ANGELA B. PAN

There is a possibility that I’ll be back in Austin sometime before the end of the year. I LOVED it the last time I was there so I’m really looking forward to going again. Obviously, I’ll be there to visit my friend, Sue who was the reason why I went to visit in the first place, but can you believe that it was my first time ever visiting Texas? In fact, neither Andrew or I have really spent time in the lone star state so he’ll be coming with me.

One of my favorite places in Texas was Hamilton Pools. I really wish we were able to spend more time there but if you’ve never been, it’s a pretty unusual park. Unusual in the fact that you had to get tickets to go and you’re only allowed to hang out for a certain amount of time. When you’re time is up, the lifeguard comes and basically makes sure everyone leaves.

So if you’re planning a visit, get your tickets online and go early. Make sure you can maximize your time at the pool because it is so cool.

This image was captured inside the cave. You can basically walk around the pool 360 degrees and it’s a really cool point of view from wherever you’re standing.

My camera settings for this image is F8 at 1/80th sec and ISO 320 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm

I captured this image while I was on my way to photograph this image.

This image of the Lincoln Memorial was taken first and I was so surprised when I saw it on the LCD screen. I was walking towards the reflecting pool when I thought it may be cool to see some grass blades as tall as the Lincoln Memorial. So I put my camera on the ground, tilted it a little bit up and this is what I came out with.

What I didn’t realize was all the morning dew that would turn into these cool little bokeh textures in the grass and somehow turned this image to look magical. In order to capture it, I had to focus the image on just Lincoln Memorial. It’s a shame I almost forgot about it. To be honest, I was more excited about the duck capture than this one on the day I captured them. But I love the way that this image turned out. I also love that little hint of purple coming, which you can really see in the duck image.

Just goes to show you never know what you’ll find unless you try 🙂

My camera settings for this image is F6.3 at 1.6 sec and ISO 640 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide-angle lens.

I think it’s because it’s getting to be the end of the summer but I’ve noticed that I’ve been getting a lot more questions about museums and things to do in the Washington DC area. I always have my usual suggestions like sunrise at the Lincoln Memorial or the Library of Congress for a great interior, but when people ask me about museums, I always have to mention the National Gallery of Art. Especially when photographers ask, I tell them they have to go to Multiverse.

It’s the tunnel that connects the East and West wings of the gallery, located on the very bottom level close to the gallery’s cafeteria and gift shop but it’s seriously the coolest tunnel ever. While riding along the moving walkways, the lights in the tunnel flicker on and off and create this really cool light show. In the past, I’ve always just done short, quick exposures for some reason but this time I wanted to focus on the longer exposure.

I just balanced my camera on the handrails and tried to keep it as steady as I could. This looks like some trippy experience straight out of That 70’s Show. I think the hand railing also adds an extra reflection that you can see coming out of the bottom right-hand corner that makes it look even more like you’re completely surrounded by light. Very cool.

So if you ever find yourself in the area, you gotta check out the Multiverse.

My camera settings for this image is F7.1 at 2.5 sec and ISO 320 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide-angle lens.

Taken a year ago on this day at the United States Capitol Building at sunrise.

I even remember capturing it. It was the day I was going to go to the Hamilton show at the Kennedy Center and I was pumped. I was so excited about the show just because I had heard so many great things about it. Let me tell you it met all my expectations. I even remember being the only person out capturing this sunrise (besides a few random joggers) so I was able to blast the show’s soundtrack from my iPhone. I forgot my headphones that day so you gotta do what you gotta do.

The sky literally exploded in front of my eyes and I was having so much fun capturing it. In order to get the most out of the reflection, I got down really close to the water. I love how you can see the little bubbles on top. I think it adds an interesting texture to the image.

My camera settings for this image is F5.6 at 1/60th sec and ISO 320 with my Canon 5D Mark II and 17-40mm wide-angle lens.

This just makes me happy to look at. I love the cute Washington DC row houses all around the city. These particular cuties were taken near the H Street corridor in the Northeast. It was taken at the end of an already long day but there was something about these houses that made me want to capture them. I just remember walking up and down this block three times in order to properly capture it.

My favorite is just scanning the image to see the repetition everywhere but then noticing all the little details that make each house it’s own. For example, all the rooftops look the same, but if you look closely, the very top “ornaments” are all different colors. All the architecture may look the same but then you see how the colors of the home give each one a certain personality.

So which one would you live in? I think I’m more of a dark red or blue person.

Hope you all have a great Monday and week ahead 🙂

My camera settings for this image is F7.1 at 1/320th sec and ISO 320 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

Taken around the same time I captured this image, I love the way this one turned out. It also goes great as a pair because I think it portrays what it’s been like in DC lately, H-O-T. Granted it’s not as hot as it was last week but it is definitely sundress or tank top season. OMG.

This image was taken around sunrise time. I was definitely getting the orange glow from the sun but boosted up the vibrancy a little bit in lightroom to show off the color a little more. After I saved the image in my “haven’t blogged yet” folder, I noticed it was sort of similar to this image I captured a few weeks ago at the McKee Beshers sunflower fields.

So I guess that means I have a “style” for when I’m feeling extra warm outside. They both give off that, “please provide me with some shade” feeling. LOL

My camera settings for the Capitol image is F8 at 1/1000th sec and ISO 640 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

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