travel photos: it's all about the details

Last weekend I visited Maryland to hang out with my BFF and my cousin. It was a whirlwind tour of both Washington D.C. and Baltimore. When I go on trips, I take TONS of photos. I am such a tourist! There is one travel photography tip that always sticks with me... make sure to capture the details. I know I read this tip on LJC's blog, but I cannot find a link... it's been years. Anyway, think about it. Full pictures of the White house, Lincoln Memorial, etc. are all well and good, but they are a dime a dozen. Getting shots of of, say, the an interesting ceiling tile inside the Lincoln Memorial, or an exceptionally pretty tree branch outside the Jefferson Memorial, will help bring back the feel of the place you visited. Here are some of my favorite detail photos from my trip.


This handsome fella was hanging around with his lady friend in the lake as we walked towards the Jefferson Memorial.


I thought this twisty tree outside of the Jefferson Memorial was really pretty.


There was a lot of construction going on around DC. Instead of ruining the view, it just made it more colorful and interesting.


The index finger on FDR's statue at the FDR memorial was shiny. I don't know if people rub it for good luck, or if they think it's funny to play the "pull my finger" game with the statue of a dead president.



The FDR memorial had this really neat metal art installation. I loved the contrast of the different panel colors, different metals aging in their different ways.


OMGOMGOMG squeee! I visited Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian American History Museum. It was quite a spiritual experience for me. The teal color of her cabinets is the color I hope to have in my kitchen someday. And is there anything prettier than copper pots and pans? I love that Paul traced all the hanging pots and pans with a marker so things could be put away in the right place!


The outside of the American Indian museum was so pretty with it's curves and golden bricks.


Random silly graffiti on a plywood construction fence. Made me smile.





We only did a quick walk through Chinatown in DC, but I still wanted to capture the essence.


On our walk back to the car after our day in DC, I noticed the eerie lighting on the merry-go-round in the National mall.



Some uplifting grafitti in a treehouse outside the American Visionary Museum in Baltimore. We met an awesome kid in that treehouse who was pretending to be an astronaut. He warned us that the aliens came out of red hearts, so if we saw any red hearts we should look out.



Cherry Blossom trees in bloom by the Inner Harbor in Baltimore!


A seagull at the Harbor watching us paddle around in the dragon boats.


Ate a delicious pizza from Isabella's in Baltimore's Little Italy on a Bocce court.


My BFF's feet and mine on "the beach" of the Johns Hopkins University campus, where we went to fly a kite. I am a fan of taking pictures of my feet when I travel too... they say "I walked here."


We ate dinner at the Paper Moon Diner in Baltimore. A super-neat kitschy-collection laden place with lots of details to photograph. So fun! This fabulous diva stood watch outside the bathroom.


Finished up my trip in Baltimore's Fell's point. Had a pint and some yummy bar food at a little pub, Slainte, there before heading home. Ahhhh.