ANGELA B. PAN

The original intent of Snap DC: Your Guide to Taking Extraordinary Photos of the National Mall and Beyond was to help fellow photographers capture amazing images around the National Mall. I wanted to take all the knowledge that I have and put it all in one place to help anyone who wanted to photograph my favorite city. The first thing I did was mind map all of my favorite locations and quickly realized that I had a dilemma. All of my favorite places to shoot in Washington DC were not just in the National Mall. They were located in and around the city, including this place, Great Falls National Park which is technically located in Maryland and Virginia.

I had to decide if I wanted to narrow the focus to just the National Mall or keep it real and include all the other places. So I kept it real. I love Great Falls. Its such a great getaway from the busyness of the city. Who would have imagined that this magical waterfall is just 20 miles outside of the city. This was taken from the Virginia side and if you go to the Maryland side, it’s a totally different ballpark.

So if you were interested in learning more about Great Falls National Park, The National Mall or all of my other favorite places in the DC area to shoot, then check out Snap DC! It is finally going to be released THIS SUNDAY May 20th on Amazon as a paperback and kindle version. Also don’t forget that we’re photowalk-ing it out on Saturday, May 19th with IGDC to celebrate the launch of the guide book. This weekend is going to be so awesome. I can’t waittttt!

My settings for this image is F4.0 at 1/2500th of a second at ISO 500 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle handheld.

We had our very first snow fall of the season over the weekend! It was perfect. It snowed all day Saturday, just one or two inches. Enough to stick on cars and the grass a bit but nothing on the roads. No mess to clean up, no fuss to worry about. Just the way I like it!

My friend, Larry and I went out to Great Falls Park to check it out. It’s been a while since I’ve photographed the park and was really looking forward to shooting it in the snow. It reminded me of my high school days when I first got interested in photo. At that time, I didn’t know how to drive so my sweet mom drove me in the snow so I could get the shots that I wanted. And wait for me in the cold to photograph the trees and water. It’s crazy how things come full circle. I remember being really proud of those Great Falls shots in high school. LOL how time flies. I bet if you asked her today, she’d still remember doing that. SHOUT OUT TO MY MOM! I LOVE YOU AND APPRECIATE YOU! Even though you know I blog every day but still don’t read them.

I am really looking to photographing more snow this season. I heard we’re going to get a lot this year. I was sort of looking at this Great Falls Park photoshoot as the prequel. So many possibilities to shoot. And I’m really hoping for some drone shots thrown in there too! Let me know, what’s your favorite weather to shoot? Mine is fog but snow could be a close second. Similar effects but more cold.

The settings for this image is F4.5 at 4 seconds and ISO 160 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm lens.

Another amazingly beautiful trip to Great Falls park. I used my ND Filter to get this effect but was more amazed that the a7ii was able to auto focus with the filter on it. Now all we need are comfortable seat cushions for extended exposure times while sitting on rocks 🙂 K thx!

One of my favorite places to go to when I want to spend a day outside. It’s crazy to think that this amazing place is only 15 miles away from Washington DC, yet there are so many people who still have not visited.

When I think about Great Falls Park, I always think about high school. That was when I was first getting into photography and my mom would take me to practice my compositions. I also remember having to write a school paper about the park with my friend Anna. We walked the trails and researched the heck out of the history but only got a “B” on that paper. It’s ok though because I also remember gossiping and laughing our way through the whole project. It was kind of a miracle that we even got it together enough to write the paper.

As an adult, Andrew and I have taken our nephews to the park to play soccer or we’d walk the trails with Frankie. When we first started dating, we walked the whole entire Billy Goat trail while getting to know each other. Another time my cousin, Lynn came to visit from North Carolina and she got her first signs of pregnancy in the park 🙂 And I can’t even count the amount of times I’ve been here and witnessed the most amazing sunrises and sunsets.

The amazing beauty of the Potomac River on a cold winter morning

Close up view

We’re not the only ones who love the park. Its not uncommon to see these beautiful blue herons fishing for dinner.

The park is so big that it is in both Maryland and Virginia. This is a small part of the Maryland side.

Although Virginia is still my favorite side

Hope you enjoyed that stroll down memory lane. I didn’t realize how much Great Falls park meant to me until I had sat down and looked through all these images. I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I did <3

In case you missed the any of my other DC guides:

• Inside DC
• Cherry Blossoms
• the Tidal Basin
• Lincoln Memorial
• Snow in DC
• Autumn in DC
• Autumn in VA

Question: If I were to make a video tutorial, what would you want to learn from me? Please leave your suggestions below.

This was taken at Great Falls park in the autumn time.

Want to hear something funny? Or at least I think it’s funny.

Typically I’m a pretty calm, laid back person. I’m a slow walker and I like to take my time doing things. The other day, Andrew told me that the only time he ever sees me rush is when I’m out taking pictures. I thought that was hilarious because it’s so true. ESPECIALLY if there’s good light. The sun don’t wait for nobody so you gotta grab your camera and go!

This was taken last night at Great Falls park. A great example of a time where I had to rush.