The Pentagon Memorial at night. Taken at ISO 400, f/16, 25 seconds with a 65mm lens and a tripod.
The Pentagon Memorial is a tribute to the victims of September 11, 2001, who were aboard hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 that was flown into the Pentagon by terrorists, and to the victims who were inside the Pentagon. These 184 people who perished are memorialized in an area adjacent to where the plane hit on the Pentagon's west side.
During the night the din of traffic and planes is reduced, and you can hear the sound of running water coming from each of the 184 benches changing constantly as you walk through the memorial. Those who died in the Pentagon have their names engraved on the benches in such a way that you see their names and the Pentagon in the same view, while the names of those on board American Airlines Flight 77 are engraved so that the viewer sees the sky.
Photography is prohibited everywhere on the Pentagon Reservation except within the Pentagon Memorial grounds.
The Pentagon Memorial is located next to the western wall of the Pentagon that was hit by Flight 77. The benches, designed to be sat on by visitors to give them time to reflect and think, are arranged by the birth dates of those who perished; the years are labeled on the area surrounding the benches on the memorial's west side. Within the center of the memorial you can see many of the benches together with the west façade of the Pentagon (see figures 15.1 and 15.2).
Figure 15.1. The Pentagon Memorial at night (see A on the map). Taken at ISO 400, f/14, 30 seconds with a 65mm lens.
Figure 15.2. A detail of the Pentagon Memorial (see A on the map). Taken at ISO 400, f/16, 30 seconds with a 160mm lens mounted on a tripod.
Remember that this is first and foremost a memorial to the victims of our nation's greatest tragedy, and conduct within it should be appropriate for those who are there to pay their respects. Snapping loads of photos, blocking people's views, or making a lot of noise should be avoided. Choose your picture-taking moments carefully, so you will not be a distraction to other visitors.
Just to the outside of the location of the benches, you find a walkway. Known as the Age Wall, it gets higher inch by inch along the age lines that organize the memorial. From this area (see Figure 15.3), you can get a more overall view of the 184 benches as well as the Pentagon in the background.
Being at the Pentagon Memorial and paying tribute to its victims is an experience that requires time for contemplation. Walking through it and taking time to understand its meaning is crucial to making a photograph that captures the attitude of the memorial.
Figure 15.4. Viewing the Pentagon Memorial from the Age Wall on its west side (see B on the map). Taken at ISO 800, f/16, 30 seconds with a 28mm lens and a tripod.
By using standard photography gear, you can take these shots either by day or night.
For the photographs within the memorial, lenses between 50–70mm are good, depending on how you choose to compose the scene. To capture tighter detail shots, use lenses from 150–175mm. From the Age Wall that circles the memorial (refer to Figure 15.3), try a wider lens in the range of 24–35mm.
If you are shooting during the day, you can use a graduated neutral density filter to darken the sky above the Pentagon.
A tripod is necessary for long exposure images here, but with a modern camera that has higher ISO settings that won't necessarily be required. From the walkway around the memorial, you can use a small table-top tripod that can sit on top of the wall here. Remember to respect those around you. Do not use such gear if it will impede visitors or cause a distraction.
These shots are nicely done with ample depth of field. Using Aperture Priority mode and selecting an aperture of f/11 or higher gets you a good amount of depth. During the day with ample light, you will be able to achieve this rather easily, but by night you will need to have a high ISO setting and a steady hand, or a tripod.
If you are handholding your camera at night, it's best to set a high ISO and use Shutter Priority mode and set a slow shutter speed of 1/30 to 1/60 of a second. Your camera will then set a lower aperture value, which will give you less depth of field. Focus on foreground elements, as you have more depth of field behind your focus point than in front of it, and take several pictures while being sure to keep a very steady hand. Also, the farther your focus point is from the closest foreground element, the more depth of field you will have overall.
Try a few shots at shutter speeds slower than you are comfortable using, such as 1/30 and 1/15 of a second as well. These shots may have too much camera shake, but if they are sharp, the increased exposure can create a brighter, more intense image. Of course, if you have a newer camera capable of very high ISO settings, you don't need to worry about this. Higher ISO speeds enable you to shoot at night with both a higher aperture value as well as faster shutter speeds while not diminishing quality to a large degree.
If you are using a tripod, you can use your camera's Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority or Manual modes with long shutter speeds and lower ISO settings to get the best image quality. Using higher aperture values produces more of a star effect coming from the bright points in the photo, and because you are using a tripod, you can use the corresponding longer shutter speeds to do so.
Using flash here comes down to personal taste, but in general it floods a small area in the foreground of your shot with light, which will often look rather unnatural and also reduces the glow from the benches nearby. It's probably best to avoid it altogether.
Your camera's Auto white balance should handle the mixed lighting types here rather well, but if your images are looking unnatural, try the fluorescent or tungsten settings.
Images here can be made in almost any weather, and in fact they will most likely be enhanced by more somber types of weather such as rain and snow.
Any time from dusk to night and sunrise to late morning can work out here. Because the memorial is open all the time, you can shoot at any of these times. The glow of the benches will greatly enhance your images, as the light is an essential part of their design. Direct, warm sun on them can create an interesting look as well.
