Washington Monument

This photograph marks a turning point in my life. It was when I officially started to believe in myself, thanks be to God.

I took it while I was working at the Maryland Film Office. The Commercial Manager (Joe, whom I had gotten along famously with) had given me some pictures to download from his digital camera but there was a technical error and they did not download correctly. He was really busy, so I told him I would retake the pictures myself.

This was the predicament. They needed an idea of what the Mount Vernon traffic circle looked like for their commercial. The Washington Monument stands in the middle of the traffic circle. A lightbulb went off in my head. If I climbed to the top of the monument, I could take panoramic pictures from the north, south, east, west and I would capture the circle perfectly. This photo is the product of roughly 20 pictures all merged together using panoramic software, then arranged by location (north, south, east and west). My idea worked and I saved the commercial from having to rent a helicopter. I really like how the shadow of the monument acts as a sundial (It was roughly 10:30 AM when I took it). The time I spent putting together puzzles as a child really paid off.

It was for an Infiniti car ad.