From the Washington’s Headquarters Collection

The Ford Mansion at Sunrise

Another iconic president with strong ties to a home is George Washington. The Ford Mansion in New Jersey was his military headquarters during the winter encampment of 1779-80. It is now the site of Morristown National Historical Park.

I was very motivated to create this photograph. As a night-person, it is not easy for me to go to bed early so that I can wake up in the middle of the night, drive from Long Island to New Jersey, and then set up before dawn. I was not sure even sure if the effort would pay off as I had no idea whether the morning light would result in an interesting image.

I was previsualizing an orange or pinkish sky bathing the house in a warm glow. But when I arrived, I saw that the trees were blocking the sun.

In the end, I was pleased with the result. Instead of the typical sunrise view I was anticipating, a narrow gap within the trees unexpectedly funneled the light into an unusual hot streak of yellow cutting across the lawn.

You can learn more about the significance of this collection in this video:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWtM-jNr0nM]

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