The east side of the United States Capitol

One of the nice things about winter is being able to see most of the Capitol when I step outside. During most of the year, only the top of the dome is visible.

Merry Christmas from the nation’s capital!

The trees around the Capitol are starting to show some great colors.

After quite a few months, the fountains surrounding the Capitol Visitors Center skylights are flowing again.

360 pano without the little planet effect

After over 4 years, I’ve finally taken my 365th consecutive photo!!! Overall, this is my 977th photo. I started my photo-of-the-day project on March 29, 2007. Many thanks to Josh; I started my own project after stumbling upon his photos. He also provided some nice words of encouragement when I missed a day last year. I was actually considering taking a break at that point, but thanks to his encouragement, I decided to start again right away (in a completely random coincidence, I took today’s photo based on his photo of the Utah State Capitol). Kristy has also helped me out with comments and constructive criticism. Her photos have also provided a source of inspiration as I try to get better.

Of course, Jenny has been my best fan. She doesn’t usually ask me what my daily photo was; she just waits until I post it. Fortunately, sometimes she just randomly asks me about it as we’re falling asleep and a couple of times it was the reminder that I hadn’t taken a photo yet. Though I don’t need to tell you, her crafts have also been the source of quite a few of my photos this year.

I’ve had quite a few people ask me why I take a photo everyday. When it comes down to it, I just enjoy photography. It’s been a great way to help me leave work at the office. Even though I’m not always proud of the photo I took, I’m glad I took it. When Bry bought his D90, I tried to encourage him to start his own project, but he just said he wasn’t up for it. I’m paraphrasing, and probably poorly, but he said he just couldn’t force himself to take mundane pictures like I occasionally do to keep my project continuous. He meant it as a compliment and after thinking about it, I took it that way. When I take a picture of something around the house, I try and find a unique angle or play with the lighting and learn something from it. When I shot a wedding with Kelli, she just said to take shots of the reception hall with the angles I would for my project; it was another casual reminder that this project has helped to make me the photographer I am.

(Notes about the photo: The Capitol is at 12:00, the Library of Congress is at 7:00, and the Supreme Court, barely discernible thanks to trees, is at 4:00)

The south wing of the Capitol where the House of Representatives meets.