Macro photograph of a flower in stained glass at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC

Macro photograph of a flower in stained glass at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC

Macro photograph of a flower in stained glass at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC

The stained glass window that contained these flowers is in a staircase off to the side of the balcony at the National Cathedral, and it’s fair to say that I would have missed this window had I not gotten lost trying to find my way back downstairs. Luckily, there was just enough room on the sill for me to set-up my tripod and get myself wedged into the window sill to take these photos.

A bird flies high above the roof of the U.S. Botanic Gardens

This photograph was another attempt to find more light in the U.S. Botanic Gardens. Looking up, I saw the structured grid created by the panes on the greenhouse roof being intersected by another diagonal structure, which looks to be a stairway to the observation catwalk. Rather than frame the shot with horizontal and vertical lines, I framed a canted angle and waited for the bird in the sky to fly into the right position. In the far right corner, you can just make out the silhouette of a tall plant stretching itself into the frame as if to remind you that the botanic still rules this roof.

A door lock is surrounded by layers of peeling paint.

A padlock keeps shut a door with peeling yellow paint.

A door lock hole offers a window to the other side of dilapidated door.

There’s a yellow and blue door on the front of the Crystal Pool building in Glen Echo Park, Maryland to keep people from getting to the other side of the wall. Like the building itself, the two doors are dilapidated with paint cracking and peeling from top to bottom. What’s left of the paint doesn’t do much to protect the doors from the elements, but their texture gave them a dimension and depth to match the history of the park.

Ivy grows on a crumbling white wall of a building in Glen Echo Park, Maryland.

Ivy grows against a wall with peeling red paint in Glen Echo Park, Maryland.

Close-up of ivy against a white wall

Ivy grows on a red wall of a building in Glen Echo Park, Maryland.

I don’t know the name of this ivy, but it seems to be growing everywhere across the Washington, DC area. This was especially true for the Crystal Pool building in Glen Echo Park, Maryland where the ivy covered much of the right side of the building. It’s probably not accurate to even call the Crystal Pool building a building since there’s nothing but green grass behind its facade, but it’s interesting how the organic manages to thrive as the man-made object slowly deteriorates against time and the elements.

The front of an antique blue car parked on the streets of Capitol Hill

The rear of an antique blue car parked on the streets of Capitol Hill

Since I’d made plans to meet some friends at the Folger Shakespeare Library one Saturday morning, I decided to get to Capitol Hill early to take a few photographs to finish off a roll of slide film. After walking around for thirty minutes, I came across this antique car parked on the street. I’m sure that if I reviewed all of the slides, I’d find one with the actual brand of the car visible.

I suppose knowing the brand isn’t that important, but what I remember most is that there was a pothole filled with water about three feet from me. As a result, muddy water would splash on me every time a car would drive by. When I got to the Folger Library, everyone wondered why I was covered in brown water spots.