Every year around the spring equinox, an excellent photographic opportunity arises at the Lincoln Memorial. Inside the Memorial, a large statue of Lincoln faces east, staring out across the reflecting pool toward the Washington Monument. At sunrise, Lincoln is bathed in the golden light and is framed by the shadows of massive pillars being projected onto the wall directly behind him. This lighting is only possible during the week on either side of the equinox, when the sun rises due east and you have no clouds low on the horizon. It only lasts for the short period of time while the sun is low and rising over the horizon.
Beautiful lighting on Lincoln at night.
Twilight colors prior to sunrise provide a stunning background to the silhouette of the Washington Monument.
Sunrise behind the Washington Monument. The band of clear sky on the horizon provides just enough of a window to photograph Lincoln bathed in sunlight,
An intense orange glow illuminates Lincoln as the sun first rises over the horizon.
Warm light and shadows of the pillars make for a stunning backdrop on the wall behind Lincoln. Shadows of photographers in the foreground add some scale to the image.
A side view of Lincoln as the warm light turns to gold and begins to fade. The pillars to the sides of Lincoln make for a nice framing of the image.
A panoramic view of Lincoln in warm light as the sun continues to rise. Taken during the rare occasion when no other people enjoying this event were in the field of view.
The Washington Monument glimmers in the reflecting pool during twilight. On this day, there were no clouds in the sky and no wind. After I took this image, I walked to the other end of the reflection pool to photograph the Lincoln sunrise.
Shooting across the reflecting pool on a calm morning adds a beautiful reflection to your image. Here the monument is framed by soft blue hues during civil twilight. During twilight, the monument remains illuminated, and the white statue of Lincoln stands out nicely.
As the sun clears the horizon, the front of the monument and the interior chamber take on a orange glow. The sun sparkles on the glass buildings across the Potomac River in Virginia.
The equinox is tailor-made for this sunrise image, as the interior chamber is lit in warm tones and for a very short time, Lincoln is shadow free. Zooming in a bit really shows off the golden light on Lincoln.