Mark VanDyke Photography's photostream  

The Washington National Harbor Mixed-Use Development
Prince Goerge's County, Maryland
Accessed via Interstate 295
Taken: December 16, 2011

Every Friday for a month leading up to Christmas this past year the 300-acre Washington National Harbor mixed-use development just outside of Washington D.C. in Prince George's County, Maryland lit up the night sky with a fireworks display and coordinated light show. Along the harborfront was a sixty-foot Christmas tree adorned with over twenty-thousand lights that were coordinated with signage around the waterfront to display a pretty spectacular light show every hour on the hour. The largest hotel to the right of the frame is the spectacular Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, which had its own tree and light show within the eighteen story glass atrium. This hotel is the largest non-gaming hotel and conference center on the eastern seaboard according to coporate literature posted online. Several other large hotels and resorts are a part of this development, with the Westin clearly visible (the sail shaped glass corner) and the trendy, Aloft at mid-frame.

My first attempt at firework photography was a bit of a flop! I got a remote for my camera and tried out "bulb" mode--both firsts for me on that particular night, all the while trying to compose and expose a single exposure shot of the fireworks and the development. The only way to do a single exposure was to trigger the shutter some eight to ten seconds before the fireworks to allow the lights from the development to saturate the sensor enough and then hope that in the next ten seconds or so a blast of fireworks would illuminate the frame and add some interest to the otherwise dark skies! Needless to say, most of my frames had the fireworks off the frame altogether or poor exposures on one of the two elements. Regardless, a fun time and great practice for a type of photography that I had previously never done.

Sunrise at the Buxton Jetties
Dare County, North Carolina
Accessed via Lighthouse Road
Date taken: October 27, 2011

Around 1970 the US Navy installed three groins near the then location of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in attempts to slow or stop erosion that was threatening the structural integrity of the landmark. The jetties did not work; the lighthouse was eventually moved in 1999 to a location further inland. What the remaining jetties did provide for was a sandbar that made nearby surf breaks favorable. The Outer Banks as a barrier island reaching far offshore into the Atlantic Ocean has long been known as a surfing destination on the East Coast because of its relative lack of continental shelf, not to mention its offshore sandbars and tricky currents, creating waves with relatively high energy and intensity. The Buxton jetties remain an area of signifance for the surfing community. However, other areas, such as the "s-turns"--named for the highways topographical features just outside of Rodanthe--are where the majority of the action happens today.

Groins, jetties and seawalls are all part of strategies to slow or stop erosion known as hard structures, currently prohibted by North Carolina statute. As the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was an historic structure (versus a new building) that theoretically could not be moved at the time, the above Jetty photographed was an exception to the rule. Hard structures tend to rob sand from one area to use at another and are really only successful when combined with beach renourishment (trucking in sand). This particular issue of whether to institute hard structures or not (particularly at Oregon Inlet around the bridge) is very much alive and argued fervently from both sides. Unfortunately, like many issues in this country it has morphed into a political shit-storm (pardon my language); a polarizing issue about some folks caring more for the environment than for the economy and vice versa. I don't know what is right or wrong, but living near beaches that have and have not employed man-made hardened structures, I'll take the natural, sand-shifting, ever-changing beaches any day of the week--and yes, I'll bring my tourist dollars there as well.

Cape Hatteras Fishing Pier - Frisco
Dare County, Coastal North Carolina
Accessed via Beach Highway NC-12
Date Taken: October 24, 2011

Instead of my own thoughts on this one, I thought I would defer those interested to a far more well-written and entertaining piece of writing on the changing ways of life in the Outer Banks entitled, "The Good Ol' Days of Skinny Dipping on the Seashore are Over" by Dewey Parr over at Island Free Press:
www.islandfreepress.org/2012Archives/01.05.2012-Commentar...

Sunrise Behind the Capital Building
Washington, District of Columbia
Accessed via Constitution Avenue
Taken: January 1, 2012

A somewhat pedestrian shot of the west face of the United States Capital Building with the Christmas Tree and dome lit up in the reflecting pool as the sun rises behind. A perception from this morning: driving into the District and walking around at six in the morning the day after New Years celebrations is rather peaceful, both on and off the road! There are always a large number of joggers, photographers and other individuals up and around on the streets of Washington D.C.--on this morning, while still a number of people, it was rather peaceful overall. On another note, I read in the Washington Post Newspaper this morning, January 2nd, that the homicide total for the District in 2011 was the lowest since 1963--just over one hundred, or about two per week (hmmmmm....). While the District has come a long way since the days of being known as "the murder capital of the world" and/or the "city of unsolved homicides," it is a long way from the mountains of Western North Carolina and the Blue Ridge Parkway in terms of my personal comfort level with a camera ;-) However, for those that have never been, I don't want to paint a false picture with those statements; I find Washington D.C. to be extremely safe and comfortable--full of tourists and active residents, with a super visible and plentiful police presence in and around the National Mall and other tourist attractions. The human scale of, and amount of detail in, the architecture and monuments are really quite amazing. Like any large urban area, just pay attention to where you are and what is around you; in short, use common sense. I bring my father's German Shepherd and I don't own a smart phone or tablet (apparently hot items)--the combination seems to work wonders ;-)

Sunrise at Great Falls Park
Fairfax County, Northern Virginia
Accessed via Georgetown Pike

A fall line is a geologic boundary or transitional area where the hard, upland terrain changes to the sandy and relatively flat terrain of the coastal region. Great Falls on the Potomac River are the steepest fall line rapids on any eastern river. At only twenty feet or so in height, the actual individual waterfalls are not necessarily epic in nature; however, the Potomac River drops a total of over seventy-five feet in elevation in less than a mile, creating an overall mirage of cascades that taken together are quite impressive. Not to mention, the Potomac River squeezes into Mather Gorge below the falls, narrowing from over one-thousand feet wide above the falls to nearly sixty feet in width below, shouldered on both sides by steep, nearly vertical rock walls. For many residents living in or around the Nation's Capital, this is the most epic natural feature available.

Happy New Years to all of my Flickr contacts and friends! May the new year bring with it health and plenty of time to get out and create some new photographs!