Touristy Day in DC

a life size representation of an african elephant stands high in the middle of the smithsonian natural history museum's lobby, surrounded by people
35mm Summicron ASPH / Leica M10-P

We needed something to do while waiting for the M83 concert later, and our hotel was a walking distance to the National Mall and museums, so we hoofed it.

Snapped a few photos of touristy things, but also snapped photos of tourists doing touristy things. It started to drizzle so we decided to visit the Smithsonian Natural History museum, which I’d never actually stepped inside of before. We had intentions of going over to the art museum, but an unexpected downpour started. It wasn’t letting up so we waited in line at the gift shop and paid far too much for a cheap umbrella and some ponchos. We didn’t have much of a choice as the show was starting in a couple of hours and had to head back to the hotel beforehand.

  • four women facing different directions, three of them capturing a moment on their smartphone
  • a man lining up an image of the washington monument on his smartphone while a woman observes
  • a woman's umbrella opened too far during an unexpected drizzle as her family and friends watch with a confused look on their faces
  • a cartoon etched in the stone of the world war ii memorial that reads 'killroy was here'
  • a man stands behind a three dimensional representation of a mega-toothed shark's jaws
  • a 52-foot-long model of a female mega-toothed shark is suspended from the ceiling
  • three tourists take a nap on a bench in the smithsonian natural history museum while their small child plays on a smartphone
  • a man standing in front of various food trucks wearing a plastic blue smithsonian poncho and holding an umbrella