Have you heard of the United States Institute of Peace?  I just learned that this agency has been around since 1984.

The United States Institute of Peace was established by Congress in 1984 as an independent, federally-funded national security institution devoted to the nonviolent prevention and mitigation of deadly conflict abroad.

More information about the Institute of Peace can be found at: http://www.usip.org.

How Did I Find Out About the Institute of Peace?

Another Meetup!  Last week I attended a night time photo shoot of the U.S. Peace Building.  It was selected for its architectural design.  The roof is quite interesting and a good portion of the front of the building is glass, so you can actually see the office cubicles. I looked forward to my first organized night time photo shoot!  It was all about lower shutter speeds and light balancing settings in the camera.

At Dusk

U.S. Institute of Peace Building

The Roof

While I was in the neighborhood of other historical sites such as the Lincoln Memorial, Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the Vietnam Memorial, I decided to practice at the reflecting pool.

Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

Another View

Cool pics huh?

I met a lot of nice photographers that evening, many of whom shared tips on night time camera settings.  I learned that there are many combinations of settings and the best setting is the one that works for you! The key is using a slower shutter speed.  My shutter speeds ranged from .5 to 10 secs, depending on the amount of light that was present.

A special thanks to Thaddeus, who I met that night, for sharing camera tips with me. He had a Nikon camera, which is slightly different in functionality than my Canon, so at times, applying the information was tricky.

I learned a few things that night, so I am excited to capture more night time photos of historic and tourist sites in the D.C. metro area.