ANGELA B. PAN

Out with Andy and our Sunday sunrise morning friends, we made our way from the Washington Monument to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. We were all capturing images of the reflection of the building and the Washington Monument, but I ended up capturing a few images from this angle. I liked how the NMAAHC looked like it was slicing up the Washington Monument. I think it made for a unique point of view. But I thought it was missing just one element. So I asked Andy to walk along the path.

Adding a human element there makes this much more interesting because it’s a total play on scale. From this point of view, he looks as tall as the trees and street lights. Everything is almost at the same exact level. Plus I think his reflection in this one came out pretty interesting too.

My camera settings for this image are F16 at 1/200th sec and ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm zoom lens.

We’re forecasted to get some snow this weekend! I’m not going to be a naysayer this time and say it won’t happen because I really hope it does! This time I’m hoping for a significant amount of snow. LOL. *crosses fingers for manifestation*

Throwback to last week when it did snow. It was only a little bit and it didn’t even stick for more than 24 hours but I’m so glad it at least stayed for a beautiful sunrise. I was in Manassas, Virginia. I really wanted to fly my drone for a bit to see what I could capture. But when I saw the pinks in the sky start to show up, my drone started running out of battery. It was ok because I just landed it for a little bit and pulled out my Sony camera to shoot some landscape images. After capturing a few images with my regular camera, I changed the battery on my drone and went straight back up. In the end, it all worked out.

My camera settings for this image are F7.1 at 1/500th sec and ISO 800 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

I knew we were going to get snow for almost a week but I didn’t think much of it. Every time I checked the weather, it said the high was going to be in the 40’s so I figured if we did get any kind of snow, it wouldn’t stick or it would just end up becoming rain. I was wrong.

When it actually started to snow on Tuesday afternoon, it really came down. I was shocked when it was sticking to the grass and even created some slush on the roads. So I tried my best to capture it all on Tuesday around my neighborhood, but I wasn’t really happy with anything I captured. I went to sleep hoping the night air would be cold enough to keep the snow on the trees.

So I woke up Wednesday morning, packed up my drone and camera gear, and crossed my fingers that there would still be snow a little further out west in Virginia. I was right! I was so excited to fly, especially when the sun started to come up. The winter glow really came alive on the snow-covered trees and I couldn’t help but smile (even if I was by myself, standing in the shivering cold). I was getting wind warnings the entire time I was flying, but I’m so glad I pushed it a little bit further to capture this.

I really hope we get more snow later on in the season ❄️❄️❄️

My camera settings for this image are F2.2 and 1/640th sec and ISO 400 with my DJI Mavic Pro

I’ve had this one particular image in my mind for the past week but it’s not this. I sort of, kind of captured it yesterday morning with this image, but it didn’t turn out exactly like how I wanted. So you may be seeing more of of the World War II Memorial in the near future until I get it right 🙂

But for now, I like the way this turned out.

It was a cold morning with no wind. The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool water was so still, it looked like a mirror. I really love how reflective it was, especially in the trees. They look so tall and sort of spooky, but I think it works because they bring the attention down to the memorial and the bicyclist riding by.

My camera settings for this image are F5 at 1/200th sec and ISO 4000 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

There have been so many beautiful highlights of 2019 and one of them was definitely the reopening of the Washington Monument this past September. Every time I walk or drive past it now, I’m just so excited there aren’t any fencing or barriers around it anymore. It’s like a whole new area of the National Mall opened up, ready to roam and explore.

The best is being able to go to the top. I haven’t been able to go since 2014, but even then it closed down a few months later. I would love to go back up during the different seasons, especially when it snows. I think the city looks so beautiful when it snows and being 555ft above ground must be a beautiful sight to see.

In case you missed it, I created a guide to visiting the Washington Monument. Everything you need to know about getting tickets and visiting before you actually go.

This image may not be as obvious, but it’s of Constitution Gardens, adjacent to the WWII memorial on the National Mall. Fortunately, I was able to get tickets during sunset so that warm glow was hitting all the trees at the right time. If you look a little further into the image, you can see the Kennedy Center and the Potomac River <3

My camera settings for this image are F4.5 at 1/60th sec and ISO 1000 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

This image may be my favorite in the series I captured at Rock Creek Park. I like it because of how monochromatic yellow it is. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know I love those monochrome colored looks.

You may also know that I enjoy going out with other photographers to take pictures too. But once in a while, I find so much peace going out on my own. Especially in Rock Creek Park, a place I am not too familiar with, I loved exploring the area and finding little corners like this. However, this was one time I wish I was out with another person. I think this would have been really cool if there was a person standing there with an umbrella or something. Oh well, there’s always next time.

My camera settings for this image are F6.3 at 1/13th sec and ISO 500 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm.