Washington Harbour

Author's Comments

Georgetown in June, maybe seven in the evening, when the restaurant terraces are filling and the light is coming low from the west and hitting the Key Bridge at an angle that makes the stone look almost amber. That is when Washington Harbour earns its reputation. The fountains are the thing people overlook. Most photographers go straight to the railing and point across the Potomac, and that is a reasonable instinct. The Virginia shore catches the last warmth of the day and the river goes copper and slow. But the fountain plaza itself layers in a way that rewards backing up and letting the water enter the frame. The mist catches light in a particular way just before the sun drops behind the treeline, briefly and then it is gone. The lower terrace is the place for the Key Bridge. It frames differently from there than it does from the upper level, closer to true, the arch rising out of the water rather than floating above it. Come twenty minutes before sunset. The light does not stay on the bridge long, and when it goes, it goes fast. This is a social place, busy and self-aware in the way that Georgetown tends to be. But there are quieter angles in every direction if you look for them. The water moves. The bridge holds still. The light does the rest.

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