More sights from Washington DC

These images are nothing to "write home" about but I like them and they are my personal souvenirs from a recent trip to Washington DC.

Thanks for viewing and your comments are very welcome.

Space Shuttle Discovery

Last week, my wife and I were sightseeing in Washington DC and were fortunate enough to see the final flight of the space shuttle Discovery on her way to the museum at Dulles Airport.  The shuttle arrived piggyback on a NASA 747, made three passes over downtown DC and then landed at the airport, which is northwest of town.  I'm very disappointed that I did not capture a quality photo but I did manage to get a decent "snapshot" of this historic event.  Let me share it with you.

I served with the United States Air Force for 20 years and have worked around a lot of aircraft but this sight was awesome to see!

Is photography a criminal offense?

I've been out of town for the past week so haven't been on top of my blog.  I apologize for that.  We visited many of the sites in Washington DC and photographed a few.

While out and about, I learned how to receive a quick police response.... you simply pull out professional camera gear, i.e., large professional series lens, tripod, monopod, remote trigger, light meter, etc., and the police will come to you very quickly.  Now I don't know if a person gets such a rapid response if you report a criminal offense but they alert VERY QUICKLY to any person who photographs a government facility.  I witnessed people in the street making public racist speeches, panhandlers harassing us for cash, and people who simply looked dangerous BUT the police force merely stands on the corner while this goes on.  I am 55 years old, caucasian, well groomed, dress conservatively, and toured with my wife who has similar physical attributes.  So what makes the law enforcement officials so concerned about our activities??

I remember during the Cold War, where in communist countries, i.e., Soviet Union and China, we learned about how their citizens had no freedom to photography government facilities.  And a western tourist who visited those countries was warned to be careful with their photography.... our own (United States) government reminded us of our fortune to be citizens where we had no such restrictions on our rights.  The United States talked about how the communist governments didn't trust their own citizens.... how they monitored and restricted their activities.  Oh my gosh.... what has happened in America??

I intend to pursue my right to photograph public facilities in spite of the harassment from law enforcement officials.  I hope you will too.... be sure to write to your Congressman, post your concerns in the social media, and letters to your local newspapers, so that you can express your feelings on the matter.  We all share a responsibility for protecting our country but we cannot relinquish our rights as citizens and allow our officials to monitor our every movement nor to treat us as criminals when we photograph a building that is paid for with our tax dollars.  Please do something about it!

That is my rant for this day.... you may hear more and I hope you'll comment.  In parting, I'd like to share a couple photos from our trip.  These are both from inside the Thomas Jefferson Library of Congress building.