There are miles of trails through the woods, a plaza with a statue of TR and nice views of the Kennedy Center across the channel and the Francis Scott Key Bridge upstream. Reachable by footbridge from a parking lot off the outbound George Washington Parkway or via the Mount Vernon Trail from the Rosslyn Metro Station, Roosevelt Island is an 88 acre sanctuary in the middle of the Potomac River.
Boulders or Rapids section of Rock Creek ParkĪ quiet nature refuge in the city. I like shooting from the area around the Rapids Bridge, but the Boulder Bridge can also make a nice composition. The vibrant greens of Spring or orange-yellows of Autumn are particularly beautiful times of year to photograph here. This is best early in the morning or late in the afternoon (or on a cloudy day) when there is not a strong contrast between sunlight and shadow. Beach Drive mostly follows the east bank of the creek and a hiking trail skirts the west bank. This section is closed to vehicular traffic on weekends, requiring you to walk in from a parking area off Broad Branch Road at Beach Drive. My favorite part is the Boulders or Rapids Section, a one-mile stretch where the creek flows through a small gorge that has deposited large boulders in the streambed. Established as a park in 1890 and designed, in part, by Frederick Law Olmstead, it includes woodlands and meadows, massive bridges where Beach Drive goes under Connecticut Avenue and Calvert Street, hiking trails and picnic areas. Rock Creek runs through the northwest quadrant of the city, past the Zoo, and empties into the Potomac near Georgetown. If you’re at the National Zoo, you’re not far from another, lesser known scenic site. National Capitol Columns at the US Arboretum You’ll need a car to get here but, unless it’s a pleasant weekend day or during the azalea bloom, you’ll not see crowds of tourists. Standing in a meadow, they generally get good morning and late afternoon light. They were removed during a late 1950s remodeling of the Capitol and erected here in the 1980s. Near the center of the property stand 22 Corinthian columns that were originally part of the east front of the US Capitol building. Hillsides of azaleas, a collection of bonsai trees, a classical Chinese garden, a koi pond and miles of roads and walking paths that crisscross the Arboretum. Off New York Avenue in the Northeast quadrant of DC lies the National Arboretum, almost 450 acres of gardens and plants. Note that commercial photography in National Parks or on federal property requires a permit and some crowded areas like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial or places with security concerns like the US Capitol Building prohibit tripods. The trick is to find the ones to which most tourists don’t go. Most will have their own iconic and little-known parks and statues, churches and vistas, unique neighborhoods and locations for street photography. While this list is specific to Washington, DC, you could use it as a guide to finding similar places in almost any large city. The rest will wind up there, once I get my butt up and away from a desk and out shooting again!
Many are also found in Improve Photography’s Really Good Photo Spots app (rGPS). Quite a few are near popular tourist destinations, but don’t get the same amount of traffic. Some are reachable by public transit and some require a car. Some of these spots are interesting buildings, some are natural areas and gardens, and some are vantage points. The customized Google map (shown above) will help you locate them.Įach of these locations is within DC or directly across the river in Arlington (spots in the nearby suburbs merit an article of their own). I love the iconic shots as much as anyone, but I also like getting far from the madding crowd and finding interesting sights and neighborhoods. As a visitor, of course you’ll take the typical shots of the monuments, government buildings, zoo and museums! But, if you want to get away from the hordes of selfie-stick-toting tourists, here are some of my favorite off-the-beaten-path photo locations.īecause it's my list, it's subjective and by no means comprehensive. Hello and welcome to Washington, DC! I was born here and love this town.
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