Lafayette Square

This is the beginning of a Circles and Squares photo blog. No, I'm not really talking about the geometric shapes but rather about the traffic circles and public squares in the District of Columbia that serve as crossroads and meeting places for all types of people. I'll post two photos each week and some thoughts about the day's shooting. I'll start with some of the better known circles and squares: for instance, Lafayette Square and Dupont Circle are familiar to many people, but later I'll go further afield to some areas that rarely are the subject of feature stories on the evening news.

My first weeks shooting was at Lafayette Square, a large park directly across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. It is frequently the setting for protests. Indeed, I went there expecting to find protesters, tourists, and office workers taking a break or having lunch. Alas, when I got there, there was no action in the park. It was too early in the day and too cold for many people to be out and about. Just as I was about to call it quits and leave, however, a line of protesters slowly walked through the park and stationed themselves in front of the White House. In the second image I particularly like the sense that the line of protesters are on a collision course with a line of tourists.
The first image is of a woman who may have been a permanent resident of the park or may have been associated with the permanent anti-war protest that's been going on 24 hours a day seven days a week for about 30 years. William Thomas, the originator and driving force behind that protest recently died.