Flowers were not the only things on the grounds.  This five foot black snake was hanging in a branch.  It looked as if he had recently eaten.

Roses were everywhere and little details hidden at the turns.  Statuary imported from Europe was tucked in to corners or near the fountains.  Peonies may be my favorite flower.  The delicacy and the complexity fascinate me.

Canvas Texture

Here is a nine shot panorama of the view of the rose garden.  I could force myself to find a quiet retreat in one of the little pavilions.  All in all it was just a nice day.

Roger’s nice photos from the Gold Cup reminded me that shooting photos of horses can be quite rewarding.  Especially here in VA horse country, there are lots of opportunities to just stop by the side of the road and see pastures full of them, doing what they do best.  Several members of our Fauquier Viewfinders Camera Club own horses and delight in showing endless photos of them.

Unfortunately, many pictures are of the horse just standing around.  To really engage your viewer, you need to show a bit of the personality of the animal in your picture.  Horses are curious, if you are quiet and non-threatening; they will come over to examine you. 

Catching them in motion, especially trained horses can be even more interesting.  When you can get a fog machine as well…well, that is a horse of a different color.  Oh wait, that is material for another blog.

I got a last-minute invite from a photog buddy, and we went out to join the crowds (about 50,000).  The weather wasn’t too hot; the skies were overcast, giving us even light but boring skies.  It was a great day for the races.  Robert Duvall presented the trophy to the winner.

These events are as much about “meeting and greeting” as they are about the horse races.  We didn’t have too much time to go out and shoot photos of the crowds before the races, but, as in Kentucky, Gold Cup folks were wearing their hats.

The ladies had on their new sun dresses and were sporting fresh paint jobs on their toes.  Even the band wore fancy hats and skirts.  

Unlike the Kentucky Derby, we had six races around a meadow course, with jumps scattered throughout.   Each race was a different length (2-4.5 miles), and the riders came from different directions.  The crowd was on the rails cheering them on.

We found a spot on the rails between a couple of jumps to maximize our shooting options.   Our shooting position offered two different jumps and an open stretch.

With fast-moving subjects, we bumped up the ISO to keep the shutter speeds above 1/1000 and the racers sharp.  Between the jumps, we shot them racing by at a full gallop.

It was a fun day at the races for all.  Something I’d never done before.  There is another race in October to give me another chance.  I’m betting the grandchildren would really enjoy being there, too.   Sharing the experience is one of the things that makes photography so much fun.

Starting with the pregame hoisting of the team flag, it was just a lot of fun.

It always reminds me as the teams are introduced; just what a rich American tradition this game represents. It still is touching to watch soldiers unfurl and wave the huge flag.

Finally, the first pitch and the game begins.  Here in DC they have the between innings Presidents race.  In five seasons, Teddy has never won.  To start the season, he tied the shoelaces of George, Tom and Abe together so they stumbled and fell out of the starting gate.  It looked like he might win…, but no, Tom took off his shoes and passed him at the tape.  Oh, well.

Oh and the game, well the Nats won and they are actually in 1^st place.

Early in the week, I took a beginning photographer to for a sunrise shoot at the Tidal Basin, near the Jefferson Memorial.  The weather was lousy, but, the cherry blossoms don’t last forever, so we went.  Sure enough, we were shrouded by fog.  Since we drove in at 530 am, we made the best of the weather.  Many other photographers were there, apparently having made the same decision that some photographs were better than no photographs.

The fog and mist shrouded the Washington monument, too, obscuring the top.  It wasn’t the photograph we were hoping for, but it was still an interesting look.  I think the only thing my shooting partner learned was to avoid photowalks with me.

Later in the week, Mark and I took a walk in the area around our hotel.  I was concentrating on architectural details, trying to work on my abstract vision.  I struggle with abstracts, especially in architecture.  I’m much more confident finding a smile from a whiny, little kid than finding compelling lines and shapes in the building he lives in.  The only way to improve is to practice, so I kept my eyes open for some abstracts.

We came across St. Mary’s Catholic Church, established in 1864.  The light outside made the stones pop, and the window reflection caught my eye.

The caretaker saw our cameras and kindly offered to let us into church.  I wasn’t carrying a flash, so I cranked up the ISO to 6400.  I thought the swirl of the supports were pretty interesting.  It’s a little orange, but that’s the way it looked.  I played with the color balance, but went back to the original because it just looked better.

As we were walking back – my brain aching from trying to warp it into abstract mode – we came across some window washers about five stories up from the street.  These guys were swinging all over the place, putting on a show for the onlookers below.  The shooting angle was less than ideal, but I needed at least one shot of a person to finish my day.  With some manipulation in the Lens Corrections panel, I was able to get rid of some of the perspective problems.  Joe McNally would probably have climbed the building across the street from them to get it right in the camera.  Oh, well….