This is a rare-in-a-lifetime kind of photo. I love that because it signifies the unique power of photography: the power to eternalize the moment. General Relativity tells us we can’t travel back in time; photography tells us, well, yes we can. I shot this photograph in Washington D.C. But what wasn’t so obvious to me at first glance was the degree of construction between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. I remember reading on the construction sign, as we crossed over to the Smithsonian, this construction wouldn’t be completed until 2018. Walking across, staring at all the “Stay Away” construction signs, I thought about how beautiful it’d all look once done, superficially disappointed I couldn’t take “pretty” photographs. But lucky for me, my photographic mind’s eye switched gears, to capture something even more nifty than a reflecting pool or green grass: the eternity of the moment. Only at this moment would this construction be here. That mud mountain, the bulldozer tracks, the puddles of rain water, the construction ditches etc. All this “ugly” would eventually be replaced by artificial beauty. All that in context, made me think — “wow, actually, this is some sort of beautiful.” In the same sense, I guess, this is similar to when someone says to another, “you have a beautiful soul.” A compliment not based on the physical attributes seen by the eye, but rather on the qualitative intangibles of someone’s soul or presence seen by the ocular mind. When my mind’s eye saw the beauty of this moment, I set my camera in a way to frame through the extensive chain-link fence, which separated pedestrians from the turmoil of construction, then aimed across all the ugly mud and dirt to the Washington Memorial, and captured this photograph. I guarantee that in 2019, this image will never exist again… except in this photograph and hopefully other photographs captured by the mind’s eye.
Categories: Scenery & Landscapes
J.R. Photographs 