The Boys of Summer 2011

Photographs by Shannon Finney, Shot on location, July 5, 2011, Washington, DC

Summer in the city is usually a series of mad dashes along the crowded, fire-hot sidewalks into the crisp air-conditioned cold of an office building or the sticky

steaminess of a subway car. But for the city's smallest citizens, summer time is

the time for endless days, swimming pools, and the intense delight of a sudden

downpour. Children see summer through ice cream cones and frozen pops, and the

feeling of fresh, wet grass under their bare feet. On a trip to the National Zoo

the other day with my nephews, I forgot the boiling hot sun and simply enjoyed a

day filled with shaved ice, amazing animals, and memories of my own carefree

summer days.