ANGELA B. PAN

In November 2020, I was out trying to photograph the full moon and unfortunately, clouds had a different idea. The moon was completely covered and I was just standing in the cold with my camera and 70-200mm on a tripod. I could have gone the next night when the sky would have been clear but I just was feeling so discouraged that I didn’t want to. This had been my 3rd month in a row where I wasn’t able to capture the moon. So I wanted to do something that would keep me motivated to go out and shoot.

Right then and there I came up with an idea that I should rent the biggest lens I can find. LOL.

So after discussing this idea with a few friends, I finally decided that I’d rent a 200-600mm lens. This would bring a whole new view to the city that I couldn’t even imagine. I rented it from lensrentals.com and I could not have been more excited that it actually came 3 days earlier than I had expected. So I had 10 days with the lens and I was pumped!

My first real test came on an afternoon at the Washington Monument. It is actually the same exact place where I came up with the idea to rent the lens so it’s funny that this was the first place that I want to go to test it out.

I was blown away!

The compression on the lens is CRAZY. These people were at least 20 feet away from me. The US Capitol is about a mile away from the Washington Monument. But if you asked me, it seriously looks like you could just reach out and touch the people.

It was on!

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This past weekend, I had planned on meeting up with my friend, Larry for sunrise at Netherlands Carillion. But when I actually got to the location, it turned out Larry was already there with a whole group of photographers. It was a nice surprise so early in the morning and great to catch up with Larry, my friend, Frithjov and other photographers.

The sunrise itself was pretty unique. It was a cloudless day but as the sun was rising it was really bright and red. It made the whole sky glow. I think I got some pretty interesting shots, but I think this one is my favorite. It was after the sun had risen and we were all walking back to our cars. I noticed the Iwo Jima Marine Corps War Memorial poking out through the trees and thought it was an interesting perspective that I hadn’t really captured before. At the right moment, this runner came out of the trees and I loved how it added some scale. You can don’t even realize how big this memorial is until you compare it to something you can relate to like this person.

Also, looking at this image makes me excited for fall. I can’t wait for those leaves to change color. I’m going to keep this image in mind for the next few weeks and see if I can come up with a whole new perspective.

My camera settings for this image are F8 at 1/80th sec and ISO 200 with my Sony A7II and my 70-200mm zoom lens.

But of course, Memorial Day weekend is to honor those who have died in active military service.

On my way to Washington DC to photograph Rolling Thunder, I stopped by Arlington National Cemetery. I was riding the metro so it was just a quick stop off at Rosslyn Metro station and then a scooter ride to the cemetery. I didn’t expect to make this stop but I’m glad I did. I had never seen “Flags In“.

I think one of the most aesthetically pleasing parts about the Arlington National is the rows and rows of the perfectly lined white headstone. The patterns created can be hypnotizing. So with the American flags right next to them, it adds a little bit of color and it is so symbolic. Seeing so many American flags in a row is emotional. I wish I could have spent just a little more time photographing them but hopefully, I’ll plan my time better and try again next year.

This image was taken around 10:30a. The sun was definitely out so while walking around so I was purposely looking for a light/shadow composition. I was thinking it would be really cool to see some flags in the shadow but then have some emerging into the light. I stood underneath a large tree to capture it and I love the way it highlights that fourth flag in from the side. To get that really compressed look, I used my ultra zoom lens and got down real close to the ground. Almost eye level with the flags.

My camera setting for this image is F9 at 1/250th sec and ISO 640 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm.

I’ll be honest, since being back from Norway I haven’t gone out to shoot that much. I’ve woken up for a few sunrises here and there but nothing too serious. So last week I was getting that itch to go out shooting again.

I met up with my friend, Birch and we headed to the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery. It’s been on my to do list for a while now and I’m so glad we made it out there. It was a beautiful, sunny day after days and days of rain. It felt so great to just be outside and enjoy the crisp autumn air.

When we had made the plans, I immediately had a vision of what I wanted one of my shots to look like. Although this one isn’t it, I love the way that it turned out. These two were just sitting there. They weren’t really talking, they just looked like they needed a little break from walking around. So they were the perfect focal point to break up the repetition of the seating area and the columns behind them.

If ever plan on visiting the amphitheater in real life, I think you would be immediately impressed with the grandness of everything. I love the beautiful lines and the light that reflects off of the white marble. Everything just seems so bright! I definietly want to come back when the leaves start changing in the Washington DC area and photograph this place again. The Arlington National Cemetery is a beautiful place to capture the leaves changing.

My camera settings for this image is F7.1 at 1/2000th sec and ISO 320 with my Sony A7II and my 70-200mm zoom lens. I think next time I come back to this spot, I may shoot more with my wide angle 🙂

Although Netherlands Carillon is technically in Arlington, Virginia, you can get some of the best views of Washington DC here. This image was taken in the early morning during sunrise.

Click here to check out my guide to the 7 Best Places to Photograph the Sunrise in Washington DC.

You know we’ve been having a lot of fog lately. I’ve been waiting for it to be foggy during the day so I could go to Arlington National Cemetery and shoot the fog in the tombstones. Don’t you think that’d be cool? Well I thought yesterday was going to be the day. It was a little foggy but as the sun kept on rising, the fog slowly started lifting. Either way, I still think this is a cool image. I was also surprised to see the wreaths from Wreaths Across America still laid out. Very nice.