ANGELA B. PAN

Out with Andy and our Sunday sunrise morning friends, we made our way from the Washington Monument to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. We were all capturing images of the reflection of the building and the Washington Monument, but I ended up capturing a few images from this angle. I liked how the NMAAHC looked like it was slicing up the Washington Monument. I think it made for a unique point of view. But I thought it was missing just one element. So I asked Andy to walk along the path.

Adding a human element there makes this much more interesting because it’s a total play on scale. From this point of view, he looks as tall as the trees and street lights. Everything is almost at the same exact level. Plus I think his reflection in this one came out pretty interesting too.

My camera settings for this image are F16 at 1/200th sec and ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm zoom lens.

Man, I take a lot of pictures at the Lincoln Memorial. LOL. It’s hard not to though. Especially with the US Capitol and the Jefferson Memorial currently under construction, it sort of limits the monuments and memorials to go to in the National Mall.

However, this image was taken as I was leaving the memorial parks and headed back to my car. I noticed how great the columns looked and loved even more that there were two people peaking their heads out trying to capture the early morning sky with their own cameras.

I think this day was unusual though. It was still very early in the morning and all of a sudden a busload of tourists came walking in. They usually don’t get there that early so I think that may have been one reason why I left so early. That and the fact that it was 20 degrees out. 20 DEGREES! I was wearing so many layers of clothing that you probably heard me swishing back to my car. But the sky that morning made it all worth it!

My camera settings for this image are F4 at 1/1250th sec and ISO 1000 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom.

Sunday was a busy photography day for me because not only did I capture the Chinese New Year Parade in Chinatown, but I also went out and photographed the sunrise earlier in the day. I met up with some other photo friends at the Washington Monument. The sunrise itself wasn’t the best, but when the sun finally peaked over the horizon, it made the city glow.

At first, it was the reflection in the reflecting pool that attracted me to this scene. I just love how even from so far away, you can see the columns so clearly. But then looking at the little details of this image is what really makes me so happy. I love seeing all the people standing at the edge of the pool. They look so little compared to the enormous memorial. And while I was framing this image in my camera, I did notice the birds fly by so I’m glad I was able to capture them in the frame. They add a bit more interest to the top of the image that I like. But my favorite part is that if you zoom into this image, you can still see the Lincoln statue so clearly inside the memorial! So cool if you ask me!

My camera settings for this image are F4 at 1/1250th second and ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

After the dust settled a bit after the Chinese New Year parade ended, people were walking and standing still all at the same time. Did that make sense? I’m not sure. But in general, people were EVERYWHERE. I took it upon myself to just walk around and try to capture some of the bystanders when I ran into a group of young boys throwing these bang snaps on the ground. If you’re not familiar with what bang snaps are, they look like this little ball of paper and when you throw them down on the floor or another hard surface, they make a really loud noise. They are most common during Chinese New Year but are completely safe.

But I realized that I wasn’t the only one who noticed this group of boys. This little boy in blue was sitting on top of his dad’s shoulders watching the bigger boys have fun. After they ran out of the bang snaps, the little boy’s attention went straight from looking down to looking up at the flags. As he was reaching for them, I captured this image.

After I captured it, I couldn’t help but get the 1995 Skee-Lo song out of my head, I Wish. I bet he wished that he could have been a little bit taller.

My camera settings for this image are F4 at 1/500th sec and ISO 250 with my Sony A7II and 35mm prime lens.

Happy Chinese New Year! Sorry, I’m a few days late but this past Sunday I was finally able to go to the Chinese New Year Parade in Chinatown, Washington DC. It is always something that I try to attend but the past couple of years I have forgotten about it, had other plans or just too lazy to go. I think the last time I may have gone was when I was in high school.

Needless to say, it has been a while and I’m so glad I was able to make it this year. I met up with a few photo friends beforehand but ended up getting to the parade as it was starting. Luckily, I found a great spot close to the Friendship Gate and was able to capture a few images from there as the parade was ending.  But I ended up being about 3 rows from the front. At first, I was a little hesitant about my spot and was worried if I would even be able to see anything. As the parade was nearing the finish line, I am glad I was able to get the perspective that I did. Having the rows of people in front made it easier for me to frame the people coming down the parade route. For example, this image of Mayor Muriel Bowser. The tall man standing in the front row ended up covering everyone else she was walking beside and your main focus goes directly to the Mayor. I loved how smiley she was as she was coming down the street.

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

So the next morning, I obviously had to wake up to check on the fog again. 

Luckily, I got to the Tidal Basin early. The fog really seemed to have rolled in overnight and you could barely see the Washington Monument anymore. I love how even though its dark on top, the sunrise colors are still shining through. Or maybe that’s just the light pollution from the city. Either way, I love how it came out.

I’m also glad that I went early because they actually start turning off the Washington Monument lights about 30 minutes before sunrise too. As soon as they turn it off, it’s almost like a dark monster in the air. It’s hard to see and even harder to photograph.

My camera settings for this image are F4 at 1 sec and ISO 320 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.