AQUA CITY MOTEL

There are three ground-based places from which to look at Washington from above. The first, of course, is the Washington Monument, at 555 feet in height. It's a hassle because you have to make reservations in advance or hope you can get a same-day ticket. The third is the Washington Cathedral, which is located on Washington's highest hill and -- at its highest point -- is actually above the Washington Monument. The second is the Old Post Office tower, at 270 feet the second tallest building in Washington. You don't have long lines, but -- as you'll see if you go up there -- you do have pigeon wires to deal with. As you'll see from a couple of sample photos in this set, you may find yourself shooting through wires.

How do you handle a situation in which you have to shoot through wires you can't move? Nothing is perfect, but there are a couple of options. It turns out that some of the viewpoints have one (count 'em, one) wire missing. If your camera has a small lens barrel, you may be able to get the lens through the gap to shoot without wires in the frame. (That's one reason I brought the Canon Powershot Pro1 instead of the Canon EOS 5D, incidentally.) The second approach is to use a long zoom lens or long focal-length lens to "soften up" the wires in the foreground. That approach is not perfect, but you'd be surprised at how clear it leaves your photos.
DC070103-14425-OPOTower-Treasury&PennsylvaniaAvenue

Here is a real tip. Whenever you stay at any hotel or motel, ASK for their best rate. You will often get a better deal than if you don't ask. Our stay at this very fine motel is a prime example. We were on a road trip when I walked into the lobby past 10 p.m. and asked, "What is your best rate on a non-smoking room." The woman at the desk said, "$64. Since you asked I'll give you a discount."

As I was registering another man walked in and asked, "How much is a room?" The woman quoted him $87, which is the rack rate. I saved $23 just by asking. This doesn't work everywhere, but it does many places. You have nothing to lose by asking.