There’s only one national park dedicated to aquatic plants, and that’s Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, located in N.E. Washington, about a 15-minute drive from Greenbelt. I was there in Mid-July for their Lotus and Water Lily Festival.

All summer but especially at the peak flowering time and during the festival, the place is swarming with photographers. This year the 2-day festival attracted about 13,500 visitors, and I’m told attendance has been growing.

I wondered about the effect of social media, especially Instagram, on hyper-photogenic places like this. Friends of Kenilworth Aquatic Park volunteer coordinator David Drawbaugh confirmed that he’s “sure a lot of people learn about the park through pictures of it on social media.” So selfies can be a good thing?

Funny thing, though. When I was there early Sunday morning of the festival I didn’t see a single selfie taken; I wonder if it’s generational, or even cultural.

I say that because SO many of the visitors I saw here are older, and from East Asia, where lotus blossoms have historical and cultural significance.

I asked about portraits and selfies and David confirmed that they’re popular here and I found the best possible one among the 2018 winners of the park’s Photo Contest. It’s this next one:

Lotus blossoms with Corgi was a sure winner in the people category. (Is posing with a dog cheating?)

Enjoy two more winners below.

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