Woodrow Wilson Bridge At Night

Living in the Washington DC metro area, there are so many opportunities abound to take a “postcard shot.”  You know, the type of photo that you would probably see on a postcard that would be sold to tourists visiting the area.

I don’t mind taking those types of shots.  Since its so accessible, why not take advantage of it from time to time.

This shot is an example of just that.

Many people, I’m sure, despise the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.  It mocks the commuters who travel over it day in and day out.  But as a photo subject, it can be quite picturesque.

To get this shot, I just headed down to the boardwalk just north of Jones Point Park in Alexandria, VA.  I’ve never been down in that area before, so I just decided to park and walk around until I found a great view.

The first area I shot from was kind of a blocked-off construction zone closer to the bridge.  I had to go through some roped off areas to get to it, but no one seemed to mind me being there.

I then moved back a bit to a more visitor friendly area.  It was from the pedestrian friendly boardwalk that I took this shot.  This was taken at f/5 for 30 seconds at ISO 100.  I timed it so that I would have a plane that just took off from Reagan National Airport to fly overhead in the frame.

As I take more and more long exposures, I’m noticing that I’m not getting the diffraction star patterns on the point light sources that I’d like to get.  I think in order to do that, I need to shoot at a smaller aperture (say, f/18 or f/22).  But in order to do that, I need to buy a cable release to shoot on the bulb setting to for a longer exposure.

Where do you like to take long exposure photographs?  Feel free to share in the comments.