ANGELA B. PAN

YAY Monday again! Hope you all had a great weekend.

I took this image in September of 2016. You would think that I go to the Tidal Basin so often to take sunrise images that I’d forget what it was like capturing this particular image from over a year ago, but I don’t. A day like this is sort of hard to forget. I remember exactly what it was like. The morning was absolutely gorgeous. I had been walking along the side of the Tidal Basin just snapping away and shooting the sunrise from all different angles. But there comes to a point when you’re just done shooting. You feel like you’ve captured THE image and you’re ready to go home. So I was walking back to my car when all of the sudden I look up and there are rays of pink bursting out of the clouds. OMG it was sooo cool. I took a few shots of it from where I was standing, but I didn’t feel like it showcased the rays like I wanted to. So I immediately started running to a position where I was able to capture the rays of light as if it were coming out of the Jefferson Memorial. I’m lucky the pink rays lasted for so long cuz I’m a slow runner. HAHA.

Doesn’t it kind of look like the grand re-opening of the Jefferson Memorial in Las Vegas? HAHA! Like the Luxor Hotel but not as big and way more historical.

Either way, I’m really happy with the way this turned out. I love how you can even see the reflection of the rays in the water. Not a bad way to start the day, am I right?

My camera settings for this image is F/14 at 1/6th of a second and ISO 80 with my Sony A7II and 28-70mm lens.

Happy Halloween! I always look forward to Halloween. To me, it’s the jump off to all the holidays and I likes to eat! Pumpkin flavored everything? Yes please! I’ll take two.

What are your plans for tonight? I’ll be out with my nephews and niece trick or treating. Usually I don’t dress up for it, but this year I am. I’m going to be a shark and Frankie is going to be a piece of sushi. CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP. We’re going to look so cute together. But most of all, I’m looking forward to spending time with family and eating some chocolate.

This image was taken earlier this year at the Yayoi Kusama Infinity Mirrors exhibit at the Hirshhorn Museum. The entire exhibit was amazing but my favorite of all the infinity rooms was definietly the ‘All the Eternal Love I have for the Pumpkins’ room. The first time I visited the exhibit, the room was closed because someone sat on a pumpkin. I mean how does that even happen? I was so disappointed that I didn’t get to see it that I had to make another trip back. Luckily the second time I was there, I got to experience the room. I really don’t know what it is about a whole bunch of glowing pumpkins that make it seem so magical, but it’s soooo cool. It’s as if you stepped into a fairy tale or something.

Unfortunately the exhibit isn’t in DC anymore but if you’re in the Los Angeles area, definietly go check it out at the Broad. You won’t regret it. And from there it will be in other parts of the United States so keep in eye out for it.

The settings for this image is 1/125th of a second at F4.0 and ISO 2500 with my Sony a7II and 28-70mm lens.

Back again to the Artechouse for their new exhibit, Spirit of Autumn. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d like it as much as I did. If I had to compare it to their previous exhibit, XYZT, it’s crazy to say but I think I liked Spirit of Autumn more.

XYZT was cool because the gallery was divided into smaller sections and there was a lot more to interact with. But the Spirit of Autumn was colorful, beautiful and so fun. This image was taken in the smaller side room. It kinda felt like you were walking through a lava lamp the whole time. But the best part was being able to manipulate where the lights and colors would go. My friend, Reem and I probably spent half the time in this room just going “WOW!”

The main room had 3 walls projecting huge trees that would sway in the “wind”. I think the coolest part was the fact that the leaves were all drawn by people who have visited the exhibit. For example, here’s my leaf. I tried my best to make a tie-dye leaf (now you know why I’m a photographer and not a painter).

10 seconds later, it was on a tree swaying with the other leaves. Soooo COOL! It’s also an auditory exhibit. If you clap your hands loud enough, it would start raining and thunder storming. And if you’re over 21, they have an alcoholic drink that if you put your camera phone on it, it will look like leaves are floating out of it. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to experience this but I heard from the grape vine that it’s really cool and delicious all at the same time.

So if you’re in the DC area, you gotta go check out this exhibit. It’s unlike anything you’ve experienced before. Trust me. Click here for more info. Go soon! The exhibit closes on November 5th.

My camera settings for this image is 1/20th of a second at F4.5 ISO 3200 with my 16-35mm wide angle lens and Sony A7II. The rooms are pretty dark so bump up your ISO before you shoot.

Somehow I’m lucky enough to live right in the middle of two awesome airports, Dulles International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.  But for some reason, I’m always flying out of Dulles. So when the rare opportunity comes up to fly out of Reagan, I take FULL ADVANTAGE! I do my research and try to figure out where I can sit on the plane to make sure I get the birds eye view of the National Mall. If you want to do the same, read on…

I know you can see the monuments if you’re flying north of DC and about 50% sure you can see them when you’re flying west of the city. You definietly won’t see them if you’re flying south. So if you’re flying north, try to sit on the right hand side of the plane. Obviously, when you’re flying back to DC, sit on the left hand side. If you aren’t able reserve those seats, you’ll still be able to get pretty cool views of the Pentagon and Air Force Memorial on the opposite side so be on the look out for those. Either way, window seats are key! And have your camera ready right at take off or when you are descending. It’s  surprising how fast the memorials will pop into your window. You’ll see them as you’re climbing your way up to the clouds or when you’re right about to touch down.

In order to take this image, I was sitting in the window seat, but I had to lean into the middle seat to capture it. My intention was to capture the light coming from the window and use it to frame the monuments. I really like this image, but I also wish I went a little closer to capture only the monuments. Oh well! There’s always next time:

My settings for this image is 1/3200 of a second at F/8 ISO 1000 with my 16-35mm wide angle lens and Sony A7II.

A quick break from autumn Maine images to show off Washington DC’s beautiful sunrise from yesterday. Sunrise is around 7:15ish now, so I have to take advantage of the later wake up call while I can. I shot this at the Tidal Basin on the little footbridge between the Jefferson Memorial and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial. It’s an angle that I’ve always wanted, but wasn’t sure I could get. I’m so glad it actually worked out this time.

Since I’ve been shooting DC sunrises for years now, I’m finding it to be a challenge to photograph it in new, different ways. I was super happy with the way this one turned out. My favorite part about the image is the color change between the two peep holes. The transition from cool to warm tones in a photograph is always something I strive for. I feel like it completes the whole color story and really adds a lot of dimension in a photograph. Plus the reflections of the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial look super cool too.

In order to capture this, my camera settings were F/6.3 at 1/20th of a second and ISO 200 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens. This was shot handheld although I did try to shoot it with my tripod. I just couldn’t get the tripod at the level that I wanted and I was constantly moving around to make sure the the monuments were centered, so the tripod just didn’t work out. Now that I think of it, I must have looked like I was spying on someone while I was sitting on the sidewalk and moving my neck all around to make sure everything lined up correctly. LOL, oh well. It’s not the first time I looked crazy for an image.

I am coming back home this weekend from Bar Harbor, Maine and can’t wait to share these pics with you all! We were up at sunrise, shooting at sunset and even took some night shots! If you’ve been following me on instagram this week, then you would have already known this from my stories. This week has flown by and I’ve been having a blast capturing it all. And let’s not get started with all the lobster I ate. So there it is, that was my official announcement so that the leaves back home can start changing colors. I’ll be back soon and can’t wait to shoot even more fall colors!

Oh and I have also been testing out these circular polarizers while in Maine. I purchased from two different brands on Amazon before I left. One is a slightly more expensive brand name and the other is not. The real test is when I bring them on the computer to see if I can see a difference. If you’re interested, I can create a blog post or a youtube video about them. Just let me know!

This image was taken about this time two years ago at Constitution Gardens in the National Mall. It was not a foggy day, but it was cloudy and dark. I feel like the sky made for a perfect setting for this moody image. One of my favorite things about Constitution Gardens is that its never packed. As a matter of fact, I’m usually the only one there. It’s so perfect! I can blast music from my phone with no ear phones on and no one would even know. So if you hear some reggaeton at 6 in the morning, you know who it is! 😉

My camera settings for this image is 1/25th of a second, F8 at ISO 160 on my Sony A7II 16-35mm wide angle.