ANGELA B. PAN

Out of the 7 days that we’ve been in San Diego, 6 of them have been foggy. It’s not foggy all day and it mostly comes around sunrise or sunset, the best times for taking pictures. I love the fog and everything but I thought I was coming to California for some sunshine.

But I am not letting any of the weather stop me from shooting. If I can’t photograph the skies, then I will try my best to photograph other things. This particular morning was not foggy but it was extremely cloudy. I found myself on the Ocean Beach pier just watching the waves go by. As the sun was rising higher in the sky, I noticed how beautiful it made the water look. I positioned myself on the pier so that I’d be shooting towards the shore and watching the back side of the wave roll by me.

My favorite part of this entire image is that little bit of light of aqua color on top of the wave. That was the color and light I was looking for while I was shooting this image. I don’t know but there’s something so fascinating about watching the waves roll by from up above. I love watching the patterns and repetition. Next time I need to bring the drone!

The surfer in the image was just an added bonus. I didn’t even realize he was there until I looked at these images on the computer. It’s pretty cool to see him in context to the wave. He looks so tiny compared to it.

My camera settings for this image is F9 at 1/50th of a second and ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 28-70mm lens. I didn’t not shoot this with a tripod but was using the pier ledge to stabilize my camera.

Before leaving on this trip, there were a list of things that I definietly wanted to do while in San Diego (minus photography – that’s a given matter what). Fish tacos, carne asada fries, and a dog beach. Good list, huh? Well, the first two things were scratched off the list the moment we arrived in California but being here for 2 weeks, I was like ‘oh we have time to go to the dog beach. We have can go whenever.’

Now that it is Monday and our last week here, I’m so glad we accidentally stumbled on to the dog beach at Ocean Beach. I took this image as soon as we parked the car and I stepped out. I thought it was so cool to see the palm trees look so small but the people who were walking along the trail look so big. It’s a pretty cool play on perspective and I think the connection between the adult and child is really sweet. As soon as I captured this moment, it reminded me of Max Wanger. He does a lot with couples and huge skies. This image for example.

Anyways, if you find yourself with a dog in San Diego, check out the dog beach at OB. Frankie loved it! At first he didn’t really know what was going on. I don’t think he’s been to a beach that big before. But once he started sniffing a few dog butts, he was in puppy heaven! A good time for dogs and dog parents all at once 🙂

Oh and if you’re not following Frankie on instagram, you should. He’s been posting pics of his California vacation too.

My camera settings for this image F4.0 at 1/800th of a second and ISO 200 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

Hi my name is Angela and I’m palm tree obsessed.

Every time I step out of our airbnb, I see them and can’t stop smiling. I love looking up and just knowing that today is a good day. My favorite is seeing them in rows like this. I think it is so cool. I don’t know why. Its just something I’m totally not used to seeing on the east coast.

So earlier this week, Andrew, Frankie and I were at Ocean Beach around sunset and just walking around scouting the place for cool photo opportunities. As we were walking along the beach, I saw this row of palm trees. I knew I had to come back at sunrise to try to capture it with some color in the sky. Luckily, the very next day at sunrise my vision came true! It was surprising to actually see color in the sky since it’s been so foggy since we arrived. Foggy, but still very nice temperatures 🙂

The other good thing about going at sunrise is that there are not as many cars around so I could stand in the middle of the road and not bother as many people as I would if I were shooting at sunset. It was funny though. About 20 minute minutes after I took this image, a man walked up to me and said “were you the one who was standing in the middle of the street?”. I laughed and said yes. Luckily he just wanted to tell me about some other photo opportunities other than standing in the middle of the street. Man, people here in San Diego are so nice!

My camera settings for this image is F18 at 1.3 seconds and ISO 250 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens shot on my gitzo tripod.

Greetings from San Diego! and Happy New Year! This is my first official blog post of 2018. The first two were prescheduled in 2017. Kinda sneaky, eh? LOL.

So far 2018 has been nothing short of beautiful. I’m currently sitting on the front porch of our Airbnb cottage, listening to water flowing from a water fountain and staring at some beautiful oranges on our orange tree. Not sure how it could get any better than this. Since arriving, Andrew, Frankie and I have just been settling into our new environment. We went to the farmers market to pick up some fresh produce and just been sightseeing and getting to know the area a little better. We’re staying in North Park and loving every minute of it. Every morning we’ve been here has been incredibly foggy. Foggy but so fun and exciting! By mid-morning everything clears up and it’s back to enjoying the sunny skies.

I took this image yesterday in La Jolla at Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier. It was taken about an hour after sunrise and after the fog lifted from the beach. My favorite part of this image is that little hit of sun glow on the wood. To be honest, I’m not sure how busy this place gets at sunrise but somehow I feel lucky to have been the only one there. Well, me and this seagull of course.

I can’t wait to explore San Diego even more with my camera. So if you have any photo recommendations for me, let me know! Also food recommendations. I’ve already had my first official fish taco as my first meal when we arrived but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be my last 🙂

The camera settings for this image is 1/200th of a second at F5.6 and ISO 200 with my Sony a7II and 28-70mm lens.

Before leaving for Maine, I had the assumption that Acadia National Park was small. I’m not sure why I thought that but Holy Cow was I wrong! It reminded me of a mix of Shenandoah National Park and Rocky Mountain National Park with beautiful scenic drives and so many places to pull over and take pictures. And both places are huge. Like Yuge. There was no way we would have been able to see it all in less than a week.

So, we really only had time to explore a portion of the park. On our last day in Acadia, Sue and I decided to head over to the Southwest Harbor which was an adventure all on it’s own. We shot sunrise at Bass Harbor Lighthouse and made our way over to Echo Lake Beach to start our morning hike. The beach itself is really small but the reflections were amazing. I was having a field day with these rocks. I love how they divide the image and add an interesting focal point. Luckily, I was wearing my timberland boots so I was able to step in the water a little bit without getting wet.

I wish we were able to spend more time in the Southwest Harbor. It seemed like there were so many more colorful trees in that area than anywhere else we in the park. Our hike up Canada Cliffs was one of my favorites. It’s very steep and uphill but the view was completely worth it. I loved seeing all the trees from up above. I’ll be sure to work on one of those images soon. You’ll love it if you love fall and pretty things 🙂

The settings on my camera for this image is 1/50th of a second at F/8 ISO 250 with my Sony a7II and 28-70mm zoom lens.

This image was taken a couple years ago at Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz, California. If you know me at all, you know I love California. I love how laid back everything is, how healthy it is, and it’s just overall so beautiful. It’s always one of my favorite places to visit.

But I think next on my travel list would be Aruba! So random I know. Considering I’ve been to quite a few places in the Caribbean already and growing up you were always scared about the Aruba triangle. But I want to go and stay at the Renaissance Resort and Casino. Why so specific? Because this is the only place that I have seen that has wild FLAMINGOS on their property! Like you could be chillin on the beach and there would be a flamingo walking right past you. I’ve never seen them fly before either, so I think that’d be really cool to see. I don’t know recently I’ve had this obsession with wanting to see a flamingo in real life.

Look at this picture. This could be ME! Except I wouldn’t be laying down so casually. I’d probably be trying to feed or pet one of them. And then sticking a camera in their face. LOL.

If you’ve ever seen a flamingo in real life, let me know! What was it like? Where were you? Did you get to pet it? They seem delicate, are they? OR if you’ve ever stayed at the Renaissance Resort and Casino in Aruba, how’d you like it? I need to know!

For the Natural Bridges State Park image, my camera settings were 1.6 seconds at F/20 and ISO 100. This was probably taken around 2013 so I was still shooting with my Canon 5D mark II and I was using my 17-40mm wide angle lens.