ANGELA B. PAN

Referring back to my autumn to-do list, I checked another location off the list, Rock Creek Park. I’ve only been one other time in the fall but this year I really wanted to go back again. In a city full of cars and people, I love it when there are big parks like this that make you feel like you’re in a totally different area.

Last time I was there, I photographed Boulder Bridge but it was around sunset time instead of sunrise. At that time it must not have rained for a while I could basically walk in the middle of the creek with no problem. This year, I captured the same spot during sunrise and there was no way. I had to improvise and photograph it from the side. Luckily there were some trees with fall colors that I could use to frame the bridge. However, I think my favorite part of the image is the rolling water. It reminds of wavy long hair. LOL. I had my tripod at the time, but I think I just used a tree trunk as a camera support.

My camera settings for this image are F22 at 0.6 sec and ISO 100 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide-angle lens.

Long story short, I got invited to go to the Crumbs and Whiskers Cat Cafe in Georgetown, Washington DC for National Cat Day. The invitation actually had two dates. One for National Cat Day: October 29th at Crumbs and Whiskers and the other for the next day at their sister store, Crumbs & Whiskers: A Kitten Cafe. The biggest difference is cats vs. kittens but the October 29th date worked best for me. I rsvp’d for the date and was so excited all day to go. Once I got there, the Cat Cafe was surprised I showed up. The event for the day I was there got canceled since everyone else rsvp’d for the following day. Everyone wanted to go to the Kitten Cafe!

So since I was already there, the very kind people at the Cat Cafe let me stay. All by myself, with no other guests, and 30 CATS ALL TO MYSELF. Am I dreaming? OMG it was the best Tuesday night ever. I fell in love with 2 cats while I was there and really wish I could take them home. To be honest, I just don’t know how Frankie would react to cats in our home. He’s been a solo pet ever since we got him so I don’t know what he’d do if there was a cat dividing his attention. But I’ve been obsessed ever since. I’ve been sending cute cat memes to Andrew almost every day since then. LOL.

So in honor of the best Tuesday night ever, here’s a compilation of cat investigating my camera. I love the way they turned out even though they’re out of focus. I love all the pink and black noses. I was so surprised how 30 cats were able to be in one spot and be so friendly to each other and me. I would have definitely thought there would be some catfights but everyone seemed so happy and well taken care of.

If you’re interested in adopting a cat in the Washington DC area, please check out Crumbs and Whiskers. They have some of the sweetest, cuddliest cats I’ve ever seen. And please tell Monkey and Douglas that I said, “Hallo”

Thank you to all our military personnel for the sacrifices you have made for our freedom.
-Veterans Day 2019

Another rainy, moody image from our trip to New York.

This image was taken after we finished our meal. Andrew and I started walking back to our car when we ducked into this little alleyway because the wind had really started to pick up and blowing the rain everywhere. We were getting soaked. So we stood under a doorway of a closed store to wait it out a little bit. Luckily, there were some other people hanging out in this alley because they were all in line for Sunday morning Dim Sum.

Rain or shine, Dim Sum is always a great Sunday morning treat! What caught my attention about this person and his umbrella was the puddle that was building up on the umbrella. I don’t know, I keep on looking at that and decided that I needed to capture it. The added bonus was all the reflections from where he was standing. The rain made everything glow.

Now I sort of wish that it will rain every time I go on a trip. LOL.

My camera settings for this image are F4 at 1/100th sec and ISO 1000 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm.

So for the most part, we had beautiful weather on our trip to New York. It was pleasantly Autumn while we were there with cool weather temps but not cold enough for heavy jackets. Andrew and I couldn’t stop talking about how ideal it was because every other time we’re there it’s FREEZING.

But the day we left the city was POURING rain. As soon as I woke up in the morning, I could hear the rain pounding on our hotel room window. Good thing I was prepared with a long, heavy-ish jacket that kept me warm. Don’t get me wrong, I still got wet but it was better than having nothing at all.

So for our last meal in New York, Andrew and I went down to Chinatown for some soup dumplings. What’s better on a cold, rainy day? We made the decision that I would drive and I’d drop Andrew off in front of the restaurant so that he could put our name down in case there was a wait. That allowed me to drive around, find parking and along the way, I could stop and take some super moody images of the city with the rain. Turns out, Chinatown is PERFECT for rainy shots. I loved the mood this part of city created and it seemed like there were still so many people out with umbrellas. As soon as I saw a whole bunch of umbrellas lined up in a corner of the street waiting to cross, I knew we were in the right place.

This is probably my favorite image I captured the whole weekend we were in New York. I just love the bright red punch buggy with all the red in the signs plus the out of focus pedestrians. I don’t know it definitely brings me back to that rainy, windy Sunday.

My camera settings for this image are F4 at 1/250th sec and ISO 1000 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

While walking around New York City, I made sure to look for any signs of fall foliage. I was so happy to see that there were trees that were already turning yellow and orange that it made me curious to see what the trees looked like in Central Park. So when Andrew and I had some spare time, we ended up taking an afternoon walk around the park.

I don’t know how it happened, but we ended up on a side of the park that neither one of us had been to before. Actually, I do know how it happened, this park is HUGE! There’s so much going on everywhere. There was even an ice skating rink open! But as we were exiting the park, we stumbled onto this bridge. I was happy to see some sort of a moment in silence right underneath where these Candian geese were just wading in the water and cleaning themselves off. In such a busy park and even busier city, it’s unusual to find such quietness. So I had to capture it.

My favorite part of this image are the out of focus yellow leaves in the foreground. It reminds me of falling leaves in the fall. But you see what I’m saying about fall colors in New York City? They were everywhere and I loved every second of it 🙂

My camera settings for this image are F8 at 1/320th sec and ISO 1000 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.