Designed as a memorial symbolizing reunification of the North and South after the Civil War, Arlington Memorial Bridge links the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and Arlington House, as well as Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia. A neoclassical stone-arch bridge crossing the Potomac River, construction was completed in 1932. Memorial Bridge defines the western end of the National Mall.
Washington, D.C. has four distinct seasons, and while it has a milder winter than the northern states, it usually experiences some very cold days during winter. After a week-long cold spell, the Potomac River itself froze which it rarely does. I knew I wanted to get a shot of the iconic bridge and include the textures of the ice. As sunset transitioned to twilight, the bridge framed the Rosslyn skyline across the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia. With numb fingers I began the series of images.
This photo is a crop of an eighteen-image stitch, each input image comprised of four bracketed exposures to capture the wide dynamic range of the scene. With the subtle richness of the colors in the clear winter sky, an ethereal mood was set for the bridge spanning the frozen river. I chose to capture this with a mid-range macro lens for its crisp optics and shot a stitched panorama to achieve the depth and composition I envisioned which would have been impossible with a wide-angle lens.
Compositional flexibility aside, the VAST method allows for the high resolution necessary to create an immaculate fine art photographic print at any size. While not my largest panoramic stitch, this was made with eighteen images of an already high-resolution digital camera. The relative enlargements of each input image are minuscule when making a large format photographic print compared to enlarging a single photo so the resulting photo will retain even the smallest details.
I’m fascinated with the technical side and challenge it was to make the image, but most importantly I like the feeling this image provokes. Even on the coldest winter days, the monuments are beautiful to see. The mastery of the stonework ubiquitous in Washington, D.C. always impresses me. I’m glad I tried my luck with the cold and made my way here to capture this fleeting moment in time.
Date & Time | January 6, 2018: 6:35pm - 6:43pm |
Location | Arlington Memorial Bridge, Potomac River, Washington, D.C. |
Coordinates | 38.887351, -77.055474 |
Focal Length | 60mm |
Aperture | f/11 |
Shutter | 0.8 sec - 6 sec |
ISO | 400 |
Num of Exposures | 18 |
VAST photos are the highest resolution photos ever made.
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Total Pixels | 222,984,962 px |
Width | 21,118 px |
Height | 10,559 px |
Aspect Ratio | 2 : 1 |
Date & Time | January 6, 2018: 6:35pm - 6:43pm |
Location | Arlington Memorial Bridge, Potomac River, Washington, D.C. |
Coordinates | 38.887351, -77.055474 |
Focal Length | 60mm |
Aperture | f/11 |
Shutter | 0.8 sec - 6 sec |
ISO | 400 |
Num of Exposures | 18 |
Here are some rough guidelines for this specific photo: