ANGELA B. PAN

Right before I left for Las Vegas, all my winter dreams came true. We finally got a decent amount of snow in the Washington DC area that I was able to photograph. I think one of my favorite things about photographing the snow in the national mall is the white on white that you get from the snow with the memorials. It just makes everything look so calm and monochromatic. The only way that you can tell that this is a color image is from the street signs. LOL.

The best part is that the snow doesn’t stop people from getting out there and exploring. You know what, I even saw runners and bikers on bicycles out in the snow. You can never say that the people in Washington DC aren’t dedicated. LOL.

This is an image that I’ve been planning for a while now. I’ve actually taken quite a few images from this spot but I don’t know if I’ve ever published any of them. They’ve never been exactly what I’ve been looking for. But in this particular image, I love all the snow on the ground with the tire tracks that are acting like leading lines directly to the side of the Lincoln Memorial. I saw those people crossing and purposely waited for them to be in the middle. I guess just a small detail that makes the image just a little more interesting. I love how it adds a little bit of scale as well.

Even though it just lasted one day, I’m glad I was finally able to capture some this winter season 🙂 But to be honest, I’m about ready for spring now.

My camera settings for this image is with my Sony A7II F4.0 at 1/2000th sec and ISO 800 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm ultra zoom lens.

You know me, I love a good colorful sunrise and I think the best ones happen in the winter time. It must be something about the cold air that mixes with the clouds or something but some of my favorite images are usually in cold environments. That, and it’s probably easier to capture a winter sunrise because it’s later in the day (but harder to get out bed).

So I captured this image on the same morning as this image. The early morning color did not fill up the entire sky. It really was just a portion but I’m glad I had my 70-200mm to really zoom in on the most interesting part. Judging by this image, you could never tell. I really like how the streaks in the clouds are intersected by the Washington Monument but is it me or is it giving off a creepy vibe? It sort of feels like the two red lights on top of the Monument sort of look like evil eyes. Right? You see it? LOL It doesn’t help that the light is all behind the Washington Monument and making it look darker than it actually is. Maybe I should have saved this image for Halloween 🙂

Fun fact: Did you know the Washington Monument is the only monument in Washington DC? Everything else is a memorial. Funny right? I never realized until my friend, Birch mentioned it to me a little while ago. Now I can’t get it out of my head.

Anyways, I’m back home from Las Vegas and had an amazing, fun weekend with my family. Looking forward to going through all the images and sharing them with you 🙂

My camera settings for this image is F5.0 at 1/8th sec at ISO 2500 with my Canon 5D Mark II with my 70-200mm lens.

It may seem a little premature, but I’ve already started thinking about updates I need to do for my Washington DC Cherry Blossom guide. I definietly want to make it a habit to update it every year, especially as the spring season approaches. So the other day while I was going through some of my older images and I came across some from the National Gallery of Art.

Although there aren’t as many cherry blossom trees there and they are significantly skinnier, these are some of my favorites in the city. The reason being that when you go, you’re usually the only one with these blossoms and I just love the backdrop. The National Gallery of Art is such a beautiful building all on it’s own but when you combine that with the cherry blossom trees. Um can you say, magic? LOL. That may be exaggerating a little but I love shooting there. Last year may have been my third year in a row but it honestly never disappoints.

For this image I really wanted to keep this one with a monochrome look. Nothing too dramatic or standout-ish. Just a simple image of beautiful flowers with a simple background. Visiting the National Gallery of Art is probably one of the only ways to accomplish something like that. With all the people around the cherry blossoms, the trees being so close to each other and just the way they are planted, it would be very difficult to do the same at the Tidal Basin. Unless of course, you’re shooting in fog *heart eye emoji*

So if you have any questions about the cherry blossoms around the Washington DC area, please let me know. It will definietly help me update the cherry blossom guide.

My camera settings for this image is F5.6 at 0.4 sec and ISO 500 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

On a cold, cloudless morning I found myself walking around the US Capitol. I didn’t really have any ideas of what I wanted to capture, I was sort of letting the light guide me. Well, it took me right to the front of the Capitol Reflecting Pool. It’s not a surprise to see a lot of birds or ducks wading in the pool. It’s also not a surprise to see the water a little choppy. But what really drew me to capturing the scene was the amazing orange glow that was coming from the Washington Monument from the early morning sun and reflecting in the water.

I love it. I love how the early morning colors sort of look like a pastel painting towards the top of the pool. I love how the birds are breaking up the abstractness but also all lined up in a row. But I also love the mystery of that orange line, directly in the middle of the image. Something about it really draws me in.

In other news, tomorrow morning I’ll be hopping on a flight to Las Vegas for the weekend. I’m really looking forward to it since I have so many memories of the city. When I was young, my mom and I would go every year to visit my aunt and her family. I used to love going to Circus Circus and play all the games but the best was escaping the Vegas heat and sliding down water slides with my cousins at Wet n Wild. This weekend will be fun because it’s for a family wedding and it will be such a mini family reunion. Looking forward to seeing my family and hopefully being able to sneak away for a little bit and take some pics 🙂

My camera settings for this image is f4 at 1/1600 sec and ISO 1000 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm lens.

Another image from our architectural photowalk a couple of weeks ago. This image is of my friend, Zack, the guy who laid out all the plans for the walk. It was awesome because we hit up some really cool spots that I would have never brought myself to actually go to shoot. This is the Pan American Health Organization building. It’s a really cool round building and during the middle of the day, has some pretty interesting shadows to play with. It was super bright so if I had been able to see my camera screen a little better, I probably would have asked Zack to step away from the shadow a little more but either way, I think this turned out really interesting. He looks like a mystery man. LOL.

After this photowalk, I felt the desire to do more walks like this. Just push outside my comfort zone and photograph things that I’m not used to. I’m pretty sure I’ll be surprised my results and that makes it even more fun! I may just wait til the weather warms up a little more though. Spring can not come soon enough! HAHA

PS: if you’re free this weekend, Zack is hosting his very first photowalk. I’m sad to miss it but you should definietly go if you have a chance. If it’s anything like the photowalk he planned for our little outing, then I’m sure the one he does with Walk with Locals will be even better! It’s going to be around Federal Triangle so you know it’s going to be cool. Plus you’ll get to hang out with some really fun photographers 🙂 Already feeling the fomo.

My camera settings for this image is F9 at 1/1000th sec at ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

Happy Valentine’s Day! <3 I’ve been holding on to this image since last summer a for a day like today. I wanted to wait for the right time to share it because I love the way that it turned out. I captured it when I first got my 70-200mm lens and was just walking around the reflecting pool to try to capture some different types of images. The purple tones of the sky and environment goes so nicely with the outfits these gentlemen are wearing. It’s as if I planned the photoshoot myself. LOL.

Anyways, hope you all have a great day today. Andrew and I will be having a quiet night in. We never really go all out for Valentine’s day. Just an evening together is the best way to celebrate. And chocolate. I hope there will be chocolate tonight. LOL. What are your plans?

Be sure to check out the blog tomorrow. I have some really exciting news that I’ll be sharing and I hope some of you guys will be as excited about it as I am.

My camera settings for this image is F4 at 1/200th sec at ISO 1600 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

Love is Love.