forever

I shot this in DC one warm evening in July around midnight. It was fascinating how even at that late hour there were still hundreds of people at the monument, but the thing that most surprised me was that it was nearly silent. There were probably about seventy five to a hundred people around me while I took this, and no-one was saying a word. People would quietly take their turn in front of the memorial, taking photos or just looking up at it quietly. There was no pushing or crowding that could have easily happened in a small space with a large crowd. It could have been eerie, but somehow it felt... companionable. Even as a Canadian visitor, there was a definite sense of community at the foot of this memorial.

 

Later on, outside on the steps leading down from the monument, a church group started quietly singing hymns which rolled out into the soft darkness of the evening. Definitely a moment.

Done