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Helen Betts | all galleries >> Galleries >> Washington Fenced In > Caught in the act
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05-Feb-2021

Caught in the act

The House office buildings host a large number of congressmen and staff, and their parking lots are now all fenced and monitored by law enforcement. Not sure if you can see it here, but these Capitol Police officers were both looking directly at me.

*****

Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, has become a city of fences. They're ugly and everywhere, depriving residents and tourists alike of access to major streets, sidewalks, green areas, federal buildings, landmarks and of course the US Capitol, which ironically is supposed to be The People's House, except that the people are no longer allowed anywhere near it. There are plans afoot to make the barriers permanent, although there has been push-back from the District government, residents, especially those on Capitol Hill, where we live, and some lawmakers.

The idea for this gallery was suggested by Raymond in Canada http://pbase.com/monminou/profile and I thought it was a good one. Some pictures were taken when we had 25,000 National Guard troops guarding the Capitol area, while others are more recent. I hope the opportunities for fence pictures become fewer in time, but I wouldn’t bet on that.

Best to view in "Original" because other versions resized by Pbase are decidedly
unsharp.

Armed and ready, posted earlier:

Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
1/2500s f/1.6 at 5.1mm iso32 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Julie Oldfield10-Feb-2021 01:41
Checkpoint Charlie. The fact they are looking at you sternly is powerful. V
Nick Paoni08-Feb-2021 01:44
Definitely not a good look for our Nation's capital.
Dennis Hoyne08-Feb-2021 00:58
Maybe photographing in public will soon be illegal.
bill friedlander08-Feb-2021 00:08
Good you didn't get any closer.
Nirvan Hope07-Feb-2021 23:20
Just doing their job! What an awful job that would be... even if they just check out people as innocent-looking as you...
Mairéad07-Feb-2021 22:44
Just as well you didn't have a camera with you or you might have got more
than a dirty look!
Raymond Ma07-Feb-2021 21:18
Yes, beware of Californians :0), what are they doing in DC anyways? Aren't we suppose to stay close to home? V
LynnH07-Feb-2021 19:51
I've never encountered a police officer that appreciated my photographing them while they were working on something. Great candid moment captured. V
larose forest photos07-Feb-2021 19:43
A bit unnerving! A good continuation of your documentary shots. V
globalgadabout07-Feb-2021 19:28
at least they didn't shoot at you, so it went OK...good catch telling the tale of the streets these days..
joseantonio07-Feb-2021 19:06
seems you called their attention.V.