ANGELA B. PAN

In a crazy turn of events, Andrew and I spent the weekend in Turks and Caicos. At first, I didn’t think we were going to make it considering I had emergency surgery two weeks ago but in the end, we made it happen! I tried my best to try to postpone the trip. Going through all the paperwork and things to get a date change but it just wasn’t working in our favor. So we decided to just take it slow and still go to the Caribbean island. Why waste the money we already put down for it?  The purpose of the trip was to celebrate a huge milestone for Andrew, so that is exactly what we did 🙂

It turned out to be an amazing trip. Yes, we took it slow. But that’s what a beach vacation is all about. At least for me. What better way to recover and just lay around all day than under a beach umbrella. But there were definitely times when we were walking around in the airport or on the beach where I just couldn’t go anymore. I had to sit down and take a break and Andrew was very patient with me.

Prior to leaving for the trip, I thought it would be fun to get a new toy. So I bought a PolarPro FiftyFifty Dome for my GoPro. I love the GoPro as an underwater camera and I wanted to step it up a notch and try out the dome. Since Andrew and I have been to Turks and Caicos a few times before, I knew there wasn’t going to be much to photograph above water. So I envisioned him doing a handstand in the water so I could really see what it was going to be like shooting above and below the water line.

Since the camera is so small, I thought it would be easier to just set it to timelapse and just concentrate on getting the composition right. My camera settings for this image is F2.8 at 1/1900sec and ISO 100 with my GoPro Hero Black 5

I’ve said it before but one of my favorite museums in the National Mall is the Hirshhorn. It’s so unique and different from all the other museums. I mean, even looking at it from the outside you can tell it’s different. It’s a huge circular building with a big hole in the middle. It’s so cool.

I am so grateful that a couple of weeks ago I was invited to the sneak peek of the Rirkrit Tiravanija exhibit, Who’s Afraid of Red Yellow and Green. The best part was hearing from the artist himself.

The whole exhibition is sort of a mixed media of art. When you first enter the space, you’re surrounded by these projectors that I recognized from grade school. They’re reflecting images of protest against the Thai government and you’re encouraged, as the visitor, to grab a piece of black charcoal and help fill in the piece. By the end of the exhibition, they are assuming all the walls will just be blacked out. So it will be interesting to keep on visiting to check on the status of the walls.

If you visit anytime Thursday-Sunday, you will also be greeted by food from Beau Thai. I had the green curry and it was delicious and not too spicy. A little further into the next room will be documentaries of everyday life in Thailand.

The whole point of this exhibition is to break down barriers between the object and the specator. It’s fascinating how some food, art and an afternoon in the museum really makes you think about the media and how everything is perceived.

Go and let me know what you think! It’s open until July 24th.

My camera settings for this image is F4.5 at 1/100th sec and ISO 1600 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

When I think of spring flowers, I usually think of it as Magnolias, Cherry Blossoms and then Tulips. Magnolias are always the first sign of spring and Tulips are there to round out the end. However, somehow this year I totally missed the tulips!

I think these images were the only two images I captured this year.

The tulips a little closer up.

But hese were taken in Old Town Alexandria, right by the waterfront. I loved the way they were all lined up and the colors were beautiful. I was with my friend, Birch one afternoon just walking around and taking pics when we decided that crossing the street would probably get a cool view of the entire scene. The tulips, the house, and landscaping.

I really like this image in particular because of the dog. Yes, I’m a huge dog fan but the way that this dog is pulling on the leash totally reminds me of Frankie. LOL. Frankie is more of a ‘take time to smell the roses’ type of dog. Meaning he never wants to walk at a normal walking pace, he always wants to just take his time and sniff every single smell along the walk. This is exactly what this dog is doing and if you try to nudge him along to actually walk, he’ll resist just like what this dog is doing. It’s perfect that his person is taking a drink of coffee because he knows that he’ll be there for a while. LOL.

So in reality, walking Frankie is more like standing outside with Frankie.

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

Another one from Rolling Thunder this year. Does this guy look cool or what?

If you can look behind him, you can see just the tip of the Lincoln Memorial. I purposely was standing by the memorial and in front of the turn arrow on the road to try to get some cool angles, then this guy rolled by. I think there must have been a stop because he just paused and looked right at me. I had to capture the moment.

But I also like how when you look beyond the obvious focal point of the image, you can see what it’s really like at Rolling Thunder. Just lines of people everywhere watching the motorcycles roll by. It’s a little crazy how many people are at this event year after year.

With this year being the last Rolling Thunder event (but hopefully not), I really wanted to try to create some meaningful images. I’ll definitely be sharing more as time goes on but I was thinking about creating some ‘timeless’ images. Meaning if people didn’t know this was taken in 2019, you would have never known if this was the first ever Rolling Thunder or any other year. I love how there are no cell phones in the image or anything dating this image. An image that you can go back to and reflect what it’s like being in Washington DC on Memorial Day weekend.

My camera settings for this image is F6.3 at 1/2000th sec and ISO 200 with my 16-35mm wide angle lens.

Rolling Thunder! A highlight of the weekend for sure! And I definitely wanted to make sure I attended this year because I heard that this is probably the last year they’re going to have Rolling Thunder. It’s such a shame. I can’t remember a Memorial Day without hearing hundreds of motorcycles roaring down the highway. So if it’s true, I wanted to make this last one count.

I keep saying, “if” because I’m hoping there can be some kind of agreement or something made because I can’t imagine MDW without them!

Either way, I had to be down at the National Mall to photograph them. This year, was so special. There were non-stop motorcycles flying by the Lincoln Memorial for 2 straight hours. It was insane how many people there were. One of my favorite things about Rolling Thunder is just the energy of everyone there. Everyone standing by was there to honor our veterans and it was amazing. The sun was super hot and I have no idea how any of these leather wearing guys did it. Even more props to them.

So I started the morning at 23rd Street and just started wandering around for 2 hours. This image was captured toward the end of the ride but I just loved how all of the motorcycles are lined up on the curve. I was standing along the Arlington Memorial Bridge looking down on Ohio Drive. I never imagined them riding around there but I think this turned out super cool.

My camera settings for this image is F8 at 1/640th sec and ISO 320 with my  Sony A7II and 70-200mm ultra zoom lens.

But of course, Memorial Day weekend is to honor those who have died in active military service.

On my way to Washington DC to photograph Rolling Thunder, I stopped by Arlington National Cemetery. I was riding the metro so it was just a quick stop off at Rosslyn Metro station and then a scooter ride to the cemetery. I didn’t expect to make this stop but I’m glad I did. I had never seen “Flags In“.

I think one of the most aesthetically pleasing parts about the Arlington National is the rows and rows of the perfectly lined white headstone. The patterns created can be hypnotizing. So with the American flags right next to them, it adds a little bit of color and it is so symbolic. Seeing so many American flags in a row is emotional. I wish I could have spent just a little more time photographing them but hopefully, I’ll plan my time better and try again next year.

This image was taken around 10:30a. The sun was definitely out so while walking around so I was purposely looking for a light/shadow composition. I was thinking it would be really cool to see some flags in the shadow but then have some emerging into the light. I stood underneath a large tree to capture it and I love the way it highlights that fourth flag in from the side. To get that really compressed look, I used my ultra zoom lens and got down real close to the ground. Almost eye level with the flags.

My camera setting for this image is F9 at 1/250th sec and ISO 640 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm.