Warning... this is probably gonna be quite a lengthy post!

This is the US Capitol Building taken this morning around 7 am.  The light on this building can be really cool in the morning.  This probably would have been better if I could have waited another 30 minutes or so for some more sun, but I don't remember what time they turn the lights off on the dome and I didn't want to chance it. The other morning, there were some gorgeous oranges and reds, but I only had my short lens and couldn't get the framing right.

Speaking of lenses, this is the first shot I've posted that I've taken with my Tamron lens.  It's functionally equivalent to 480 mm at this zoom level (yes, I took my tripod to work today).  This shot was actually taken about 4 blocks away from the building (check Flickr for the map if interested).  While I like the zoom ability, I'm going to have to become accustomed to dealing with lens flare with this lens.  You can see the flares as a couple of little pink dots to the left of the dome.  Those are presumably from the closest street light, which also has a few flare spots in it if you view the full size version.

This shot is totally unmodified, other than resizing for Flickr.  Hence, it's a touch on the dark side (I normally underexpose a little bit to get shadow details and then use Photoshop's levels to get the exposure back up).   The colors were still good and the picture is pretty sharp, so I'm glad I took the time to set everything up and get this one.  If the weather is similar, I may go back tomorrow and wait a bit longer to see if I can get some better light and/or find out when they turn off the lights.

BTW... since I have all of these historical and political buildings on my blog, some of you may have gotten the impression that I'm in to politics.  I'm not... at all!  But, the buildings are cool.  I really couldn't care less that this is "The Capitol Building" (sorry Mom), to me, it's just a cool building with good lighting. ;)  This is DC... it's nearly impossible NOT to take a picture that doesn't have some kind of political drama surrounding it.  Trust me, they're just pictures. 

BTW... thanks to my nameless friend for pointing out that I forgot to include the actual picture.  He's not nameless because I'm protecting his identity or anything... he just doesn't deserve a name any more. :P