A man takes a photograph from the Air Force Memorial as a plane leaves DCA on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019, in Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Window washers work on a building in the 4000 block of Wilson Blvd on Sept. 3, 2019, in Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Jefferson Davis Highway sign comes down, Richmond Highway sign goes up (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A runner passes a construction site along Wilson Blvd on Sept. 9, 2019, in Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A man crosses a pedestrian bridge over I-395 in Shirlington as the sun rises on Sept. 10, 2019, in Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Job seekers line up at Amazon career day in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Arlington National Cemetery (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Nebiate Kidane, 2, lifts a giant chess piece at the Fountain in Crystal City on Sept. 20, 2019, in Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Kids wait to cross Columbia Pike (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Sean Buchholz (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Peyton Beauchemin (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Pentagon City at sunset (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A woman and child hold umbrellas in the rain in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A man blows leaves at Wilson Boulevard Christian Church (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A flock of geese fly near the U.S. Air Force Memorial as the sun sets (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Sidewalk being washed along Lynn Street in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Traffic on I-395 looking south as the sun sets (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Tamara and Gabriel Spriggs help ACFD decorate ‘Uncle Price’s’ house (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Columbia Island Marina and Boundary Channel in the fog (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The wood-burning oven at Pupatella (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Wreaths on headstones at Arlington National Cemetery (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Snow falling in Rosslyn on the Iwo Jima memorial (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A commuter jet leaves National Airport as the sun rises over Washington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Demolition in progress at Amazon HQ2 site (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
An airplane is reflected on the glass of a building along Lynn St. in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Men work to waterproof Calvary United Methodist Church on 23rd St. South (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Fishing in Roaches Run (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the Beginner race at the Crosshairs Garage Races in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Crew on the Potomac as the sun sets over Rosslyn and the Key Bridge (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the 8th annual Fur The More convention in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
An empty Clarendon Metro (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the coronavirus testing site on N. Quincy Street (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scooters on the Key Bridge (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A quiet Lynn Street during the morning rush hour on March 16, 2020 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Whitlow’s on Wilson Blvd (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A panhandler outside the Whole Foods in Pentagon City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Tulips along Boundary Channel near the Columbia Island Marina (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The Air Force Memorial as the sun sets (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A couple walks past Botanica Boricua with surgical masks on April 3, 2020 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Sunset over Arlington and the U.S. Air Force Memorial (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The DoubleTree Hotel is lit up with a heart shape during the Covid-19 pandemic (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The U.S. Air Force Memorial at sunset in between new construction on S. Oak Street (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
‘Hope’ is spelled out with room lights at the DoubleTree Hotel in Pentagon City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A delivery driver hustles to pick up an order during a rainstorm in Shirlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A murder of crows fly above Wilson Blvd. and Lynn St. in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Rush hour in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds flyover, as pictured from near the Pentagon and U.S. Air Force Memorial on Saturday, May 2, 2020 in Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Heading home after watching the fly over (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Crystal City balconies (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Clouds over the Pentagon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from free Covid-19 testing at the Barcroft Community Center (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The George Washington Parkway at sunset (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Wakefield graduate Josh Cisneros walks to his graduation ceremony through Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Marymount University Class of 2020 graduation parade down Glebe Road (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A customer getting their hair done waits outside Illusions salon in Shirlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Black Lives Matter protest that marched from Ballston to Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from an NAACP and Black Lives Matter rally and march in Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from an NAACP and Black Lives Matter rally and march in Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from an NAACP and Black Lives Matter rally and march in Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scene from an NAACP and Black Lives Matter rally and march in Arlington in June 2020 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Amazon’s HQ2 site under construction on June 17, 2020 in Pentagon City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Prospect Hill Park and the Air Force Memorial (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church during a World Central Kitchen food distribution event (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
At the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Rosslyn, the sun sets behind a high-level haze caused by fires on the West Coast (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Sunset over the Potomac River, as seen from Georgetown (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Morning fog in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Leaves along the sidewalk and a puddle gathering rain drops and reflections outside of Whitlow’s in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Light streaks from cars on I-395 in Shirlington during a cloudy evening (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Construction continues on Amazon’s HQ2 in Pentagon City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A man crosses Columbia Pike during the evening rush hour (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Visitors at the View of DC observation deck in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The sun sets behind layers of Arlington buildings and clouds (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Implosion of the Rosslyn Holiday Inn hotel (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Rain drops hang onto Red Fountain berries in the Bon Air Park Rose Garden (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
James Moore, Jr. cuts a client’s hair at his barber shop on Langston Blvd (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The sun sets behind Courthouse and Rosslyn, as seen from The View of DC in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Crowds in front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, as seen from the Marine Corps War Memorial (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Sunrise over D.C., as seen from Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The Memorial Bridge is closed (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The iconic Highlander Motor Inn on Wilson Blvd in Jan. 2021 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The National Mall is illuminated with a ‘Field of Flags’ on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2021, as seen from Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The Wolf Moon rises behind the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Snowman on a bench near Rosslyn, Jan. 31 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A snow re-creation of the U.S. Capitol building, complete with flags, on the lawn of Westover Baptist Church in Westover (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Construction cranes over the Amazon HQ2 site are illuminated with purple lights (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Group of men at the Marine Corps War Memorial near Rosslyn on Jan. 6 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Tia Anderson with Brock Anderson, and Tina Ho with her son Westin Ho, watch airplanes land at Gravelly Point (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A group of players and parents from Wakefield High School are speaking out about an alleged racist incident at Marshall High School (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Demolition of Rouse estate in Dominion Hills (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Blossoms in bloom at Long Bridge Park in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Bicyclists on the Mt. Vernon Trail while a boat on the Potomac passes by (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The Amazon HQ2 construction site in Pentagon City on April 28 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A windy day in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A man fishes with a net in the Potomac River below the Chain Bridge (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from The Great Inflatable Race/Pacers 5K in Crystal City Friday evening (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Finding a moment of zen in Long Bridge Park (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Construction progress in Pentagon City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
An Army helicopter flies over Boundary Channel near the Pentagon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A man roller skates with an American flag down Wilson Blvd in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Marine One departs the White House en route to Walter Reed Hospital (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Marine One departs the White House en route to Walter Reed Hospital (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Tour of the under construction Amazon with Gov. Ralph Northam HQ2 in Pentagon City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Sunlight reflects off of buildings in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Red bows along the roof of the Crystal City Sports Pub (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Moore’s Barbershop on Langston Blvd (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A snowy Little Free Library along Washington Blvd near George Mason Dr. (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A dad gets pelted by snow in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The pedestrian bridge over Wilson Blvd in Ballston is illuminated in yellow and blue in support of Ukraine in March 2022 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A pattern on the interior lobby wall of 1550 Crystal Drive (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Construction continues at Ft. Meyer Dr. and Langston Blvd. (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Taking out the trash in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Sgt 1st Class Rosemary Urbina places a flag at a gravestone at Arlington National Cemetery ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend on May 6, 2022 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
An Honor Flight of female veterans tour the newly renovated Military Women’s Memorial (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
An Honor Flight of female veterans tour the newly renovated Military Women’s Memorial (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Contrails and a jet in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Sunset along Columbia Pike near the construction site for the Arlington National Cemetery expansion in June 2022 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Skateboarder Jaxon Vega at Powhatan Springs Skatepark in Dominion Hills (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Clouds and power lines above Langston Blvd. (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Smoke from western wildfires turns the setting sun red near the U.S. Air Force Memorial (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Candlelight vigil at Washington-Liberty High School (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A snow-doctor does battle with a snow-virus (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the Arlington County Fair (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Police on scene of apparent self-inflicted shooting near Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Cherry blossoms on Capitol Hill, with Courthouse in the far distance (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A stuffed unicorn in an overflowing trash bin on Washington Blvd (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
As seen in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Amazon HQ2 in Pentagon City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Parents and kids celebrate the last bus drop off of the school year with a water balloon fight in the Yorktown neighborhood (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Fireworks over the National Mall, viewed near the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Fireworks over the National Mall, viewed near the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Fireworks over the National Mall, viewed near the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Water rescues along S. Joyce Street (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Driver crashes into bank drive-thru in Falls Church (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Storm damage across Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Crash on N. Harrison Street (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A colorful sunset viewed from the bike/pedestrian bridge over Langston Blvd. (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the Arlington County Fair (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the Arlington County Fair (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from the Arlington County Fair (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scenes from a U.S. citizenship ceremony at Arlington Central Library in Virginia Square (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Arlington resident Eimad Saab does pushups as the sun sets in Rosslyn’s Gateway Park (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Inside the Arlington County Detention Facility (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Garbage fire in the middle of Wilson Blvd (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Stonework at the gate, left after the demolition of the Rouse House, with newly constructed homes in the background (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Water drops on a hedge along N. Longfellow Street in Westover (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
When Jay Westcott joined ARLnow in September 2019, he said one of his main focuses was covering the arrival of Amazon’s HQ2 and its impact on the local community.
He could not have foreseen that within just seven months, he would be documenting some of the most consequential years not only for Arlington but for the entire world.
“The global pandemic changed the way we do business, shop for groceries, dine out, and live our lives here in Arlington,” he told ARLnow.
After nearly two decades in the field, Westcott is stepping away from news to focus on his other interests, including portraiture, storytelling and music. He leaves behind a vast archive of photos that captured scenes from the pandemic, major storms, Black Lives Matter protests and Arlington’s changing landscape.
The gallery above features 145 of Westcott’s favorite photos, chosen from thousands to represent his four-plus years of capturing life in Arlington.
“I have tried my best to show Arlington in all its forms and show how much I love living here,” he said.
