Perfect Weather, Beautiful Light, Plenty of Film

I stepped outside of Union Station into the crisp Sunday pre-dawn air. There wasn't a cab to be seen. "Oh well", I thought to myself as I hefted my heavy camera pack over my shoulder, "Looks like I'm walking from here."

The capital streets were silent as I made my way to the National Mall, where the air seemed even cooler and maybe a bit misty. The birds waking up in the trees were chittering excitedly. I imagined they were already anticipating how nice of a day it would be. Only the most diehard of runners were out this early, maybe half a dozen were scattered around the Mall paths. So far, it was a perfect morning.

My plan had been to be at the Tidal Basin right at first light. I glanced behind me to see how much time I had left and saw the blazing orange glow behind the Capital dome. Eh, I wasn't going to make it. Keeping my sights ahead, I re-hefted my pack and picked up my pace toward the Washington Monument, which was starting to glow in the early morning light.

Any thoughts that I'd had about avoiding the crowds by getting to DC so early were immediately dashed when I arrived at Independence Ave. The sidewalks were already jammed with visitors and the police were setting up crosswalks. Cherry blossom time in Washington, DC is HUGE, to say the least.

Avoiding the crowds, I found a quiet little spot to get geared up. I got the Hasselblad out of my Lowepro pack and put on the 150mm f/4 lens that I had just recently bought used from Roberts Camera. I was excited to get some first images from it. I wound my Sekonic L-558 light meter strap around my neck and jammed it into my jacket pocket - the Hasselblad doesn't have a built-in meter, so I needed this handheld meter, which I had also picked up used/Mint+ after lusting for this super-pro spotmeter for years. Then I loaded up a roll of Kodak's new Gold 120, a 200 ASA film that I had heard nothing but rave reviews about.

I had perfect weather, beautiful light, plenty of film, top-shelf gear, and the whole day ahead of me. It was time to go looking for photographs...