ANGELA B. PAN

Shout out to my friend, Zack who had been texting me to meet up for sunset on this day. Although we were on two very different sides of the national mall shooting (I was by the reflecting pool and he was at the US Capitol), I would of never have gone out on this day if it weren’t for him. It’s funny because we were texting each other pictures of what we were seeing in the sky the entire time. Once the color actually broke through the clouds, it was dead silent between the both of us until it was all over. LOL.

So I was sitting by the reflecting pool, mostly concentrating on the sky. But it was awesome because these little kids came up next to me with crackers and were feeding the ducks. *note to self, always bring crackers when taking pictures* So my attention went from the sky to getting the ducks in the foreground of the reflecting pool and Lincoln Memorial. I got some pretty cool shots which I’ll post later. Next, I’m not sure what happened but I turned around to see that the sky behind had really blown up. I mean you usually see the sunset colors behind the Lincoln Memorial, but all the action was behind the Washington Monument right at the WWII Memorial. Luckily, I had some time to set up a shot. But it didn’t last long. I’m glad I was able to capture what I did.

Camera settings for this shot was F5 with a 15 second exposure at ISO500. I was using my Ice neutral density filter for this one so I was able to capture the saturated colors and any people who were in my way were blurred out. The only people you see were the ones who were standing there for longer than 15seconds.

Ok, last cherry blossom image for a while. I know I’ve been on a cherry blossom streak but I’m lovin’ them this year and this one was absolutely incredible. This is from that same foggy morning when I lost tripod in the tidal basin also the same day that I captured this beautiful cherry tree. Actually you know what, that tree that’s almost parallel to the sidewalk is the same tree as the previous image except this is from the other side it. That morning was crazy incredible for photography. So grateful for my rain boots so I was able to stand in the middle of this gigantic puddle and capture the reflections. I’m pretty sure other photographers there was staring at me to get out of the middle of their shot. LOL. *just one more, I promise* says every photographer in the world.

But the sad part is that I should of never been able to take this picture. The flooding of the tidal basin at high tide is a growing problem that’s getting worse everyday. It’s due to the collapsing seawall that surrounds the basin. If it gets bad enough, it will be disastrous for the cherry blossom trees. Just thinking about it makes me so sad. So if you’d like to learn more about the situation or if you would be kind of enough to donate the cause, click the link here. If every visitor to the tidal basin donated just $15, then that money would really go a long way to preserve the wall and trees.

The settings for this image was F6.3 at 1/15th of a second at ISO 200 with my 16-35mm. The biggest thing I wanted out of this image was to really show off the reflections in the puddle. I think the bubbles in it were an added bonus but I’m not sure how they happened. Maybe it was me walking through the puddle? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Another puddle shot. I’ve been loving them this year and shooting them at the Tidal Basin is super easy because there are always puddles! Even when it’s super clear and nice out, there will be a puddle. It’s just because the sidewalks can be really uneven that if you look around there will be at least a little one in the cracks somewhere.

This however was not a little puddle. It was quite big and pretty much took over the whole sidewalk. Days like this, I’m super grateful to have rain boots. That way I can walk comfortably wherever without having to worry about my socks getting wet or my shoes getting muddy.

I’m also really grateful that the cherry blossoms peaked so nicely this year. It was totally unexpected that they would since we had that cold spell in the middle of March. I think it scared away a lot of the people because everyday that I went down to the Tidal Basin, there weren’t a lot of people there (compared to previous years where it’d be hard to even walk, let alone get shots without many people in it). Overall I’m just so happy spring is here and the cherry blossoms were amazing. I don’t know if I’ll be at the Tidal Basin anymore shooting the cherry blossoms this year but hopefully in other places around the DMV area <3

This was shot at F5.6 at 1/125th of a second at ISO 400. Again, I did not shoot this on my tripod because it just can’t get low enough. Which reminds me, if you guys have any tripod recommendations that can get super low, like almost touching the ground, let me know. I’d love to try that out. The only reason the ISO was at 400 was because this was hand held and I wanted to make sure to get everything sharp and in focus.

Out of all the cherry blossom images I took this year, this one has got to be my favorite. I admit theres not as much color, saturation or editing that was involved in this one compared to some of my other images but I can’t help but love the mood it evokes. It’s also a take on the cherry blossoms that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before from the Tidal Basin. It was from last Monday when it was super foggy out. I had been walking around all morning capturing the fog and was having a total blast. But like everything else, the fun had to stop at some point. I walked the scenic route back to my car from the Jefferson Memorial and was stunned when I saw this. The high tide had risen so high that the low hanging cherry blossom branch was able to touch the water. It was just so soft and delicate, I had to find the perfect way to capture it all.

It was also amazing that there was barely anyone around. Maybe because it was a Monday morning and most people were at work at that time, but everything was just so silent and still. The couple sitting on the branch had been there for a while taking selfies. I had to include them to convey a feeling of peace and calmness of just relaxing on the tree trunk.

My camera settings were F/6.3 at 1/80 of a second ISO 200 with my 28-70mm. No particular reason for my lens choice. I think I had just been walking around with it on and didn’t feel the need to switch to the wide angle. I wanted to capture the scene as quickly as possible.

This is my favorite for now. I took so many images these past few days. Another one may pop up later that I love even more. We shall have to see <3

In between shooting cherry blossom sunrises, I made my way over to the National Arboretum this past weekend. I met up with a bunch of friends from IGDC . (If you don’t know them, you should check them out on instagram especially if you’re in the DC area.) It was really cool because it also World Wide Instameet weekend and the theme was ‘kindness’. So IGDC and the Humane Rescue Alliance in DC teamed up to show off some adoptable dogs. I had a BALL hanging out with all the dogs. There were so many of them. The best was when one dog would get really excited and then get all the other dogs excited and watching them bark at each other. I don’t know why, but I think its so funny. Taking the group shot at the end was particularly enjoyable to see the dogs “together”. Unfortunately, Frankie couldn’t make it 🙁

This was shot in the middle of the day. I want to say around 11:30. These columns sit on top of a hill in the middle of the arboretum and the first thing I noticed were the shadows they were creating in the grass. I quickly changed my lens to the 16-35mm so I could get it all. That’s when I noticed the sun flare. I really think that sun is there for that extra added bonus. However, I think if I were to redo this shot again, I would of tried to get a dog or a person in the the middle of the columns or in the foreground somewhere. Oh well. I’m still really happy with how this turned out.

The settings for this image were F22 1/25 of a second ISO 100. I had to shoot small just to exaggerate the flares coming out of the sun a little more.

The only way to get an image like this is to wake up super early. Way earlier than you actually want to. Way earlier than your body wants to. But it’s worth it. Theres no other time where you’ll get that amazing purple glow or find the stillness in the water or sidewalks. Nobody’s there rushing by you or getting in your way because there’s hardly anyone else there. Ive said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s such a beautiful way to start your day.

And don’t get me started with that fog. That fog just made the morning so much more enjoyable. It really fills the air with warmth like you’re walking through a  big puffy cloud. Its  hard to say, but I really do think my favorite weather to shoot in is dense fog. It just simplifies everything and your limited to what’s right in front of you. There are so many more ways to see things when you’re limited by the fog. I don’t know, did that make sense? I mean that everything is just so simplified that you have no other option but to see and think of objects you see everyday differently.

This image was shot at F/8 2.5 seconds ISO 160 with my 16-35mm on my tripod. My intention was to get the water silky smooth so you can really see the reflections of the cherry blossom trees and to get more color saturation from the fog. It was shot looking onto the the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial while standing close to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. What do you think of it? Do you like the lights from the memorial shining through the cherry blossom trees or no? I’m still on the fence but I think the colors made for a cool, slightly noticeable contrast.