U.S. Capitol Rotunda

The United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., is home to the United States Congress and legislative branch of the federal government. With its distinctive neoclassical style architecture, it was originally completed in 1800. It has been expanded over time with the Capitol Dome and completed in 1863 after being adorned by the Statue of Freedom that sits atop the dome. Arguably the most recognizable building in the United States, the Capitol Building attracts millions of visitors per year.

The ceiling of the Rotunda in the U.S. Capitol Building features a fresco in the canopy over the eye of the inner dome and a sculpted frieze at the base of the dome. Constantino Brumidi, previously a painter for the Vatican, painted The Apotheosis of Washington in true fresco on the canopy in 1865. The figures, up to 15 feet tall, were painted to be intelligible from close up as well as from 180 feet below. The frescoed frieze in the belt just below the 36 windows was painted to give the illusion of a sculpted relief. The scenes designed by Brumidi trace America's history from the arrival of Columbus to the discovery of gold in California, with emphasis on Spanish explorers and the Revolutionary War.

As with any building, time and weather have taken their toll. In 2015, restoration began on the Capitol Dome to fix damaged paint, stone, cast iron, decorative elements in the Rotunda, and more than 1000 cracks. The paint was also restored to more historically accurate colors. Like other photos of mine in Washington, D.C., logistical access to get the compositions I envision can be challenging. I’ve visited the Rotunda before via the standard tour, in which the history and details of the building are really brought to life. While I admired the inner dome of the U.S. Capitol Building, I never had high hopes of getting a great photo. This visit was no different. I needed to be in the exact center of the room and use my panoramic stitching setup on a tripod to get the composition and quality I’d like, and the center is blocked off to allow for hundreds of visitors at a time to pass through.

After taking the kids to school, I took the metro there in the middle of the week in early December, hoping to get a slow day to better my odds. After miserably failing to do a hand-held stitch from near the center as the tour group went on, I figured I may as well attempt my envisioned shot with my panoramic rails on my table-top tripod in the true center point. After all, if I’m stopped, at least I tried! Thanks to two gracious Capitol Police Officers, I can share this photo. One told me within seconds of starting that I couldn’t be there. I kept photographing as I tried to explain what I was doing, how it’d only work from the center, it’d only take a minute…I think just to get me to shut up one told me to “make it quick”. That I did! They waited while I shot the series as my group tour had moved on long before. It may take another photographer to appreciate the feeling of cloud nine I was on for days. For these Capitol Police Officers, it was a simple gesture to let some random guy take his photos, but for me it was much much more. It’s this giddy feeling of getting a bucket-list photo of mine that I never thought possible…capturing something beautiful in a photograph that keeps me inspired and will drive me to do this for the rest of my life.