasters we have control over, such as ongoing conflicts in Libya and Sudan.

Peaceful Colors

After the sad news from Japan and Libya this morning, we all need some peaceful images. The nave of the Washington National Cathedral is one of my favorite places to sit and be quiet. Filtered by such beautiful stained glass windows, distilled daylight fills the open space and envelops visitors with peace and calm. While I don't believe that connecting to a higher power requires a structure, such as a cathedral, I do understand how such artistry and majesty can inspire spiritual contemplation.

Such Great Heights

This is what the Washington National Cathedral looks like if you lie on the ground and point the camera lens toward the sky. The cathedral is so tall, I needed to lie quite a distance away from the building in order to capture this tower in the frame. Even at that distance, I could only photograph part of one of its sides. After reading Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth historical novel about building a cathedral, I have a deeper appreciation for the skill and artistry involved in designing and building these soaring towers and elaborate buttresses. They truly seem as if they are reaching up and touching the bright blue heavens.

Ghostly View

I started my morning today with a quick stroll on the National Mall for a photo project I'm working on, and discovered a new photo perspective at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I've always loved that the material used for the wall acts as a mirror, reflecting the image of the people looking at the names on its surface. It was an innovative way for the memorial's architect Maya Lin to humanize the monument and make it a more personal experience for visitors. We, or our loved ones, could easily have been names on this wall.

Since it was too early for tourists to be visiting the wall this morning, I got an unobstructed view of the wall's reflection and noticed that it can reflect the landscape around it as well. What a haunting way to see the trees on the National Mall and the Washington Monument. And yet, even while admiring the reflected vista, you can still see the thousands of names etched on the black granite and not miss the impact of its solemn tribute.

A Silent Monument

Here's another look at the North Carolina Monument at Gettysburg National Military Park. What spectacular faces! These North Carolina regiment soldiers' faces express so much real emotion and  action. As a photographer, I much prefer sculpture of the human figure to be realistic instead of abstract. Realistic depictions of the human form express so much more when photographed than more modern art approaches to sculpture of human figures. What's your preference -- realistic or abstract?