Friday Photo: Capitol Snowglobe Edition

Two men walk toward the Capitol in a snowstorm.
Two men walk toward the Capitol in a snowstorm.

If I have learned anything from this winter, it’s the importance of taking pictures while the snow is still fresh. It’s when the white stuff is at its prettiest. After a few hours, it starts to melt, get shoveled and become begrimed with city filth.

Monday was (hopefully) the last snowstorm of the year. And it was a good one, dumping six inches of dry powder across the city. The government was closed and the city was shut down. But Metro was still running underground so I took it to the Smithsonian shortly before the storm ended.

Emerging from the station, the National Mall looked like a massive snowglobe. Flakes were flying, the wind was blowing and in the distance you could just barely make out the Capitol. While the museums were closed, plenty of people had come to the Mall to enjoy the day, including cross-country skiers, kite skiers and cyclists. Though the temperature was in the 20s, it was too beautiful of an experience to miss.

I took this photo with my Canon Rebel while standing in the middle of the National Mall, right in front of the Smithsonian stop. We’re looking toward the Capitol. It was freezing and my hands nearly froze but it was worth it to get this shot.

Bad weather makes great photos.

Update: this photo was featured on the Capital Weather Gang!

Author: Joe Flood

Joe Flood is a writer, photographer and web person from Washington, DC. The author of several novels, Joe won the City Paper Fiction Competition in 2020. In his free time, he enjoys wandering about the city taking photos.

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