ANGELA B. PAN

Hi,

Sorry, long time no blog. I realize that my last two blog posts were about the Black Lives Matters protests in Washington DC. It is such a large subject to document and I really wanted to frame the posts in a way that wasn’t political but my experience at each of the protests I had gone to. But after a while, I was not sure how to transition away from that. I had gone to more protests and wanted to share the images, but I did not know how to present the images in a different way. One thing led to another and I sort of felt like I was in a creative rut. So I just didn’t write any blog posts and barely went out to create more pictures to share.

BUT I’M BACK BABY! After spending some time for myself and reflecting on the type of work I want to create, I found myself getting more excited about capturing images and sharing them.

But to automatically switch gears from the protests posts to my favorite road trips from Washington DC, seemed a bit of a weird transition. Don’t get me wrong, I have my favorite road trips blog post about 70% done already and that will probably be the next post after this one, but I figured this blog post can give a little update of what has happened since last time I blogged…

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Obviously I had to go to the Natural History Museum in London to compare it to the one in DC. Overall impression, it was pretty cool. I’m not sure if it’s as big as the one in DC but there were a couple of differences that I enjoyed. For example, the main entrance was inspiring. The architecture, staircase, and dinosaur display was so cool. Is it weird that it reminded me of Harry Potter?

A few months ago, I was lucky enough to be selected to tour the Smithsonian Natural History museum before it even opened! It was so fun to walk through the empty halls. While we were waiting for everyone to gather in the Atrium Cafe I took the time to take a picture of these cool steps. I loved the lines and repetition it created from below.

Peek a boo. I see you! Just another view of the cool butterflies at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.

I had so much fun at the first ever instameet for the Smithsonian Natural History Museum this past Friday. It was hosted by the museum’s photo department and my mentors from high school, Don and Jim. It brought back many memories of getting out of school early, hopping on the metro and riding it all the way to Smithsonian stop. I used to spend a lot of time in the dark room developing prints of skulls, insects and fossils. Even back then I knew I wanted to be a photographer. I was just trying to find out what kind.

But while I was an intern, they never had the live butterfly exhibit and I loved it! A butterfly even landed on my camera. Does that mean it’s good luck?

The centerpiece of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington DC