museums

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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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Happy Thanksgiving! My favorite holiday! The food is always delicious and it’s all about giving thanks. Honestly, what could be better? 2018 has been particularly amazing and I have so much to be thankful for. But it’s closing out with a bang!

If you’re in the Washington DC metro area, keep an eye out for Northern Virginia Magazine. Remember this image from 2017? I captured this on National Coffee day at the National Gallery of Art. It was so great because I got to meet up with friends early in the morning and sample all kinds of delicious beverages. If you know me, you know that I don’t usually drink coffee so I was EXTRA hyped this day.

After the tasting, a group of us headed upstairs to the rooftop to check out Katharina Frithsch’s Hahn/Cock. We had a mini photoshoot with my friends, Diego and Laurie. Laurie was in this amazing orange dress that perfectly contrasted with the artwork but special thanks to Diego’s amazing jumping skills because this image made the cover! I love how there’s so much energy and life to the entire spread. Earlier this week Andrew and I were walking through Whole Foods (his favorite store) and I noticed the magazine out of the corner of my eye. It looks so good! I immediately stopped and bought three. One for me, one for my mom and one for Diego 🙂

Northern Virginia Magazine December 2019, museum guide, washington dc, national gallery of art, nga, Katharina Frithsch's Hahn/Cock, blue rooster, rooftop, museums,

Special thanks to Northern Virginia Magazine for selecting this image for the cover. I’m so honored and could not be more grateful. What a happy Thanksgiving!

Last but definietly not least, I’d like to thank all of you for taking the time out to view my images and for all your love and unconditional support. It means the world to me and it definietly does not go unnoticed. Wishing you the best this holiday season <3

 

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Whenever people ask me about places to photograph in Washington DC, I always have to ask follow up questions because there is just so much to see in our little city. If you wanted sunsets, visit the National Mall. If you want cool interiors, visit the Library of Congress. If you want to know my favorite museum? It’s is hands down the National Gallery of Art. I think it is one of the most beautiful spaces we have in the district. Every time I walk in, I feel so refreshed and so excited about what I’m going to see.

The gallery is so large that it is actually divided into two separate buildings and my favorite is definietly the east building. There you’ll see the more modern art, it’s the side of the gallery that changes out more often, but I also love the BEAUTIFUL light you get through the windows while you’re walking around the concourse. And of course, you can’t forget that NGA wall! It’s a staircase that is just so beautiful and minimal, it’s been photographed a million times. But each time I see an image from here, it’s like I forgot how beautiful it is and fall back in love.

And if you do get a chance to visit the gallery, don’t forget to check out Multiverse by Leo Villareal. It’s a moving walkway that sort of connects the East and the West but it’s will probably be the coolest moving walkway you’ve been on. NOTHING like what you see in airports. HAHA.

I really wish I could have included museums in Snap DC. This would have been the very first place I would have mentioned to go visit. I just can’t express how much I love the National Gallery of Art.

My settings for this image is F6.3 at 1/8th of a second at ISO 100 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

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If you’re in the DC area, check out the June’s issue of the Washingtonian magazine. Its the best of Washington issue and I have two pictures in there! So freakin’ cool! The first and biggest one is the one featured above. I took it one morning at the Hirshhorn Museum when people were waiting in line for the Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors exhibit on one of the last days that it was here. They were waiting for day of passes but it’s crazy because I took this around 7a in the morning and there were already so many people there. The light was absolutely amazing and the reflection in the middle as so cool. It was hard not to take the picture. The Washingtonian contacted me and said they were doing a story on lines in DC so I thought that this one would fit perfectly. I especially like all the blue and yellow tones plus the reflection in the windows are pretty awesome as well.

The second image I have in this month’s issue is of the National Gallery of Art’s new roof terrace sculpture by Katharina Fritsch’s titled “Hanh/Cock”. I originally wanted to take a picture of it for Chinese New Year since this year is the sign of the Cock. I think it’s really cool that it ended up in the Washingtonian. This sculpture itself is pretty large and in charge when you see it in person. I don’t know if you can see, but theres a slight shadow of someone in the window. That might give you a comparison of what it’s like to stand right next to it. Oh the jokes that this bird has heard.

Anyways, shout out to Washingtonian for being so awesome. Its always so exciting to see my work published in print. I grew up on the Washingtonian so I’m grateful to be able to contribute to such an awesome publication.

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It finally happened! I went to the Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors exhibit at the Hirshhorn Museum. It was so beautiful. So much more than I thought it was going to be. So let me break it down for you:

The Bad: One of the rooms was temporarily closed 🙁 Turns out someone was trying to take a selfie and broke one of the pumpkins. We were not allowed in that room and who knows how long it will be closed for. Secondly, all the other rooms were timed. We were only allowed in each for 20-30seconds. Hardly enough time to composite a descent image. I felt like I was rushed the whole time I was there. I’d love an opportunity to take my time and really be thoughtful with what I’m doing. More than that, I’d love to have time to really have it all sink in and appreciate what I’m really looking at.

The Good: Everything else!! Its hard to believe one person created such a beautiful, thought provoking exhibit. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The creativity and just pure magic of it all was so captivating. I’m really looking forward to going a couple more times before it leaves DC.

This room was unique compared to the others. It was the only room where it was light. All the others were really dark and I believe all those mushroom-y things on the bottom are made out of cotton. So in total there were 6 rooms. We were only allowed to see 5 but every single one of them have mirrored walls so it looks like you’re experiencing an infinite amount of space. Pretty cool if you ask me.

What’s also crazy is that this was my very first time inside the Hirshhorn. After this visit, it made me want to go back and see the rest of the museum. If it’s as awesome as this exhibit, I know I’m going to love it.