Views from an Office Balcony

My company is headquartered on the fifth story of an office building at the northeast corner of Old Town Alexandria. We have the entire floor, including an extensive wrap-around deck facing the Potomac River and a small balcony facing southeast. Throughout the working day, many employees take a break this way, enjoying the view.

Thanks to the flex-time option offered, I come in as early as possible Monday through Friday, usually by 7:00 AM, and as I pass by the balcony I frequently see beautiful sunrises.
After several months of admiring and then forgetting about them, it finally occurred to me, “Hey, I own a camera.”

So I brought in a tripod and began shooting three different angles (one of them twice, zoomed in and out) on no set schedule, just whenever I think of it. I attempt to get the exact same shot every time, but the setup — position, height, angle, focus — is entirely manual, which explains the slight discrepancies. I don't use any filters or special effects, and every image is completely untouched. What you see is what was there.

As of mid-January 2011, there are about 300 images of each of the four views from the last three months. I plan on continuing long enough to complete a year's worth of shots.

I use a Nikon D-50 with an AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55 mm lens.

I had no particular purpose in mind while taking the photos, other than the obvious one of “wow, that's gorgeous, I want to remember this”, and I have no intention of actually doing anything with them beyond making them available through this website. While I officially retain copyright over all photographs, you are welcome to download them for whatever use pleases you. I would appreciate credit should you publish them in a public location.