3rd Annual Photo Competition

For our third year running, The Georgetowner’s annual photo competition has let us reach into the community and ask our readers for their most memorable scenes of the last year. Georgetown’s historic beauty is something often overlooked in the bustle of urban life—after a while you begin not to notice the gold-domed grandeur of the PNC Bank on Wisconsin and M (erected in 1814 as part of Riggs Bank by a group which included George Washington’s nephew), the Frank Schlesinger-designed apartments overlooking the waterfront, or even the beauty of Key Bridge, the oldest surviving bridge across the Potomac. And this doesn’t even touch upon our historic row houses, cobblestone streets, waterfront views of the Potomac, boathouses and parks.

Sometimes it takes a photograph to capture the essence of a time or place, and in Georgetown’s case, they are bridged tenuously between the tradition of the past and the promise of the future.

Many thanks to those who submitted this year. Of all the standout entries we received, the overarching theme seemed to focus on our neighborhood as a focal point for some of Washington’s most memorable landscapes and cityscape, and the overwhelming submissions that flowed beyond Georgetown and wandered around our city limits were impossible to ignore. Tom Ward’s photograph of the Vietnam Memorial, at right, was a subtle and moving portrait, echoing the souls of all those we lost so many years ago in the folding reflections of the granite walls within themselves.

As we look on from the newly completed Waterfront Park, past the Kennedy Center and into the city beyond, one thing remains in focus: we live in a beautiful place. Let’s not forget it.

About the winner:
‘Sunrise Over 34th Street,’ photo By Didi Cutler, winner of The Georgetowner’s 3rd Annual Photo Competition. Thanks to all who participated. For more photos, turn to page 16.
A 34th St. resident, Isabel “Didi” Cutler has spent many years living and traveling in the Middle East. Her photographic portraits and landscapes hang in embassies, museums and offices throughout the world, as well as in many private collections, including the White House. Her portraits include prominent statesmen, artists and authors, as well as a broad range of other individuals, ranging from royal families in their palaces to neighborhood children in intimate family surroundings. Cutler’s book, ‘Mysteries of the Desert,’ was published by Rizzoli in 2001.