ANGELA B. PAN

I captured this image across the street from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. My friend, Birch and I spent a very cold morning walking around Chinatown and somehow ended up in front of the museum. I asked if we could stand in this spot for a little bit because I noticed this reflection coming from a staircase railing.

At first, I was waiting for someone to walk closer to the museum to walk by, but I saw this interesting moment happen and had to capture it. It sort of reminds me of an image I posted last week at the Washington Monument. I was so concentrated on what was happening in the background that I didn’t even notice someone was about to walk in front. It’s interesting because at this time of day, there weren’t many people walking around in general so I’m surprised I captured two at the same time.

My favorite part of the image is that it looks like an optical illusion because the reflection sort of looks like it’s coming out of nowhere. I also love how the man in the front also appears in the reflection. Overall a very interesting street scene that turned out very cool.

My camera settings for this image are F5 at 1/3200th sec and ISO 320 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

It looks like a warm summer day, right? No, it was 30 degrees out but a cloudless morning with a bright yellow sun that made the whole city glow for a little while. I was just at the right place at the right time to capture the glow. I love how it almost looks like the street lamps could be giving off the light as well.

On this particular morning, I met up with my friend, Larry who was already standing in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue. Don’t worry though, there’s a bike lane in the middle of the street and we were standing somewhere that was very safe from traffic. Plus it was a Saturday morning was there wasn’t even any traffic. LOL.

We were trying to capture the sunrise but the cloudless sky didn’t really make for the dramatic colors he was looking for. So we started to walk around to see if we could capture the sun from a new perspective. As soon as we stepped back onto the sidewalk, I captured this. I just love how everything is lined up so nicely, leading your eye straight to the US Capitol.

My camera settings for this image are F6.3 at 1/1600th sec and ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

This is probably the most minimalist image I’ve ever taken at the United States Capitol. But I love it.

I captured it this past Sunday while we were walking from the west to the east side. I saw the wispy clouds that were forming next to the Capitol so I quickly changed from my zoom to my wide-angle lens to try to capture it all. I could have very easily looked a little more to the right to try to capture this image of just clouds, but I love how the American flag is there just poking out of the corner. It’s very subtle but it is so patriotic. LOL.

For a little reference, here’s a better image of the same flag. It just comes out a little bit from the building.

My camera settings for this image are F4 at 1/1250th sec and ISO 160 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide-angle lens.

I captured this image on the same night as this image but it was also a few days after I captured this one. I obviously still have the same composition in my head but I wanted to see what it would look like during this beautiful foggy evening.

So I set up my camera the exact same way as the previous image and just waited for someone close to the Washington Monument to walk by. It took a while because it was oddly quiet for 8 pm at the National Mall, but still, I waited. I was so concentrated on finding a person in the background that I didn’t even notice a person was about to walk in front of me to create an even bigger shadow. I love the way that it turned out, especially since you can see the reflection of both shadows in the water puddle.

Now I want to know, which image do you like better? This foggy one or the image I captured early morning?

My camera settings for this are F4 at 1/30th sec and ISO 8000 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide-angle lens.

This time last week, I had scheduled two meetings for the same afternoon. I like doing this so I don’t have to keep commuting back and forth more than I have to. So killing time in between the meetings, I found myself at the National Gallery of Art. It’s one of my favorite places to go to just pop in and get inspired. They always have something new and interesting going on in the exhibits, especially the East Building.

But I had so much time on my hands on this particular day that I ended up going from the East to West Building. One of my favorite parts about the gallery is the light tunnel that connects the two sides. Leo Villareal’s Multiverse is something not to be missed. It’s a beautiful light show that can be seen along the moving sidewalk. Sometimes I find myself going back and forth on the sidewalk just because the tunnel is that amazing. This time, I just captured the tunnel from the edge and patiently waited for the lights to take up the entire frame.

My camera settings for this image are F3.2 at 1/125th sec and ISO 1250 with my Sony A7II and 35mm prime lens.

I’m so glad that Sunrise Sundays are becoming a thing with my photography friends. It all started on the first Sunday of 2020 when my friend, Andy invited a few people to photograph sunrise at the Lincoln Memorial. And ever since then, it’s becoming a weekly meetup at different locations and it’s been such fun each time.

This past weekend we went to the US Capitol. Currently, the reflecting pool is under construction so we ended up meeting at the Ulysses S Grant Memorial instead. I’m glad we did. The white marble allowed for a different kind of reflection than the reflecting pool would have offered. I love how the Capitol dome is just poking out from the edge of the Grant Memorial.

My camera settings for this image are F4 at 1/250th sec and ISO 160 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.