Catching Something Special
Every spring, the sun creates unique alignments with the monuments in DC. The true east-west orientation of the National Mall lines up perfectly during the equinox. This year the old RFK stadium has been demolished, opening a new view corridor along East Capitol Street to the Capitol and Washington Monument.
I set out this day to capture the sun setting behind the Capitol from nearly 3 miles away, just across the Anacostia River. While I was a few days late for the perfect sun alignment, something even more special happened. In a blessing from the wind, flights into DCA that day were landing along the Potomac River from the north so I had ample opportunities to catch planes landing. What I didn’t count on was a second plane entering my frame.
After I got home and started processing my images, I noticed something in one of them. Not only did I capture a plane landing at National Airport, but I captured a second plane. This one taking off from Dulles. The image captures layers that stretch from 3 miles to the US Capitol, over 5 miles to the DCA flight, but nearly 25 miles to the plane from Dulles. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. I don’t know that any amount of planning could have lined up this shot. I have to chalk it up to pure luck
