ANGELA B. PAN

Hope you enjoyed the last two blog posts where I relieved some of my favorite moments of 2018. If you missed it, you can see them here and here. There were just so many images to choose from because I tend to like all my images LOL. but for some reason this one didn’t make the cut.

This evening at the US Capitol was pretty epic. There was barely any rain but the lightning strikes were going crazy. It was perfect. The only reason why it didn’t make the 2018 favorites just because I wasn’t able to capture the lightning strikes like how I’d hoped for. I was really hoping for a huge strike like this one I captured in 2016. Man, I think capturing that image has sort of made me a bit jaded from all the other lightning strikes I’ve been able to capture. Like this one is cool and all but… LOL.

But I do really like this image because of the composition. Those clouds were epic and I loved the way the sky turned from dark blue to purple when the lightning would hit. Just showing that little bit of of the US Capitol dome is all the information you need to know exactly where you’re standing. It was beautiful night and I was so lucky to even capture anything at all.

So let me know, were there images that you liked in 2018 that weren’t on my list? I’d be really interested in hearing your opinion.

Either way, I’m so looking forward to 2019! It’s going to be a fantastic year with hopefully a lot more photo opportunities like this one to capture that huge lightning strike I’ve been looking out for.

My camera settings for this image is F4 at 1/13th sec at ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN 

It’s the last day of 2018 and I thought it would be fun to look back on the past year and relive some of my favorite travel moments from the year. It’s interesting because I do something similar to this every year and every year my favorite images are almost always different from others. I try not to let emotions play into the selection but it can be difficult. You’ll see what I mean 🙂

I had a fantastic year of travel and so blessed to be able to experience everything that I did. I’m lucky enough to have visited the Europe, Caribbean and of course different parts of America. So let me know what you think. Click on each image to read the original blog post:

One of my very first drone images from San Diego. Taken around this time last year, I loved being in Southern California in the winter time. I got my drone at the end of 2017 so I was just practicing flying when I took this image. I really didn’t think much of it until I saw that bird fly below close to the water. With the placement of where I’m sitting and that bird, I love how everything lines up. Definitely expect more drone images from me in 2019. I’m hooked!

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I checked another thing off of my bucket list. I have been eyeing this library for years. Honestly, I don’t even know how long because I’ve been wanting to visit it for forever. So after I was done photographing my work at BWI airport, I wasn’t ready to go home yet. I was still on this high that I felt like I wanted to take even more pictures. After a quick google search I found out that the George Peabody Library was 8 miles away and I was there.

I was a little confused when I drove up to it. I thought it was going to be this grand, stand alone building filled with people coming in and out with books in their hands. But it wasn’t. It’s actually a part of a larger multi-use building and it the library itself is a little hard to find especially when the doors are closed. To be honest, it was smaller than I envisioned but standing inside the library was amazing. The interior is absolutely breathtaking. You look up and there’s rows and rows of books. It’s an absolute dream.

At first I was nervous to take pictures because there were people there who were actually studying but they didn’t seem to mind. So I took my time and really appreciated the architecture. Unfortunately all the stairs were closed off so I couldn’t go up any levels. I would have loved to see what this place looks like from the very top.

Did you know that you can get married here? OMG that would be absolutely amazing! I also heard that this library was the inspiration for the library in Beauty and the Beast. Is that true? Or am I making that up? If you know for sure, let me know in the comments 🙂

My camera settings for this image is F4 at 1/80th sec at ISO 2000 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm.

As you may know, I’ve been on the hunt for fall colors in the city and the US Capitol never disappoints. However sunrises can sometimes be disappointing. The night before, as I was getting ready for bed, I checked my weather apps. All signs pointed to a colorful sunrise but when I got up in the morning I knew it wasn’t going to happen. Usually when you get a colorful sunrise, you have to have clouds and there was not a cloud in the sky. So since I was up, I decided to make my way down to the Capitol anyway. I was a little discouraged because I had my hopes up and I really think that played a part of how my images turned out while I was on the east side of the Capitol. I didn’t really come out with anything that I really liked. I even stopped by Lower Senate Park but it was all closed for construction. As I was leaving, I felt like it must have been one of those days where I wasn’t going to get much. It’s ok because those days happen more often than I’d like to admit but then something magical happened.

I was on my way home and I just saw this gold glow coming from the street right ahead of me. It just happened to be this amazingly beautiful tree covered in yellow leaves and I had to pull over. Don’t tell anyone but the only spot available was for government officials only, but I was only going to be there for a second 😉 So glad I did because I love the way this turned out. Images like this is what makes me super excited for the seasonal change. So in the end, it all worked out. I really believe that if you come out with even one good image that the photo session is totally worth it.

My camera settings for this image is F6.3 at 1/1250sec and ISO 500 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

I was still on a photo high after the IGDC Anacostia Photowalk. The weather was beautiful, the leaves were colorful, and I did not want to stay home. So before we went out to eat pizza, I asked Andrew if he wanted to go out to take pictures. What I mean by us going out to take pictures is me taking pictures and he just follow me around while he’s looking at his phone. Thankfully, he’s a great husband and agreed to go.

I figured the National Cathedral would be a fun place to go. I love the architecture and wanted to see if the trees around the area were colorful. They were, but what caught my attention was the beautiful warm light of the sun setting on the building. I was on the side, minding my own business and finding cool lines when I saw this couple and photographer walking around too. I think they were taking engagement pictures or something but for some reason the photographer had them going inside the arches, into the dark shadows instead of photographing them in the warm sunlight. It was so odd.

I’m glad I was able to capture this one. This is one half of the couple but I love how her outfit matches perfectly with her surroundings. The shadow that’s casted on the building is of the photographer. I thought the two figures were pretty interesting so I snapped a few images and kept it moving. Photographing the National Cathedral at sunset satisfied my photo itch and the pizza was so good. Overall, a great day in the city 🙂

My camera settings for this image is F6.3 at 1/320th sec at ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm ultra zoom lens handheld.

Last week I just happened to run into my friend, Albert. He casually mentioned how he had the day off of work so I asked him if he wanted to join me on a little photowalk in Anacostia. I was preparing for our IGDC photo walk over the weekend so I thought it would be fun to do together. The little photowalk ended up being a photo adventure and the last stop was at the Francis A Gregory Library. I have heard about this library before but honestly, being there in person is nothing like the photos. It is breathtaking. The whole front facade is made up of diamond shaped reflective pieces. So the front of the building looks like a mirror with windows in between the diamond shapes and the interior of the building is wood paneling.

Albert and I spent some time taking pictures in the front and the interior of the building. All of that was so fun. But when we were leaving, I asked him if we could take more pictures of the reflections. He agreed but somehow we ended up walking around the side of the building and then eventually to the back. Both of our mouths dropped in amazement when we saw A WHOLE WALL OF REFLECTION and the best part about it was that there were fall colors on the trees so I feel like it made it even more special. It’s like a double whammy of color right in your face. It was so hard for me to contain my excitement. I’m pretty sure both of us said “Wow” at least 20 times. I immediately asked Albert to stand in the center and pose a little bit. If you ever need someone to give you some fierce posing, talk to my friend, Albert.

The settings for this image is F4.0 at 1/125th sec and ISO 500 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.