ANGELA B. PAN

Washington DC is starting to warm up and everyone is enjoying the weather! Especially this guy on the Lincoln Memorial ROOF! I mean what?! How can I get up there?

But I love this image because you can just feel the warmth. This was taken during sunrise. It was a particularly beautiful sunrise and it was very bright too. So I knew if I turned around from looking at the Reflecting Pool, that the Lincoln Memorial would probably be glowing as well. I was right. I think I may have been the only one with my back towards the colorful sky but I think that photographing the warm tones on the white marble is just as beautiful and sometimes even more difficult to capture. This glow probably lasted for 5 minutes before the light went back behind the clouds.

It was a total surprise to see that man on top of the roof. Everytime I see a guy up there, I always want to capture them because it’s just such a unique thing to see. But now that construction is in full swing, it’s becoming more and more common. I thought it would be interesting to use the scale of the columns and the Lincoln statute itself to show the scale of everything. Plus I really enjoy looking at that little sliver of orange that’s in President Lincoln’s hair.

One day I would really love to get up there. It has to be the coolest view of the city. This guy knows it because I could definietly tell he was taking pictures of the sunrise with his cell phone. Lucky. Hopefully roof repairs mean that we can go up there one day? I doubt it but fingers crossed.

My camera settings for this image is F4 at 1/80th sec and ISO 500 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

LOL

While I was going through my Iceland images, I ran across this beauty. Don’t know why I never posted it before. LOL. I just thought it too good for the world not to see. But the only way I could have been able to capture this so easily is because of my camera hand strap. To be completely honest, I love that thing. It makes taking pictures so much easier and I also feel very secure just carrying my camera around with just that. I don’t think I could ever go back to a neck strap and anytime I hear of anyone getting a new mirrorless camera, it’s the first thing I tell them to get. Especially with the lighter weight camera, it just makes taking pictures so easy. So if you’re ever in the market for a new camera strap, please consider the peak design hand strap. It’s awesome.

And in recent turn of events, it looks like I’ll be driving to Austin, Texas. Yea, super random and totally unexpected. I just found out last week actually. But one of my best friend’s, Sue is actually moving there. If you keep up with my youtube channel, you will probably remember her from our drive across country. I’m so sad she’s moving but she got a job opportunity that she couldn’t pass up. She was always my one friend who was down to do pretty much anything (like a cross country road trip) and I’m going to miss her so much. But I’m grateful she asked me if I would join her on this road trip and at least I’ll be able to spend a little more time with her before she’s gone.

I’ve actually never really spent that much time in Texas before so if you have any recommendations of things to do in Austin, please let me know! After we arrive, I’ll be there for a few days checking out the city. I heard it’s super fun 🙂

My camera settings for this image is F4 at 1/320th sec at ISO 400 with my A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens AND my hand strap. 

One of my new favorite places to hang out in Washington DC is the West End Neighborhood Library. Not because of the books, even though books are great, but it’s because of the stunning architecture. I mean those windows are amazing but I love the they are stacked one on top of each other. It’s so cool and makes for very interesting photographs. I especially like how you can see the reflection of the clouds in them. It’s a great reminder that you should always look up when walking around the city.

But you may also remember this library from a previous blog post because it’s actually attached to Bluestone Lane. It’s been a little more than a year since I first blogged about it but even the interior is of this place amazingly beautiful. Since my first visit in February 2018, I’ve had many brunch and lunch dates here and I still can’t get over it. What’s really cool is that these “V” columns continue into the library too.

So if you’re into these types of architectural images, definietly join me in Chicago in July this summer. We’re going to have a week packed full of cool buildings to photograph plus so much more. There may or may not be a baseball game in the mix too.  I also made this video talking more about what to expect while we’re there. So if you have any questions about anything, feel free send me a message whenever. It’s going to be such a good time! As a matter of fact, Andrew and I are planning a trip out there sometime soon to start scouting locations. Can’t wait! Pizza is callin’ my name! and yours too if you join 🙂

My camera settings for this image is F4 at 1/3200th sec at ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

It’s official. I’ve officially caught spring fever and over the cold winter weather. You can now bring on the warmer temps and longer days. I’m ready! But in case you missed it, I’ve updated my cherry blossom guide with everything you need to know about photographing the beautiful flowers. From my favorite trees at the Tidal Basin to other places where you can catch the flowers blooming around the city. It’s all there. And of course, if you have any other questions about the cherry blossoms, please let me know in the comments. I’ll try my best to answer them.

But while I’m actually waiting for my spring dreams to come true, I figured I may as well load up on all the winter snow images I have while they’re still relevant. LOL. Things like this is why people always think I think ahead.

Anyways, this image was taken during our biggest snowfall of the year. It’s not really saying much since we didn’t get THAT much accumulation this season but it was still fun to capture. Like I said in my previous blog, I ended up taking the metro into the city and ended my day at the Smithsonian stop. This image was captured closer to the final destination but there was something that compelled me to turn around and take one last look at the Washington Monument when I saw this scene. I just loved how the trees were flanking and framing the obelisk. But I think my favorite part is looking at the very bottom of he image and seeing all the details. I don’t know why but I think it’s because those American flags and light posts are usually captured to be larger than life but when you see them in reference to the trees, they look so tiny. Definitely a new way of looking at these “everyday” things.

My camera settings for this image is F7.1 at 1/1600th sec and ISO 800 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom.

The watch is onnnnnn….

Last week Capital Weather Gang and the National Cherry Blossom festival both announced their predictions for the peak of cherry blossom season this year. It’s not always accurate, but they are usually pretty close. So I think I can confidently say that we should expect the cherry blossoms to start their first blooms the first week of April.

I C-A-N-T W-A-I-T. It’s always my favorite time of year and literally when I will probably be coming out of this winter hibernation I’ve been experience ever since the last snow storm here in Washington DC. Sometimes I do feel a little pressure to come up with new composition ideas but once I actually get to the Tidal Basin, I’m always inspired by the flowers. Honestly, the city doesn’t get any prettier than when the cherry blossoms are here.

So if you’re in the area, definitely mark your calendars for the 1st week of April. It will be a good time and if we run into each other, please say hello. It’s always great meeting people who read the blog.

This image was taken 2 years ago. It was probably one of the most epic cherry blossom days in recent memory. It was so foggy and visibility was so low that everything else around me just disappeared. I imagine if it weren’t so foggy you’d even see a little bit of the Washington Monument in the background. My favorite part is how this tree limb is barely touching the water but the reflection is just so nice. I don’t know why but I just keep staring at the right side of this image and I love it so much.

My camera settings for this image is F6.3 at 1/80th sec and ISO 200 with my Sony A7II and 28-70mm lens.

The other day a friend of mine emailed me asking me if I had Iceland recommendations because they just booked a trip for the summertime. Oh definitely yes I do and basically wrote a book with everything I knew about traveling to the nordic country. All the pros, cons and everything I would do differently. To be honest though, there weren’t that many cons. Way more pros and exciting things to do 🙂

So after that long email, it made me want to go back and revisit some of my older Iceland images. It’s been 2 years since last time I was there but still have great memories of the visit. I’ve never been in the summertime so I definitely noted that it would be interesting to see what it would be like with almost 24 hrs of sunlight. It makes me wonder if sleeping would be difficult .

This image was taken on my last trip there. Vík was one of my favorite places we visited and it’s always on the top of my to-see places whenever people tell me they’re going to Iceland. This was an early morning shot and by early morning I mean around 11:30a in Iceland because we were there in January and the sunrise was around 10:30. It was amazing to get to sleep in for so long but so weird when daylight was only 4 or 5 hours.

An early morning fog had rolled in and seriously illuminated the mountains like I had never seen before. PS Is it me or do you feel like eating a piece of steak now? LOL.

Iceland is definitely one of those places that I could go back to time and time again and not get bored.

My camera settings for this image is F6.3 at 1/50th sec and ISO 200 with my Sony A7ii and 16-35mm wide angle lens.