thanks again for the comments.

Lava Lamp: yeah, that monument is one of the hardest to shoot! i took about 40-50 pictures of just that one and I didn't really like any of them. I'm doing an internship at UMD right outside of D.C. this summer though, so I'll have plenty of practice time!

gimp: thanks! i think you are right about the exposure. It was also really bright that day, so not sure if anything else would have worked anyway.