A
H O M E P H OTO G R A P H S
A G A I N BY
A B O U D
DW E C K
WASHINGTON, D.C. H O M E
A G A I N
P HOTOG R A P HY A N D T EX T BY A B O U D DW E C K
Design by Elizabeth R. Feeney
Since our country’s birth our military has guarded
and guaranteed our freedom. In times of peace or times of conflict, it is our charge to acknowledge their sacrifices and that of their families.
This book is dedicated to those patriots whose valor leaves us in awe.
Introduction As a 10-year kid in Washington I went on school field trips to the National Mall, museums
and monuments. Our teachers tried to instill in us a sense of history and citizenship.
A great idea, but as you might expect, for some of us, getting out of class was our collective joy. We didn’t pay much attention to the Mall’s vista or the Ionic columns of the Jefferson Memorial. We did however, notice the ice cream vendors and souvenir stands on Constitution Avenue. I was in D.C. through high school, then college, and even did my military service at Andrews Air Force Base. Afterwards, I needed a change of venue and I left my hometown to pursue my photography career. I traveled all over this country taking photographs for a variety of clients on a myriad of subjects. Eventually my work brought me back home. Twenty-five years had passed. This time I saw Washington, D.C. for what it was, a beautiful city, unique to the USA and one of the most beautiful capitals in world. Perhaps it was maturity, I now appreciate those 36 Doric columns of the Lincoln Memorial, the striking Beaux Arts design of the Library of Congress and the diversity of museums. As an architectural photographer I found myself captivated by the city. What started out as early morning strolls to take a few photos on the mall became a renewed love affair with my hometown. I began to feel the pull on my heart and soul of something I left behind long ago. I went to the same sites 3 or 4 times looking for the perfect light and composition. With each visit I developed a stronger bond with Washington, D.C. Its beautiful and imposing structures assembled in an open design, for me, reflect the strength and freedom that is America. My hope is that in these photographs you will see and feel what I do, our nation’s capital as the perfect metaphor for our country, our people, and the uniquely American spirit that lives within us all.
D.C. STORY I
was drawn to this photographic project by the beauty of Washington. As I visited some of these sites several times, I got caught up in the history of how Washington, D.C. became the capital of the United States. I knew Philadelphia was the first capital. What I didn’t know is that there were seven others, including, for one day, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It seems the Continental Congress was run out of Philly by the Redcoats and that’s where they met, but that’s another story. The Resident Act of 1790 gave President George Washington the authority to pick a new venue for the capital. The site along the Potomac was a compromise to satisfy both James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, who wanted a more southern location out of New York. Pierre L’Enfant learned of this, wrote to the president asking for the gig to plan the city and got it. Typical of how things work in Washington now, there were also three commissioners, the president and Secretary Jefferson overlooking the planning. L’Enfant was to provide drawings of sites for the federal city and the public buildings. Perhaps seeing a chance to boost his already successful civil engineering practice in New York, he went beyond the original mandate and took it upon himself to design the federal buildings as well. His plans were not what you would call modest. L’Enfant saw the “President’s House” as having public gardens and monumental architecture. He designed it to be five times the size of the building that was actually built, which would have made it the largest residence in America at the time. As you might imagine, Jefferson didn’t take to L’Enfant’s grandiose design, and L’Enfant’s insistence that his concept for the city be completed intact as designed didn’t sit well with him either. Secretary Jefferson and President Washington were having none of that and he was fired. The project was turned over to surveyor Andrew Ellicott. L’Enfant, I would assume in a fit of pique, refused to give his original plans to Ellicott. That might have squirreled the whole deal, but Ellicott had a secret weapon, his associate, Benjamin Banneker. This is where it gets really interesting. Banneker, a free African American surveyor, almanac author, naturalist and farmer, was able to reproduce a complete layout of the streets, parks, and major buildings from memory! Ellicott was then able to complete his revisions and the capital city’s development went forth. In the end it was a modified version of L’Enfant’s vision that became Washington, D.C. American history was my favorite and best subject in high school. I’m curious as to why I never heard the name of the incredibly talented Benjamin Banneker back then. The story of Washington D.C. would be very different were he not in it. I have to wonder what it might look like.
Source: Library of Congress. Andrew Ellicott revision of Pierre L’Enfant’s plan, Thackara & Vallance sc., Philadelphia 1792.
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Early morning aerial view of Iwo Jima, the United States Marine Corps Memorial. The statue is based on a photograph by combat photographer Joe Rosenthal.
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19 Stainless steel statues by Frank Gaylor represent the four branches of service during the Korean War.
The Mural Wall. This 164-foot wall has 41 American black granite panels. The etchings in the panels were made from 2,400 Korean War photos obtained from the National Archives.
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Korean War Memorial Pool of Remembrance
World War II Memorial, Freedom Wall and fountains, night view
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Service, Sacrifice, Unity, and Victory through stone architecture and bronze sculptures, the World War II Memorial recognizes the ways Americans served, honors those who fell, and recognizes the victory they achieved to restore freedom and end tyranny around the globe. — View from the Atlantic to Pacific fountains (Source: NPS)
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The United States Air Force Memorial “Spires.� Three stainless steel arcs against the sky evoke the image of the Air Force Thunderbirds. Three of four contrails suggest the missing man formation.
A reflection of the Honor Guard sculpture in the granite wall with notations of air combat campaigns and a partial reflection of the Spires.
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Aerial river view of the Pentagon and Marina
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Arlington Cemetery is the final resting place
for more than 400,000 active duty service members, veterans and their families.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial lists the names of more than 58,000 Americans who gave their lives in service to their country.
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Tomb of the Unknowns and Arlington Cemetery Amphitheater
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Section 21, the Nurses Section. A granite statue of a World War One nurse in uniform sculptured by Frances Rich looks out on Section 21. The monument was erected in 1938 “To Commemorate Devoted Service To Country and Humanity By Army, Navy, and Air Force Nurses�. (Source: Arlington National Cemetery).
Arlington House, the Custis-Lee Mansion. Built by George Washington Parke Custis to honor his grandfather, the first president. Arlington was the name of the Custis family ancestral estate in the Virginia tidewater area.
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The Beaux Arts and Neoclassical fountain was
designed by Henry Bacon and sculpted by Daniel Chester French. Three figures represent the Sea, the Stars and the Wind. The marble fountain, honoring Samuel Francis Du Pont of the U.S. Navy, was dedicated in 1921.
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Shaw, originally called Uptown, is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the District of Columbia, having
grown out of freed slave encampments in what was then the rural outer boundaries of the city. In the late 19th and 20th centuries, it was, before Harlem, the center of African American intellectualism and culture.
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Capitol Hill Neighborhood
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The National Cathedral was completed in 1990, the culmination of a two-century
long plan for a majestic Gothic style cathedral. Located on a landscaped 57 acre plot on Mount Saint Albans in Northwest Washington, the top of the tower is the highest point in the city. The building features a myriad of architectural elements, materials and many works of art including over 200 stained glass windows, most of which are decorative elements with Christian symbolism.
Washington National Cathedral ceiling
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Vestibule to main sanctuary
First Citizen, statue of George Washington at National Cathedral
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The Basilica’s Greek style interior domes are decorated with mosaic featuring traditional American renditions of Catholic images.
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The main alter of the Monastery is covered by a large
baldachin (canopy) supported by four columns, each containing three of the twelve apostles. The inside of the baldachin features the words of Ave Maria and scenes of the life of Mary.
The
Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in
America, founded 1899. A Byzantine style church on 42 acres with replicas of Holy Land shrines, Lourdes Grotto and catacombs, a cloister walk and magnificent gardens in Northeast Washington, D.C.
(Source: Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America)
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Night time aerial view of Memorial Bridge and the Lincoln Memorial.
Capitol east face from the National Mall, before dawn
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An aerial view of the Supreme Court, Capitol and Mall at sunset.
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National Museum of African American History and Culture. Appears as an inverted stepped pyramid with a corona inspired by the 3-tiered crowns used in Yoruban art. Architect David Adjaye’s ornamental bronze-colored metal lattice pays homage to the intricate ironwork that was crafted by enslaved African Americans in Louisiana, South Carolina, and elsewhere. (Source: NMAAHC)
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Smithsonian Arts & Industry Building. This building has a special role among Smithsonian buildings as the first United States National Museum when opened in 1881.
Gardens
at the Smithsonian Institution.
Designed by architect James Renwick, Jr., the building is constructed of red sandstone in the Norman style, a combination of late Romanesque and early Gothic motifs in the 12th century. Founded 1846 the Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, consisting of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park, and nine research facilities. (Source: The Smithsonian Institution)
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Fountain of Light and Water is a classical renaissance sculpture by Frederic Auguste
Bartholdi, who later designed the Statue of Liberty. Made of cast iron, painted to look like bronze, it is 30 feet high. It originally stood at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia before it was purchased in 1877 by the United States government. (Source: Architect of the Capitol)
The architecture of the Conservatory at the
United States Botanical Garden employs two greenhouse traditions, the Lord & Turnham greenhouse
and
the
neoclassical
revival
design limestone building. Constructed by the Architect of the Capitol in 1933, this greenhouse contains two courtyard gardens and 10 garden rooms under glass, totaling 28,944 square feet of growing space.
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The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is modeled after the Pantheon of Rome. Architect John Russel Pope used Jefferson’s architectural tastes in its design. Rudolph Evans’ statue of Thomas Jefferson looks out toward the White House. It was intended to represent the Age of Enlightenment and Jefferson as a philosopher and statesman. (Source: National Park Service)
Thomas Jefferson statue and inscriptions
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I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. — This quote appears under the dome of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC.
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Chinese artist Lei Yixin sculpted the statue
of King and the Stone of Hope. The memorial became a U.S. National Park on August 28, 2011 on the 48th anniversary of Dr. King’s “I have a Dream” speech. N.Y. Times art critic Edward Rothstein said the depiction of King was overly stern, however, King’s son, Martin Luther King III said he was pleased with his sternness. “Well if my father was not confrontational, given what he was facing at the time, what else could he be?”
(Source: Melanie Eversley, USA Today, July 2011).
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Architect
Henry Bacon’s inspiration for the
design of the Lincoln Memorial was the Athenian temple known as the Parthenon. His neoclassical tribute to Lincoln took eight years to complete.
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The 19-foot tall statue of Abraham Lincoln
was the design of sculptor Daniel Chester French. Lincoln’s left hand is clenched in a manner depicting determination. Lincoln was resolved to fight the war to its end in spite of the ongoing bloodshed. Lincoln’s right hand is open and relaxed. When the war was over, Lincoln wanted to bring the Southern states back into the Union in a peaceful way without looking for revenge. (Source: National Park Service)
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White House evening view from the Top of the Hay
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Washington Monument under restoration from 2011 earthquake damage.
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Spring comes to Lafayette Square. Originally part of the Executive Mansion’s grounds, it is a 7-acre public park across from the White House. It was separated from the grounds in 1804 by President Jefferson. (Source: National Park Service)
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In August of 2011 a 5.3 Richter scale earthquake rattled the nation’s capital
and badly damaged the Washington Monument, shown here with scaffold.
The fully scaffolded monument with Its dramatic evening lighting had many fans. The repair of the 555 foot tall marble obelisk cost $15,000,000. The Monument was reopened in May, 2014.
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The Eisenhower Executive Office Building designed by Supervising Architect of the Treasury Alfred Mullett. The granite, slate and cast iron exterior is a fine example of the French Second Empire architecture.
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The neoclassical design of the Supreme Court
building is in stark contrast to the adjacent Beaux Arts design Library of Congress. President Hoover laid the building’s cornerstone on October 13, 1932. Work continued during the Great Depression and despite some labor strikes, was completed on April 4, 1935. (Source: Architect of the Capitol)
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The Eccles Building, Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Stripped Classicism design by Paul Philippe Cret of Philadelphia
Cret employed nationally recognized artists to complete the ornamentation of the building. Sidney Waugh designed the eagle on the front facade, the building’s only three-dimensional sculpture.
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Southwest Waterfront Marina and restaurants
Georgetown Waterfront fountain
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Aerial view, Thomas Jefferson Building, the Library of Congress
New York Sculptor Roland Hinton Perry designed the Court of Neptune Fountain, placed at street level in front of the Thomas Jefferson Building of the
Library of Congress. Featuring the bearded Neptune, his sons the tritons, and frolicking, horseback riding Nereids (sea nymphs). This has to be the most playful and whimsical fountain at any federal building in the USA. The grotto was carved with dolphins and stalactites by Albert Weinert to complete the sculptural ensemble.
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Eight
giant marble columns each support 10-foot
high allegorical female figures in plaster representing Religion, Commerce, History, Art, Philosophy, Poetry, Law and Science. Sixteen bronze statues set upon the balustrades of the galleries pay homage to men whose lives symbolized the thought and activity represented by the plaster statues.
The Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress
is a premier example of the Beaux Arts style of architecture. Fifteen varieties of marble, 400,000 cubic feet of granite, bronze, gold and mahogany were used in its construction. Opened in 1897, the grandeur of the building, its size and scope, the noble artwork and fascinating sculpture left many Americans breathless. Many saw the new building as the fulfillment of American intellectual promise and the perfection of American art.
(Source: Architect of the Capitol)
Making the Book
T
his personal project did not start with a book in mind. It was only after my series of aerial photos was produced in 2013, along with the persistent prodding of fellow photographer Robert Stevens, that the idea of this book took form. Architectural and aerial photography are pretty much the Yin and Yang of the craft. Architectural photography requires a slow, deliberate approach, while aerial photography requires speed and a heightened awareness to capture the shot. In both disciplines logistics are a major consideration. To create an architectural photograph that emulates what is seen by the eye calls for specialized technique. While the eye can perceive great dynamic range, i.e., the range from dark to light, film and digital sensors have limitations. I use multiple exposures for bright, dark and middle tones, followed by a layering technique to create a composite of the elements. It is a technique that demands precision to be undetectable in the image. After the composite is created I look at the color tones, light sources and other factors, making adjustments for the final image. I describe aerial assignments, especially when working from a helicopter, as what used to be called an “E ticket” ride at Disneyland. Flying between 75 and 150 feet over Washington, hanging out – and harnessed in – of the rear compartment with camera in hand is exhilarating. I did three orbits (flights) with helicopter pilot Steve Bussman during the course of a week. Our position was constantly monitored by air traffic control. We would fly to the predetermined site, do a few low speed loops, shooting for the right composition and move on. We went up before dawn, late in the day and at dusk to capture these images. I used different cameras for the time of day and a gyro stabilizer to ensure sharpness. One must take a lot of images when shooting a moving target, especially in a helicopter. The first step in processing is dumping marginal images, then identifying the strongest ones and adjusting color, contrast and brightness accordingly, again to emulate what was seen by the eye.
When shooting from the air or ground, logistics are paramount. For the aerial photos I needed TSA approval and an endorsement by a government agency to cross Washington’s Flight Restricted Zone. After securing permission, we filed a flight plan with the TSA that could not be altered. The fact that all of this was accomplished during the infamous government shutdown of 2013 still amazes me. The other wild card, of course, was weather. Historically, October in D.C. is usually a low humidity, no haze time of the year. In 2013 that was not so. Steve Bussman monitored the weather closely and we grabbed the best days we could, and thankfully, got the shots I wanted. Architectural photos are another story. Aside from the weather, the main issue is access. Since September 11, 2001, security in D.C. is understandably very tight. Finding a high access point, like a rooftop, with a clear line of site is nearly impossible. The Hay Adams Hotel has a room called the Top of the Hay with a clear line of site to the White House. I talked to them about my book project and was kindly granted access. They had to advise the Secret Service of my presence. I imagine a camera on a tripod with a long lens might look like something more ominous from their vantage point. Access on the ground can also be an issue. Blocked streets, construction barriers, tour buses that pull into the frame at the worst time, and rules … lots of rules. A permit is required to use a tripod on Capitol Hill. I was told I needed permission to photograph the Kennedy Center from the sidewalk (not true, by the way). A tripod cannot be used on the plaza in front of the Supreme Court but can be used in front of the steps. Finally, it seems like everything around town is being reconstructed. Scaffolds in front of the Hirshhorn and Air and Space Museums blocked good views and kept them out of the book. As this book goes to press, work on the Capitol is being completed while the Supreme Court is shrouded and scaffolded. These factors made my project more challenging and rewarding at the same time. Now I’ll catch my breath, and start thinking about the next project.
—Aboud Dweck
acknowledgments I’d like to thank the following people for everything they did to make this project a reality.
Amy Dweck, my wife, for insisting I print this book. Robert Stevens, photographer, for pushing me to commit to this project in the first place Elizabeth Feeney for her immense talent in the design and production of this book Bernard Falkoff of Copperhead Creative, editor, for making my words work. Sarah Deam and the Hay Adams Hotel for access to the Top of the Hay. Steve Bussman, Bussman Aviation, the finest helicopter pilot a photographer can find. John Boal, photographer, for his assitance Bob Spena, chief encourager and critic