ANGELA B. PAN

I haven’t been taking as many pictures around DC lately. Mostly due the fact that it’s been raining so much. Also I feel like I still have so many images to go through from this year. When I come home from travel, I get really excited and look at all my images. I’ll pick a few that I like the best and spend some time editing those. But for the most part, I’ll leave most of the other images just sitting there.

Sometimes I feel like I just need a break from them or I’ll end up getting really excited about a photowalk I did at home and those images will distract me for a bit.  Either way I always find it better after I have spent a little time apart from the images that I’ll be really happy with the edits. Now that I think of it, when I go back to look at those travel images after some time, it instantly brings me back to all these great memories and I think it’s easier to edit them after I can figure out how these places and experiences made me feel.

For example, this image was taken on our very first morning in Joshua Tree at the very end of December 2018. It was the best sunrise we had the entire trip but for some reason I was never extremely happy with the way I edited them. 5 months later, I had some time over the weekend and looked through a lot of my Joshua Tree images. I almost forgot about this sunrise and I can’t believe it. It reminds me of the morning when we woke up really early, even without alarm clocks because we were still on east coast time and hoping into the car. Since we were on our way to Joshua Tree, I felt like the only appropriate thing to do was to listen to all the U2 songs I could think of off of the top of my head. It ended up being so fun and we were cracking up over the littlest things. Aww so fun!

My camera settings for this image is F4.0 at 1/250th sec and ISO 2000 with my Canon 5D Mark II and 16-35mm.

If I had to guess Sue’s favorite part of our 2017 road trip, it would either have been Santa Fe, New Mexico or the Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed Saguaro National Park but while we were there, we were in the middle of a huge heat wave. I thought Arizona was hot in previous visits to the state, but it was so HOT when we were there. Even after sunset and the sun went down, it was still so humid and hot. I even remember hearing on the radio that mailboxes were melting. That’s HOT! Holy cow. And how many times can I say hot in a row? LOL

Since it was so humid and hot, we only spent an hour or so around sunset in the national park. The rest of the time was spent in our hotel’s outdoor pool. We wanted to go when the sun was lower and maybe a little bit cooler, but that didn’t make much difference but you better believe there was lots of ice cream afterwards. Out of all the places on our roadtrip, I hope to visit Tucson again sometime soon because I actually enjoyed the time while we were there. It seemed like a super cute city with so much to do and see. We just didn’t get enough time. I just remember waking up the next morning and wanting to get out of the heat wave as soon as possible. The next stop on our trip was Los Angeles and that was nowhere close to being as hot. So we made our way over and spent the rest of our time in California before flying back home.

My camera settings for this image is F3.5 at 1/320th sec at ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 28-70mm lens.

This image was taken on my way out of the Cholla Cactus Garden in Joshua Tree National Park at early morning just after sunrise. The sunrise was particularly colorful but unfortunately we weren’t able to capture it from the Cactus garden. The sky was starting to explode with color while we were on our way over there and ended up taking pictures somewhere along the side of the road to capture the Joshua Trees as foreground instead.

Its funny to me that all my recent trips and memories of Southern California has been in the winter time. I feel like it’s a totally different experience than if you visited in the summer. I bring that up because I was actually talking to Andrew this morning and we were trying to recall if California had a lot of mosquitos or not. To be honest, I don’t even remember seeing a lot of bugs in general. I’m sure if they did, there would be a lot in the summertime but because we have been there in the winter, I can’t even remember. Can anyone shine some light on this question?

Anyways, I got side tracked. Joshua Tree is an amazing place to visit if you’re ever planning a trip. I hope to go back sometime soon and see more of the park cuz it’s huge. Maybe in the summertime so I can see for myself about the bug situation? LOL. But I know the temperature difference is going to be extreme. While we were there it was super windy and so cold that at times it was difficult to be outside. I imagine it to be the same in the summer but with the heat.

My camera settings for this image is F4 at 1/1250th sec and ISO 800 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm.

Guess what, y’all? I brought my film camera to Joshua Tree! LOL. Most exciting news you’ll hear on a Monday.

It was fun having two cameras with me. It’s even funner when I forget what I shot and pick up the roll of film to find all these images.

The above image was on our hike along the Arch Rock Trail. Our first taste of boulders in Joshua Tree NPS and I thought they were so cool. I love how massive they are and the beautiful formations. It sort of felt like you were on another planet.
PS. None of these images are edited. They’re all straight out of the camera.

I love all the brown tones in this image. Although this was taken at different times of day, check out my digital version of this.

Another little cacti action for the love of texture.

This image was captured on New Year’s day at sunrise along the Baker Dam Trail. The sun had come up a little and made the rocks glow in orange.

This morning was honestly one of the coldest mornings I’ve had in recent memory. It may not look cold but it was so windy, it felt fridged. I remember feeling the cold air through my shoes and thinking I did not wear enough on my feet. That was even through hiking socks and boots.

Out of all the images I captured, this is the only one I managed to take of the Joshua Trees on my film camera. I distinctly remember taking it because it reminded me of a heart. I <3 Joshua Tree and can’t wait to go back again.

Let me know what you guys think of these images. Shooting film is so nostalgic for me and I really enjoy it from time to time.

I was so lucky. The first morning of our adventures in Joshua Tree was a beautiful one. We arrived in our airbnb the night before. It was already really dark out so it was difficult to see anything around us. We really had no idea of our surroundings. So Andrew and I woke up super early the next morning (no alarm clock needed due to jet lag) and made our way to the park. Being up before sunrise, it was still dark but it was so fun to watch the sun slowly come up as it revealed the landscape. I honestly think that’s the best way to see any new place. As the sun rises and slowly reveals what’s around you. It’s like a fun surprise and your mind is blown by all the things you missed out on. LOL.

This image was taken along the side of the road. It was not a designated stop but with the sky exploding with color, it was difficult to not want to pull over at every mile. I was literally like a kid in the candy store, pointing in every direction and making mental notes of places I wanted to go back to as Andrew drove around.

While capturing this image and landscapes in general, I remember I wanted to keep my subject in the image a simple as possible. I did not want a lot of plants overcrowding the image but I also made it a point to make sure the Joshua Tree limbs were not touching any other part of the landscape. The separation helps single out the Joshua Tree and making that the focal point of the image.

My camera settings for this image is F4 at 1/25th sec and ISO 2000 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm ultrazoom lens.

Before settling into San Diego, we spent the last few days of 2018 in Joshua Tree National Park. I was so excited because I’ve never been but have always heard how amazing it is. It totally lived up to expectations. It is beautiful.

The if-y part about it was the government shut down. We arrived just days after it started and wasn’t sure what it would be like in the park. Since it was our first time, I don’t know if it was quieter than usual but it was definietly like we had the park all to ourselves. With a couple of random people who would drive by, it was great to explore without having to worry about being in anyone else’s way. But on second thought, it could have been the temperatures that deviated people from visiting. It was cold! and so windy.

I captured this image on the very first day of 2019. It was a sunrise hike to welcome in the new year and the last thing we did before leaving Joshua Tree. If you’re traveling with kids, Joshua Tree is a great place for them to explore. These huge boulder rocks are along several very easy trails and if they’re anything like, Axl, he loved climbing on all of them. The only hard part was getting him up before sunrise. LOL.

I was standing on some rocks when I heard from a distance, “Tita Angela, you are so far away!” I turned around and saw his little head peeking through the rocks and thought it was the cutest little scene. I’m so glad he enjoyed the national park and look forward to hiking with him in different places as he grows up.

My camera settings for this image is F6.3 at 1/100th sec and ISO 800 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom.