ANGELA B. PAN

WoW! Time flies. I took this image almost 3 years ago in Zion National Park. It feels like yesterday that I took it because I remember so many details about being at that exact location. It was at the Canyon Junction shuttle spot and I remember driving up to it and being shocked by how many photographers had already lined up for sunset. We were at least an hour early! You can imagine parking being difficult but luckily we found a spot right off Mount Carmel Highway. I ran over as fast as I could and tried to squeeze myself and tripod in with the crowd. Andrew just stood back and watched. It was ok because pretty much anywhere you stood, you’d have a great view of the Watchman.

The sun was setting and I just remember being so excited about this image. I knew it was going to come out well. At that time, we were only in Zion for a couple of days but now that I think of it I kinda wish we came back to this spot. Not to shoot from top of the bridge again, but I remember seeing people right next to the Virgin River. I wish I knew what that view looked like. I guess that will have to be for my next visit to Utah.

Crazy how one picture can bring back so many memories, right?

Anyways, we took this in October. We were a little late for the color change on the trees but the weather was perfect. Not too hot and not too cold. It can be difficult to plan trips around nature but with that said, I’m looking to do another one this fall! I’m thinking either Maine or somewhere up North. What do you think? Have any good suggestions?

Getting ready to head out to Utah again. 2 more weeks! Unfortunately, we won’t be visiting Zion National Park but other amazing places in Utah that I’ve never been. Actually, we’re flying in to Denver first then driving to Moab. How cool is that? I’m really looking forward to Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. I also heard theres a lot of cool stops in between Denver and Moab that are fun to see too. Have you ever been there? If so, give me some tips. Good hiking trails, cool photo spots, and where to get some good food. After Moab, Andrew and I will be spending the rest of the trip in Rocky Mountain National Park. A place I heard that you can get some serious altitude sickness. Really not looking forward to that. So if you have medicine recommendations for that, let me know too. I did a quick amazon search and was a little overwhelmed by how many options there were.

This image of Zion was taken in October 2014 at the Watchman. It seemed like just yesterday that we were there but we were lucky enough to hit the tail end of the autumn colors. It’s also one of the easiest sunset spots there is. Plenty of parking and a really short walk to get to this spot. It’s easy to find too. Just look for the huge group of photographers with tripods. You can’t miss it 🙂

The camera settings for this image is F22  at 1.6 seconds ISO 100 on the tripod. While the sun was still up when I shot this, I still wanted to try to make the Virgin River as smooth as possible. If I had the chance to shoot this again, I’d probably use my ICE Neutral Density filter to get an even longer exposure.

What’s crazy about Rock Creek Park is that you can’t believe this place is actually in DC. Growing up, I always thought it was dangerous. I think it’s because anytime you saw anyone going to Rock Creek Park in the movies it was always to do something bad. Like a dangerous drug deal or the exchange of some top secret government information (thanks House of Cards). To be honest, I’ve never felt like I was in danger while I was there. Its probably one of the most beautiful places you can be inside of the city. Obviously the best time to go is in the fall time but even in the middle of the hot, humid summer, you can find a some peace.

To take this image, I did not use a tripod. I just used my Ice 10 stop neutral density filter and balanced myself on some rocks in the middle of the stream. I then held my breath for as long as I could so I could create these streaks in the water. It’s super important to stay as still as you can while capturing these long exposures. If you move, then the image may turn out blurry. The water flows pretty fast so I didn’t have to wait long. I believe this is about a 10 second exposure.

Getting down low and changing my perspective really adds a lot of interest into these kinds of images. The streaks in the water turned out to be one of the most predominate parts of this image. It probably wouldn’t of been the same if I were higher and on a tripod. Another one of my favorite parts is the reflection of the trees. Love it.

By the way, when is House Cards coming back on? I can’t wait to see what happens with Claire.

Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend. This image was shot last fall. See the other version of this same sunrise here.

I met up with my friend Sara to take this image. She told she had never been to DC for sunrise and we immediately had to change that. So the next morning we met up super early in the morning. I remember walking around the National Mall with her and we were talking about how it was so nice to be taking pictures. But one of the best parts was that you’re up so early in the morning that no one else is really awake. You have so much time to accomplish other things before even having to worry about calling anyone or making any kind of appointments. Just a nice way to start your morning by walking around and doing something creative. Growing up, I was never an early bird. But now that I’ve been waking up for sunrise images for the past 6 years that I can’t help but wake up early now. Even without an alarm.

In other news, I’ve been thinking lately that I need to make an updated youtube video. What do you think? It’s been a while since I’ve talked about my gear. I’ve uploaded quite a few videos about new gear that I’ve bought but those were mostly first impression/unboxings. Never really gave my opinion on what I think about the equipment now. Also, I’ve gotten a few things without tell you guys as well too. So would you be interested in an updated gear video? I think it’d be fun. Let me know if you have any specific questions and I’ll try to add that into the video as well.

To be honest, it may be another week or two until I actually make it. I have another video in the works before that one. You’re going to LOVE it.

You know your day is going to be great when it starts off like this. Digging through the archives, I found this one from I trip I took the Shenandoah National Park in October. I love visiting the park in the autumn time. The leaves are beautiful and more often than not, I’ve seen amazing foggy mornings like this.

DC isn’t just the monuments. It’s a beautiful place with so many things inside the city and surrounding states. Here are a few of my personal favorite images from this past year.

Part 3: Around DC

In no particular order… Click the image to find the original blog post and the story behind it.

This year started off with a crazy snow storm. Crazy but beautiful.

The Capitol Farris Wheel in the fog on a warm February evening

Smithsonian Gardens is definietly the hot spot for springtime. I mean C’MON!

A little close up for all you flower lovers.

Standing outside of the Newseum, creeping on people walking by. I mean watching people walk by.

Inside the National Portrait Gallery. I had never been to the very top floor. Very cool! Highly recommended.

A modern take on America in the National Portrait Gallery.

Beautiful sunflower fields in Southern MD. My favorite summer time flower.

Great Falls Park is the perfect place to go in Virginia to catch the fall leaves changing colors.

Thank you all so much for tagging along with me on all my crazy adventures this year. It was definietly a blast, but I know 2017 is going to be even better! Cheers to you! <3

In case you missed the previous two posts:
My favorite images from travel
My favorite images of the DC monuments