ANGELA B. PAN

Taken right after I captured this image, this bird was basically singing in my ear. I turned around and I could tell he was having a good time in the Smithsonian Gardens hopping from one branch to the next. So when he actually stopped to pose for the picture, I had to take it. He kind of sticks out but also kinda blends in with the background at the same time which I like.

By the way, why are all animals always “he”?

Along with the cherry blossoms, I always look forward to when the Magnolias bloom around the city. I don’t think they get enough credit because they are beautiful too. It seriously feels like you’re walking through a pink wonderland sometimes with how much blooms around the city. I love spring.

Anyways, hope you all have a great weekend. I’ll probably still be out taking pictures throughout. Even though peak bloom has passed for the magnolias and cherry blossoms, I also kind of like it when the flowers are falling off a bit. When the pedals are all over the grass and in the Tidal Basin water. Especially with the rain and hopefully wind, we’re getting today it should make for some interesting petal formations. I’m hoping the Tidal Basin and surrounding areas will look totally different.

That’s the thing about cherry blossom/magnolia/flower season, it’s just so hard to let go. LOL. It comes and go so quickly when all you want to do is just sit and appreciate them for a little while longer.

My camera settings for this image is F4 at 1/80th sec and ISO 640 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

I’m still smiling ear to ear from yesterday’s sunrise.

IGDC held a cherry blossom sunrise walk at the Tidal Basin and it was so fun seeing so many friends at the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial to start the brand new day. They partnered with the Trust for the National Mall and The National Trust to help spread the word about the Tidal Basin. Turns out the Tidal Basin is now a national treasure of the National Trust of Historical Preservation. YAY! But now that means that we all need to rally together to help preserve it. The National Mall Tidal Basin draws millions of visitors to the 107-acre site each year, but it is estimated that as much as $500 million in repairs and upgrades is needed.

As you may have seen in some of my previous images, the flooding can get real bad. Like here and here and it’s just getting worse as the days go on. This effects the cherry blossom trees as well as our ability to even walk around the Tidal Basin.

So if you love the National Mall as much as I do, please consider donating to help save the Tidal Basin so we can enjoy these beautiful blossoms for many more years to come. Click here for more information.

This image was taken during yesterday’s photowalk. It wasn’t a particularly colorful sunrise but it was calm. It made the water so still and reflective that it was almost like a mirror. I loved the way the ducks would cutting through the water but only had a quick second to be able to capture this image before they completely swam away.

Did you also notice the other two ducks in the background?

My camera settings for this image is F7.1 at 1/640th sec at ISO 500 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

I have no doubt in my mind that I will be able to post a new cherry blossom/magnolia/flower image everyday this month. It’s already been that crazy. Crazy but awesome and so much fun! So I think I’m going to do it.

This image was taken on an afternoon walk with my friend, Austin. It had been a while since we caught up, so we met up in the middle of the afternoon, walked around a bit and found ourselves at the Tidal Basin. I’m pretty sure that during this time of year, all morning, afternoon, and evening walks end up at the Tidal Basin. But it was still a great time nonetheless.

If you know me, you know that I usually stick to cherry blossom sunrises. The later on in the day, the more and more people who show up at the Tidal Basin and not that there’s anything wrong with that. The light is just a bit harsher and I personally like the quieter hours but there is something to say about visiting in the afternoon. The was so much more energy at the basin. I found myself just observing other people more and just smiling at all the different interactions with other people, dogs, and even the trees. Who knew there was even live music at the cherry blossom booths in the Paddle Boats parking lot?! LOL I thought that stage was just there for the weekends or something.

My favorite part of this image is the very right hand side where the cherry blossom branch sort of fades and all you can see are little dots of light. I love how the cherry blossoms are so out of focus that it looks kinda like glitter. Not to mention the swan boats forming a heart <3 My camera settings for this image is F7.1 at 1/800th sec and ISO 250 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm

Other than the Tidal Basin, it’s hard to say where my favorite cherry blossom trees are. There are so many around the city to choose from. These in particular are right in front of the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art. The building itself is just so beautiful and I like to use it as a grey backdrop to help create this monochromatic contrast between organic and structural. If I could, I would seriously spend hours just photographing this group of trees alone.

This past weekend I tried to avoid the crowds at the Tidal Basin and photographed the flowers outside the US Capitol and National Gallery of Art. If I was daring enough, I could probably spend the whole cherry blossom season outside of the Tidal Basin and just photograph the ones everywhere else. Actually That’s a really good idea. I may try that next year. It’s already too late this year because I’ve photographed them yesterday morning at the basin but NEXT YEAR! LOL but I’m up for the challenge.

PS If you’re in the area, it’s also the perfect time to check out the blooms by the US Capitol and even across the street at Lower Senate Park. The magnolias and cherry blossoms are looking beautiful. Even the ones at the Washington Monument trees are looking great. I could go on and on, there’s so many great trees all over.

My camera settings for this image is f5.6 at 1/200th sec and ISO 640 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

Home from Austin, TX and I had a blast! I loved it and didn’t want to come home but since my friend, Sue just moved there, I’m sure there will be more visits in the near future. But more about that later.

The day before I left I went to the Smithsonian Gardens behind the Smithsonian Castle to go checkout the Saucer Magnolias. They were supposed to peak that weekend so I figured going there and checking out the scene would be a good idea. It was a windy morning but I’m glad my friend, Birch as able to meet up as well. We spent the morning catching up and it made the wind that much more bearable.

One thing I learned last year from photographing the garden is that there is this beautiful view of the Washington Monument. I don’t know why, but I never noticed it before. So when I went this year, I kept the mental note in my head and wanted to get some compositions with it in it.

I love the way this one turned out. I probably stood there for a good 10 minutes before I got the shot I wanted but this lady walking past with the grey coat was perfect. I wanted to create a lot of depth in this image so I kneeled down low to get a little bit of that fencing in the shot, then the plants in the center of the garden, the lady, the trees and then finally the Monument. All the colors and everything working so well together was just a happy accident. This definietly made me excited to shoot more flower images around the city!

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

So this ends the week long look back at my adventures with my friend, Sue. If you haven’t been following along, she has been one of my best friends for forever and is moving to Austin, Texas this week. I’m grateful she asked me to take the long drive down to Texas with her so we can spend a little more time together but also I get to check out Austin since I’ve never really been to Texas before.

It’s crazy because looking back at our first cross country road trip, Spain, Maine, and now this image from St John, I’ve realized we’ve done so much together. And this doesn’t even scratch the surface. We’ve been on plenty of girls trips and have spent so much time just adventuring around the Washington DC metro area. I’ll miss her lots but I also know it won’t be for too long before I see her again.

This image is of St John Virgin Island. It’s funny because this was our first ever vacation together and probably one of my favorites. I mean how can it not be? I’m all about that island life. LOL. I remember the exact moment I took this too. We were actually staying on St Thomas, took a ferry to St John and then a bus took us to the local beaches from there. Fortunately the bus stopped at some beautiful places along the way for us to take pictures. I leaned over Sue to take this image but I’m pretty sure that she’s used to me doing stuff like that by now. Not much longer after I took this pic, we were down on that beach laying out 🙂 Sounds perfect right about now.

My camera settings for this image is F4 at 1/640th sec at ISO 80 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.