ANGELA B. PAN

I captured this image on the same night as this image but it was also a few days after I captured this one. I obviously still have the same composition in my head but I wanted to see what it would look like during this beautiful foggy evening.

So I set up my camera the exact same way as the previous image and just waited for someone close to the Washington Monument to walk by. It took a while because it was oddly quiet for 8 pm at the National Mall, but still, I waited. I was so concentrated on finding a person in the background that I didn’t even notice a person was about to walk in front of me to create an even bigger shadow. I love the way that it turned out, especially since you can see the reflection of both shadows in the water puddle.

Now I want to know, which image do you like better? This foggy one or the image I captured early morning?

My camera settings for this are F4 at 1/30th sec and ISO 8000 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide-angle lens.

After I created this image, I ended up walking around the Tidal Basin a little more and didn’t like what I was getting. Once the sun started to come up a bit, the sky started to get less foggy and I was feeling less inspired. So I ended up just walking back to my car and driving home. On my way home, I noticed the fog getting heavier and heavier. I wished that there was more fog like that around the city.

But in the suburbs of Virginia, it was fantastic. When I turned into our neighborhood, I ended up driving past Andrew as he was taking Frankie on his morning walk. So I parked my car, grabbed my camera and asked if we could all walk down this trail behind our neighborhood. It’s just a small walking path that is hard to notice, but I knew with all the bare trees, it would give off this really cool, spooky vibe.

Luckily, Frankie is the easiest model to work with. And by the time I saw him, he was already almost done with his walk so he was tired. When I told him to “sit”, he literally just stood there and didn’t move. So I took his leash off and snapped a few pictures of him real quick.

My camera settings for this image are F4 at 1/500th sec and ISO 640 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

It’s been a busy fall season already! But I’m enjoying every minute of it. I love just driving down around my neighborhood and seeing all the colorful trees. So I obviously had to take a quick run down to Shenandoah National Park to check out the foliage around there. It’s become a tradition that my friend Larry and I will make a trip down and photograph the sunrise along Skyline Drive. This year, our friend Brande came with us too. It was a beautiful morning with photo friends.

In general, the trees were looking a little green along the drive so I think we were a bit premature in going. Regardless, it was great to watch the sunrise over the mountains. There were even little pockets of fog along the mountain range that made it even more special. But I didn’t get the shot I was looking for. I was either hoping for a really foggy morning making images look extra moody and gloomy or very colorful trees lit up by the sunlight. So since we didn’t get either of those, I’m thinking another trip to Shenandoah is necessary. Hopefully sometime soon!

My camera settings for this image are F11 at 1/30th sec and ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

Another foggy morning image of Pennsylvania because I just couldn’t get enough of this magical morning. It was honestly the highlight of my day. For this image, I think I was still on top of the hill when I captured it. I just love seeing the layers of the yellow tree in front, red barn, and then the trees in the background. As soon as I climbed up this hill, I immediately regretted forgetting my drone in the Airbnb. Next time I have to remember to bring EVERYTHING with me.

Happy Friday and have a good weekend! Hope to do some more fall color hunting…

My camera settings for this image is F10 at 1/125th sec and ISO 1600 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

Is it just me or is it easier to wake up for sunrise when you’re traveling then it is when you’re home? Before I went to bed, I set my alarm for 5:30 am. I woke up the next morning before my alarm, bright-eyed and ready to go. It was amazing.

I had every intention of visiting Cucumber Falls Waterfall in Ohiopyle State Park but what I did not expect was all this amazing morning fog. I couldn’t help myself. I kept on pulling over every 5 minutes trying to capture it. I was pulling over on the side of the road or turning into little roads along the way. There was one road in particular that looked like it was half foggy and half not so I had to pull over. While I was taking pictures, I noticed a couple walking their two dogs. Turns out one of them was a puppy so I had to wait for them to come closer so I could ask to pet the puppy. LOL. Well, the puppy was 5 months old and so playful. After talking to their owners for a little while, they said that they lived on the property on top of the hill and told me that I should go up there for an even better view.

OMG this was the view from their hill. Long story short, I did not make it to the waterfall. LOL. And this was the gentlemen and the older dog walking by on the road I met them on. That sunrise glow though!

My camera settings for this image is F10 at 1/200th sec and ISO 1600 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

This image was captured almost 2 years ago but it is still one of my favorite mornings in Washington DC. I remember it like it was yesterday. The day before we were supposed to get snow but ended up getting a few flurries. So I just assumed that the following morning weather was going to be a good sunrise. It ended up being too cloudy with no color, so pretty much two disappointments in a row.

But when the sun actually rose and started to shine the light down on to the National Mall, it warmed up the air so much that it actually started to get a little foggy. And somehow all that fog was got captured within this walking path in between the two rows of trees. As a result, the light was so warm and yellow and I couldn’t help but notice all the shadows the sun was creating as well.

It was honestly like walking through a dream. I had never seen this walking path like this before and ever since that day, I always find myself looking to see if it will happen again.

Plus I love how the trees at the end of the pathway form a little heart <3

My camera settings for this image is F5.6 at 1/320th sec and ISO 200 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide-angle.