ANGELA B. PAN

To say the 2021 cherry blossom season was really different is an understatement.

They came about a week earlier than expected which worked out well because crowds were a lot more manageable. There were road closures around the tidal basin, no in-person festivals celebrating the blooms, and the Jefferson Memorial is STILL under scaffolding.

Luckily, the blossoms were as beautiful as ever. I’m glad I was able to get out there when I could. I hit up my usual spots, tested out a new camera lens, and came home with some images I was really excited about.

Washington Monument

Since parking was really limited this year, Ohio Dr and the East Potomac Park parking lots were all closed, I had to get creative with the places I parked. Most of the time that meant parking on Jefferson Dr or Constitution Ave and walking past the Washington Monument to get to the Tidal Basin. I didn’t mind because I’ve always enjoyed these cherry trees as well. Although they aren’t as big as the ones by the Tidal Basin, they are beautiful trees that frame the Washington Monument.

Tidal Basin

Cherry blossoms usually last about a week, maybe 10 days if we have some really nice weather. However, if it rains or gets really windy, the petals start falling off the flowers and start turning into green leaves. I think most locals know this and by the time the first rainstorm hits, a lot of people will stop going to the tidal basin, but it’s probably my favorite time to go. Puddles are everywhere and I love it when the petals start flying off and land in the water and all over the ground.

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It’s been a while since I’ve had an update blog post. Mostly because I didn’t have much to update on. However, I was going through my catalog the other day and realized I have some images that I wanted to share!

Since coming back from New Hampshire, I tried my best to capture the fall colors around the Washington DC area. Even though Washington DC is a city, there are still some great places to go to see fall colors! All the different shades of red, yellow, and orange make me so happy. So this is a compilation of the images I’ve created from mid-October to the very end of November.

Shenandoah Sunrise

It was my friend, Larry and I’s 4th year anniversary of capturing the sunrise in Shenandoah National Park in the autumn time. I love this tradition. Mostly because it’s fun to reminisce on our friendship. Each year we go has been extremely different. But there has always been one thing in common, awesome fall colors!

This time around, we were lucky to get some fog. It was crazy because the entire time we were driving to and from Shenandoah, there was a lot of fog. So when we got to the top of the mountain, it was really cool to see it from above. They kind of look like spider webs!

Mt Vernon Trail Sunrise

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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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Almost a week ago, I met up with some photo friends for a fun photo walk around northwest DC. We met in the middle of the day, something that I don’t usually do so I was interested in seeing the kind of photos we would capture. It ended up being a super fun afternoon filled with laughs and really cool architectural opportunities. Something I never really thought about doing in Washington but so glad we got together to do this.

Our walk was planned out by my friend, Zack who told us all to meet at the West End Library. The West End Library itself is a dream to capture but then we went on to the Pan American Union Building and finally ending at the Watergate. I’ve always driven past the Watergate but never even thought to stop and photograph it. Now that I’ve been, I can’t wait to go back.

I always assumed it was just a hotel, but turns out it’s much more than just that. It is also an apartment complex with stores, restaurants and businesses on the lower levels. This image was taken from standing on one of the lower levels looking up. I love all the curves of the building and even capturing it in the middle of the day allowed for some really nice shadow/light play.

But if you’re interested in capturing some photos of your own from the Watergate, I’d also recommend going to the rooftop of the Watergate hotel. You can get some really cool views of Georgetown and the Kennedy Center. You all know how I feel about a good rooftop 🙂

But definitely expect more images from this walk soon!

My camera settings for this image is F4 at 1/800th sec and ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom.

Have you guys been to the Newseum before? I’ve been to it when it used to be in Arlington, Virginia but it’s permanently in DC. I’m kinda waiting for my chance to head to the rooftop. I’ve seen such cool images from up there. Anyone want to invite me to go with them? 🙂

I was really hesitant to go out last night for sunset. Its just been so hot and humid. I tend to prefer to stay comfortable in the AC than sweating like a hog beast outside.  So glad I changed my mind. The sunset was amazing and the lightning afterwards was even better! I’ll be sure to post more from this night as I work on them 🙂