New Series on Photography - A Local Lens

Being, at best, an imperfect photographer, I'm very excited to welcome E. David Luria of Washington Photo Safari as a monthly contributor to DC Like a Local. If there is one area I so often fail at as a tour guide it would be helping our visitors get that iconic, but unique, shot of their experience in Washington. While I wave vaguely at the Washington Monument and hope to be gone by the time anyone looks at the picture, David is skilled and experienced at the art of connecting visitors and locals to Washington, DC thorugh the lens. So, without further ado, and in his own words, here's E. David Luria:

Washington DC is well-known as a center of history and politics. Few people, however, think of it as a paradise Courtesy of Washington Photo Safari. All rights reserved.for photographers. Perhaps more than any city in the country, Washington DC offers many opportunities to practice a wide variety of photographic techniques. For example, because of building height restrictions enacted early in the 20th century, Washington’s streets, unlike those of other cities, are flooded with light. Moreover, it is a photography-friendly city, allowing photography in most of its museums and galleries and tripod use throughout the city streets and on the grassy areas of the National Mall. Furthermore, it is the only city in the country offering 4-5 regularly scheduled photography training workshops every week at the city’s main (and off-the-beaten-path) attractions, all year long, through the Washington Photo Safari.

I am E. David Luria, founder and director of the Washington Photo Safari – photography training for locals and visitors using Washington DC as my classroom. I established the Washington Photo Safari in 1999 after having been downsized from a 30 year career in international non-profit management.

When that proverbial door closed, a window opened combining my three great passions: helping people, taking pictures and Washington DC. Originally, I created the Washington Photo Safari to be oriented towards the many tourists that frequent our city. But as interest in digital photography took off, the business grew quickly from six clients per month that first year to 290 clients per month now. Eleven years later, the Washington Photo Safari has trained over 20,000 people – mostly locals – and offers over 100 different itineraries.

I will be doing a monthly series here called “A Local Lens” in which I will show you three photographs of notable DC landmarks and attractions taken from unique angles or off the regular tourist circuit and how you can capture them yourselves. Looking forward to sharing my local DC with you!

Getting Around Town: A Visitor's Guide to the Bus

uploaded to flickr by davereid12I’ve long recommend to visitors that driving in DC is a bad idea for the uninitiated and to instead take Metro. 

Metro is relatively simple to figure out, comparatively inexpensive, hits a good chunk of the places visitors want to take in. What's more, it’s concrete, both figuratively and literally. Their is no doubt when you are in a station, the station is clearly named, and the whole thing is color coded. Sure, there’s a bit of confusion for visitors about which side of the platform to get on the train from, and the pricing is becoming increasingly complex; but the average tourist can get on, spend a minute or two looking at the map, and get where they’re going.

The problem: the Rail system doesn’t go everywhere. Georgetown, the Frederick Douglas House, the National Arboretum, Adams-Morgan, the National Cathedral, and, yes, the Lincoln Memorial, are but a few of the incredible things Washington has to offer that ill-served by the train. They all, of course, are accessible by Metro Bus, but most visitors shy away from it.

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Have a Story?

Well then, tell it here!

If you are a local, have been a local, planning to be a local, or just want to pretend to be a local and want to share a tip or tidbit, let me know.

The whole point of this blog is use the combined power of local knowledge to save those poor, hapless tourists you see wandering the Mall. You know who I'm talking about. The poor bastard holding the Metro map upside down, trying not to admit he's not sure if that's the Capitol or the White House, with two kids pulling him in different directions (one of them down), and a wife saying a whole lot without a single word.

I know, I know, there's a fair bit of sang froid to be had in mocking him, but he needs a hand. He doesn't need more web sites to filter through, or guide books to buy and never read; he needs the unvarnished truth that we, as locals, take for granted. Is the Newseum worth twenty bucks? When is the best time to come to Washington? And where do you pee on the National Mall?

If you have a unique local viewpoint, either a better way to see the most common destinations or an out of the way gem that visitors from afar would love to see if they only knew about, drop me a line at tim.krepp@dclikealocal.com. I'm interested both in people who wish to contribute semi-regularly as well as those who may just have one or two things to add.

I promise to pay you absolutely nothing, and may, or may not, buy you a cup of coffee someday. With a bonus of a beer if it really, really works out.

Don't Be That Guy!

photo uploaded to flickr by arimooreGood afternoon, visitors and potential visitors to Washington. It has come to my attention that I have failed you. I’ve been spending my time giving advice on any number of esoteric topics, instead of the information you really need. I’ve told you what time of the year to visit Washington. I’ve pointed you to the bathrooms of the National Mall. I’ve even fruitlessly attempted to get you to stand on the right.

This is all good advice. I stand by it. But I have failed you in that I have yet to mentionthe most unforgivable of all Washington sins: Do not under any circumstances, for any reason, at any time, leave your bag, parcel, bundle, suitcase, expired grandfather, or whatever by itself.

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Stuff Around Town - What's Going On When You're in Town

One of the challenges I face in helping folks out with visiting DC is keeping my information current. I think I do an adequate job of highlighting off the beaten path options as well as new ways of exploring the traditional attractions, but I don’t scratch the surface of what’s going on here. We try to catch new museums and new exhibits as they come, but it’s a big city with a lot of stuff going on; there’s just no way we can hope to be comprehensive about all the things going on in Washington when you plan to be here. We don’t even try.

Which can be a bit of a bummer, as there’s always something going on in DC. It’s easy to troop to a few museums and snap a picture outside the White House and think, “Gee, this city sure is busy but between herds of tourists and thousands of cars with Maryland tags, does anyone actually live here?” Well, of course we do, and the best place to get the sense of the city’s life is to leave the Mall and check out some of the other things going on in town.

I try to highlight a few from time to time, but I’m not set up to keep a comprehensive calender of all things Washingtonian. And why should I, as other folks already do so (and better than I could)? So without further ado, here’s where I go to find out what’s going on on any particular time in Washington:

1. Since you’re probably going to be at one or more of these institutions anyway during your trip to DC, go ahead and check what’s going on while you’re here. Catching a special event at one of these places can be a lot more fulfilling and enriching than just staring blindly at another exhibit:
    A. Smithsonian - Includes Air and Space, American History, Natural History, etc.
    B. Library of Congress
    C. National Gallery of Art
    D. U.S. Capitol - This is actually the link to the US Capitol Historical Society’s calender.
    E. White House Visitor’s Center - You have to click through to their schedule. Which is, of course, a pdf that changes seasonally.
    F. Ford’s Theater - The day time presentation is perfectly fine, but check what’s showing while you’re in town. It’s a far more civilized way to see the Theater.
    G. National Mall and Monuments - The National Park Service’s calender of events.

2. Cultural Tourism DC: Getting off the Mall a bit, I recommend Cultural Tourism DC. These folks focus on bringing the “other” DC to people’s attention. They represent over 230 different museums, community organizations, historic sights, etc. and serves as a clearinghouse for all manner of activities. Be sure to check their calender for the dates you will be in town.

3. Free in DC: You’d be hard pressed to find another city with so many free things going on. The trick is hearing about it in the first place. Fortunately, Amy Melrose over at Free in DC has done the ground work for you. Her blog is a compendium of all sorts of free (and under $10) events going on.

4. Local News Outlets:
    A. Washington City Paper: By far the best local coverage of DC.
    B. Washington Post: While the Post confuses “local” with “greater Mid-Atlantic Region”, it is the dowager Empress of local coverage. Fine, I’ll include it here.
    C. DCist: Online reviews of current exhibits, events, etc. Along with local news and some interesting (at the very least) comments.
    D. WeLoveDC: Another excellent blog about DC happenings, both news and events.

While you probably won’t check out all of these, clicking through to a few of them will allow you to have a much richer and interesting visit to Washington. And hey, it’ll give you a little more to talk about back home than the standard tourist experience. You friends will appreciate it. Heck, they might even sit through your slide show.