Hoops12751 Loc: Lexington, KY

I am headed up to the east coast in October to shoot lighthouses along the coast of Maine, NH, MA, and CT. On my return trip I am planning to stop over in DC to shoot some of the monuments at the blue hour and after dark. Any location recommendations or tips from anyone who has photographed around the National Mall lately? I haven't been there since the 80's so I am not sure what has changed.

Any input is certainly appreciated.

MDI Mainer

I know there is road work in progress on the Memorial Bridge, but my guess is that there would still be some unaffected views of the Jefferson Memorial.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

The Korean War Memorial.
Stainless statues look like ghosts at night.
Can PM image if you like.

(The hotel where we stayed could we got a bus "night" tour.
Nice to not worry about traffic and parking.)

RichinSeattle

Time your visit to the Mall so that you're near the Capitol before sunset. (Actually, you should begin your journey at (in?) the Library of Congress. Spectacular architecture.) You should have some great natural light shining from the west on the Capitol as well as the flood lights when they come on. Then if you're lucky with the sunset, turn around (with a tele) and photograph the Lincoln Memorial as the sun sets behind it. (Move to one side - probably the right - so the Wash. Mon. doesn't block your view of the Lincoln, or, maybe better, shoot the sunset & Lincoln from the base of the Washington Mon.) The various museums (especially art - both buildings - air & Space and the Smithsonian "Castle") should give you some nice shots as you stroll westward. The Korean War, FDR and WWII Memorials may offer good opportunities, depending on lighting, as will the Vietnam Memorial nearer the Lincoln. From the steps of the Lincoln, use a wide-angle and shoot the vista of the Mall with the Reflecting Pool in the foreground. Depending on how much hiking you want to do, Georgetown and its many good restaurants are another 20 minutes northwest of the Lincoln, along M St.

Best of luck with the weather and have fun.

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

The Virginia side of the Potomac offers excellent views of DC. Around the Arlington Cemetery that are great spots for landscapes with the night lights.

Silverman Loc: Michigan

I read that a new security fence is being installed all around White House, so Photography there will be limited or possibly not allowed.

Bill_de Loc: US

One thing nice about the monuments really late is you may find them with no people. I remember setting my TLR on a tripod at 3am, across the street from the Lincoln Memorial, not a soul in sight. Just as I was about to press the shutter a police car pulled up in front of old Abe and sat there with it's lights on. My friend who worked on the hill at the time said, no problem. She walked up to the driver's side and pointed to me and my camera. The driver waved and they drove off. I also got a picture of an empty Pentagon subway station. I got a couple of awards and my friend got it published in one of the DC papers. The only thing unique about these pictures was that there was nobody in them.

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RichinSeattle

You can get a fine telephoto view of the White House (the back) from the base of the Washington Monument, which is on a hill that allows you to see over the fence.

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d2b2 Loc: Catonsville, Maryland, USA

The Capital is one of the most remarkable buildings in the City, from my perspective. And there are any number of vantage points from which to photograph it. This obviously from the middle of the street, but another great location is from the Mall itself.

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billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

This should give you the information you seek.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Products-g28970-zfc12057-zfg11873-Washington_DC_District_of_Columbia.html

Erkibler

We stayed at LaFont(sp) Plaza. Very convenient to the mall(1 block). There is a subway stop right under the hotel too. Great for mall access.

Hennes8 Loc: Fairfax, VA

Definitely the Vietnam Memorial “The Wall” should be considered. It is right next to the Korean War memorial and as mentioned quite eerie at night. There is an interesting fountain in front of one of the Library of Congress buildings that was fashioned after the Trevi fountain. Good shooting.

CurleyB Loc: MAITLAND FL

The Korean War Memorial especially at twilight or if you can luckinto some after dark fog

photoman43

The Martin Luther King memorial and the adjacent FDR memorial are wonderful photo ops in daylight or at night. And the Korean War memorial is an absolute must as is the Vietnam war memorial. Then all of the others too.

mackolb

The Jefferson Memorial is currently experiencing a restoration process and looks horrendous with its dome encumbered with architectural supports. And the south side of the Capitol building is also getting a big makeover with scaffolding and shrouding to minimize environmental impacts from the surface work. Same with several legislative office buildings on both the south and north sides of the Capitol.
I've captured some wonderful hand-held images inside both the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials but if the water is running in the FDR memorial, a monopod or quick setup/breakdown tripod will be helpful, so long as no Capitol Police catch you. They're pretty picky about such things.
We moved to Capitol Hill twelve years ago and I still can't get enough of the photo opportunities to see DC in the best light. While I'm recovering from major back surgeries in 2009 and 2017 and can't walk as I used to, carrying my cameras, lenses and supports, it is, nonetheless, pure inspiration and I continue to dream of getting back out again making the best DC images of my life.
Oh, and one more thing, check out http://whocaresaboutdc.com
Since I'm not making images as I used to, I'm not making a documentary film about the city I've adopted as my home and its place as what many of my friends refer to as the Last Plantation in the United States of America. It's a work-in-process that I expect to complete and have in distribution before the 2020 election.