Dupont Circle

Dupont Circle is a traffic circle, park, historic district and vibrant neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C. It has a Metro stop of the same name on the red line. (One of the entrances can be seen in this picture…can you find it?) This bustling neighborhood is a gathering place for people of all walks of life, home to festivals, a lively restaurant and bar scene, and is a great place to pass the time and play some chess at one of the permanent tables. Dupont Circle’s centralized location provides quick access to the National Mall, Georgetown, and most other parts of the city, not to mention it’s the home of the iconic Kramerbooks on Connecticut Ave NW.

These streets tell the story of the convergence of paths of many people, including my own. Commuting has brought me here more times than not. Biking around Dupont Circle from P St to New Hampshire Ave during rush hour is both exhilarating and harrowing; taking in the many happenings while dodging cars trying to make it out in intact. Along one of my commutes I found the Dupont Circle Hotel and booked a fancy room for my wife’s birthday in 2015 as a surprise splurge and treat. I couldn’t resist the potential photographic opportunity and brought my camera gear just in case a shot presented itself. From a balcony overlooking the area, we took in the scene over a cocktail before dinner while I “quickly” shot this 45-image panoramic stitch.

This panorama of one Washington, D.C.’s most well-known neighborhoods spans nearly 270 degrees, a perspective impossible to achieve even with an ultra-wide fisheye lens. My goal with this VAST photo was to bring the entire scene into the image, through a refreshing perspective that the elevated position provided. Each image is a blend of three exposures to capture the tones of the cityscape along with the dramatic clouds. I intentionally left some of the resulting “ghosts” from movement in-between frames since after all, the city is always in motion, and I like the effect! I get a kick out of the number of people who view this photo and struggle to guess the location since they are used to seeing Dupont Circle at ground-level.

This picture was my largest stitch at the time and is one of my favorites. Years later I still regularly explore this high-resolution fine art photographic print up close on my living room wall to see what I might find. Dupont Circle is a Washington, D.C. landmark full of life which can be seen in hyper-realistic detail from the Washington Monument and Washington National Cathedral in the distant horizon to the deep green canopy of mature trees in the park. A gathering place for bike couriers to catch up in between calls, a bus transfer point for a commuter finishing up a hard week at work, or a picnic area for a grey squirrel to enjoy an afternoon snack, Dupont Circle at springtime offers something for just about everyone.