WASHINGTON — Well another president has come and gone, and we stand basking in the glow of America’s great Historical Renaissance. Cue the ghosts of FDR, Lincoln and Kennedy.

It’s Showtime.

Millions of people witnessed President Barack Obama’s inauguration, but I went to our nation’s capital for a different reason.

Nestled in Virginia-for-lovers, and on the coast, you are greeted by sweeping blue skies and marshmallow clouds mirrored in the famous pond in front of the Capitol Building, we saw so many people wading through post-inauguration. Whilst I believe perhaps a few more of our politicians should maybe take a trip down to this massive pond, take a peak in and get a grip on reality.

I don’t, however, suggest to anyone to wade in said pond, no need to leave Washington as slimy as so many others have entered.

The weather is generally pleasant,‚  with lots of sunshine, so put on your walking shoes and load your iPod with victory songs. We’re going marchin’ on Washington.

The National Mall is a Mecca of people-watching, as Washingtonians flock to jog off the latest pork belly bill, and these folks are in good shape. With the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial shining like beacons at each end, either side of The Mall is flanked by the Smithsonian Museums, which could take you days to explore in its entirety. ‚ 

One of the newest buildings in the Smithsonian Institute is the National Museum of the Native American which is a merit in American architecture. In fact, all of the Smithsonian buildings are amazingly designed, and are a part of the art that they house.‚  Even if years of American History and global art didn’t rest in peace safely behind these well designed walls, there is plenty of eye candy just taking a stroll up and down the Mall.

My first trip to Washington was in Middle School. Spending my young life in Catholic school, a light in the dark was a class expedition. I was enamored then, as I am now. The entire city is well kept, a much needed escape from the grimy horizon-less New York City I call home, and each lawn, monument, tourist attraction and White House is perfectly manicured, and represents a variety of native flora and fauna.‚ 

The birds and squirrels that reside within the district’s boundaries must have been laid off by Disney — they are so accustomed to human interaction that they often come up and look at you as if to have a conversation on the state of affairs. If only they could speak English; the tales I’m sure they would tell.

The National Mall is a Mecca of people-watching, as Washingtonians flock to jog off the latest pork belly bill, and these folks are in good shape

Aside from the obvious Mall walk,‚ D.C. has several not-so-off-the-beaten-path areas that are filled with as much charm as David Hasselhoff in his glory days.‚  Penn’s Quarter has become the center of arts and theater, with a brand new arena the NHL’s Capitols call home. Typical of any melting pot city lies a bustling Chinatown. Forget about opium dens and dark alleys, D.C.’s Chinatown is clean, neat and tourist-friendly. It’s also an easy ride on the Metro.

An homage to superheroes everywhere, the Metro is well lit, clean, and sculptural eye candy, worthy of any Gotham or Metropolis. Union Station is a standard on any D.C. tour. Reminiscent of Grand Central Station in New York City, Union Station is chock-full of 5-star restaurant and food court alike, with shops to whittle away time waiting for your train.

If you’re looking for the Fifth Avenue of D.C. then hop on the Metro over to Georgetown. Home of Georgetown University, this area of the district is vibrant and young, with pizza to make New York blush. Most of the 200 year-old row houses have been restored to their “Young Republic” heyday.

Only 68.3 square miles, D.C. is less than lacking in life, even though the majority of what is projected seems old and crotchety. D.C. is the center of the new American Renaissance, and deservedly so.

This was the first article ever written in Blast Magazine and was part of the 1/1/07 launch.

In his youth, James Crotty may have qualified for the title of Youngest Professional Photographer in Dayton, Ohio.

A shy personality in a family of extroverts, he discovered his passion once he started messing around with a 35mm camera his father brought home one day when he was 10 or 11.

“That was my escape,” he explained. “I was more quiet, introverted, and more aware of my natural surroundings. It was a way for me to go out and explore nature.”

At 13, Crotty had already set up a makeshift darkroom in the basement of his parents’ house, where he developed the photographs he regularly took around the neighborhood and in the wooded area around his home. When he entered high school, he got a job working in a local frame shop. He talked the owner into displaying some of his photographs, and people started buying them.

“I started seeing that people were responding to what I was creating,” he said.

And they’re still responding.

In September, the 42-year-old was awarded a first place prize in National Wildlife magazine’s annual Photography Awards, in the category of New Life. The winning picture, which was published in the December/January 2007 issue of National Wildlife, was an image he snapped in May of two young house finches nesting.

The photo was also chosen by Nature’s Best Photography magazine to be displayed as part of an exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. through April.

Every spring, Crotty said, the birds build a nest beneath hanging ferns on his front porch. This year, after two days of anxious waiting, the eggs hatched. The hatchlings were less than an inch long in their early days, Crotty said.

“I started seeing if I could get a really good shot of them,” he explained. “I kind of know when the babies are the most photogenic, the most interesting. They’ve got this otherworldly look to them; they almost look like Muppets. It only lasts a few days because they grow so quickly.”

Crotty said he was able to get off a series of shots with his 35mm macro lens camera and hand-held flash before the birds ducked back into their nest, realizing they would not be fed.

“It’s just a very brief moment to get them up when they’re looking at the camera,” he said. “The whole look of new life–it’s just something I wanted to capture and I happened to hit it at just the right time.” The birds were only days old at the time the picture was taken, and the fact that their eyes had not yet opened would normally be detrimental to a wildlife photograph. But not in this case.

“Most wildlife photographs are so engaging when the photographer is able to capture the animal’s personality through their eyes,” Crotty explained. “What’s interesting about this one is their eyes are closed, but you can still tell so much about what these birds are going through and the challenge of being so new in the world and so dependent on their parents. [Their wide-open mouths] kind of take the place of the eyes.”

According to Crotty, the photo started generating buzz as soon as he posted it in an online album on Flickr. Complete strangers began marking it as one of their Favorites.

“That one just took off,” he said. “It got a huge amount of hits. I kind of had a hint that it was a good image when I saw that… It was an image that really caught people’s attention.”

After he came across the National Wildlife photography contest online in August, Crotty decided to enter the photograph on a whim.