Chattin' and chillin' at The Awakening while it was still atHains Point, East Potomac Park, Washington D.C.
I mentioned yesterday that I recently entered a local photo competition for amateur and professional photographers. It's been fun to visit the exhibit with family members and friends and to have people contact me for copies of my photos.
For those who are interested, National Geographic and Smithsonian magazine are both holding photography contests that are open to amateur and professional photographers from all over the globe.*
The National Geographic International Photography Contest 2008 has three categories you can enter: People, Places, and Nature.
The Smithsonian magazine's 6th Annual Photo Contest has five categories you can enter: Americana, The Natural World, People, Altered Images, and Travel.
Given the breadth of places we all live, the things we each see, and the talents we all possess, I daresay any of us could enter at least one of these two competitions with an award-worthy photo!
So, what are you waiting for? Sign up today!
About today's picture: This is one of the first photos I took with my then-new Canon A630 last year at Hains Point in East Potomac Park. At the time, The Awakening was the park's prominent feature and had been for more than 25 years. Then the artist, J. Seward Johnson, sold his work to developer Milt Petersen for $750,000, who recently moved it to a very sterile and uninspiring spot at the uber-development Prince Georges National Harbor Complex. Sad, really, because The Awakening was a wonderful and whimsical site to see. Now, it's just a poorly exhibited possession for an egomaniac.
* Be sure to read the rules carefully. I know the National Gee contest has some restrictions and participation is prohibited in a few countries.
Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential
15 comments:
I'm so sad that this statue has moved! I used to love going out to Haines Point to see this, and I have a series of black and white photos of it that I took years ago hanging in my house.
This is one of the most amazing sculptures I've ever seen!!! Fantastic!
The sculpture looks neat. I like the B&W.
I'm so sad that they moved The Awakening. Some of my favorite pictures there are with my little nieces and nephews while they tried to climb all over that guy.
I was going to put this very sculpture on my wish list for you! The first time I saw it, a D.C. friend drove us out there at night when it was raining like all get out. About the time we pulled up , lightning lit up the sky and the sculpture. You should have heard the screams! What a shame that it has been moved from that perfect spot.
I saw that contest the other day. Trying to put it on my to do list.
Yes, it is sad its been moved. It is a fantasic piece of work. Large sculptures like this are amazing.
That is a very powerful shot - esp with the kids casually relaxing on the sculputre. I've been browsing your more recent posts and think you have many award winning photos there. Best of luck with the contests!
I enjoyed looking at the building, esp the great hall and your write-up on it. While both beautiful, the outside & the inside seem architecturally incongruous to me - so it would be a great surprise to walk into the building & see the amazing columns. I'm putting it on my list of buildings to see.
I love this shot. What a cool sculpture!
CB: I use to feel the same way. Now when I go to Hains Point, it's sort of sad and quiet.
JM: It is a pretty amazing piece of sculpture and it deserves a warmer, more inviting exhibit space than where it is currently located.
Jim: Thanks!
LG: Half the fun of this statue is watching kids play on it. I'll bet you've got some neat pictures of your nieces and nephews!
VJ: I've never seen it in the rain and lightening, but I'll bet it's very cool!
Steve: I'm trying to fit both of these in, too, but I'm rather intimidated by them.
Marley: I agree.
Tash: Thanks! It's a fun sculpture. Per the Nat'l Building Museum, Meigs used two Italian Renaissance styles intentionally. This is what the NBM's website says about the architecture of the exterior, the interior, and the columns: "The exterior is modeled closely on the brick, monumentally-scaled Palazzo Farnese, completed to Michelangelo’s specifications in 1589. The building's interior, with its open arcaded galleries surrounding a central hall, is reminiscent of the early-sixteenth-century Palazzo della Cancelleria. For the colossal Corinthian columns that divide the Great Hall, Meigs took his inspiration from the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Rome built by Michelangelo in the mid-sixteenth century."
Maya: Thanks! I think a sculpture like this would be cool in Seattle, don't you?
I'm still trying to muster the courage to submit photos to the Willits Photography Club. The technicals were never my strength.
This really is a marvelous sculpture. It reminds me of some slightly goofy things at Heligan Gardens in Cornwall, using ferns for hair, etc.
This is one of the most amazing sculptures/ pieces of art I have ever seen- wow- amazing- just amazing photo.
USElaine: You absolutely should enter! What have you got to lose? It's a lot of fun.
Prof: Thanks! It's a great sculpture and really fun to photograph.
I can't believe this piece was moved.
What an incredible sculpture! I love these larger than life works.
Andrea: I know!!! I'm pretty ticked about it, as are a lot of people, I think. What I don't get is why no one protested this and stepped up to buy it out from under Peterson. Sadly, I think the Park Service, the artist, and the buyer kept it pretty hush-hush until the last minute. As a result, there was no opportunity for public comment.
In truth, the whole thing disgusts me.
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