ANGELA B. PAN

#TBT to last week on the National Mall and how I snuck my way to the best spot to capture the Washington DC firework show. 

To be honest, I’ve didn’t envision this. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a fireworks image like this at the National Mall but it’s one of my favorites that I’ve ever taken. Luckily, I was so close to the reflecting pool that I was able to get this view point. It also helped that I was shooting with my 70-200mm and that this was taken at the very beginning of the show so there was no smoke or anything else to cloud the view of the Washington Monument. Just a very clean sky and an amazingly still day. It was kind of crazy though because I was so close to the reflecting pool that pieces of the firework shrapnel was falling on me. I didn’t even bother looking down to clean myself off because I was so focused on capturing light that there was no time.

This was my first time shooting the fireworks from here. So within that 30 minute window I had time to try different angles. Meaning I was standing up and sitting down throughout the entire show. I found out that sitting down was probably my best bet. I got some cool images of just the tip of the Monument but I think the advantage of being so close to the reflecting pool is the reflection. In the beginning I thought the fencing would get in the way, but I actually kind of like it now. It adds an extra element of line and reflection that isn’t usually seen unless it’s the 4th.

My camera settings for this image is 5.6 at 1/10th of a second ISO 160 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm lens.

So the 4th was awesome. It was one of the best fireworks displays I had seen in a long time. It was hot and humid but not humid enough where it effected the sparkles like it had in the years past.

I rode the metro to the mall and made my way over to the Lincoln Memorial. I was flying solo this year since Andrew had better plans of bbq and fireworks at home and it seemed like all my photo friends had their own ideas of where to shoot the fireworks from. I’ve been wanting to shoot in front of the Lincoln Memorial for so long so that I finally took the opportunity this year to do so. I arrived around 615p and the Lincoln Memorial steps were already packed! I didn’t even bother. It seemed like everybody was so squished up and it was already way too hot without all that body heat around me so I looked over to the Reflecting Pool to look for some open spots. I think being by myself was an advantage because I was able to squeeze in, dead center of the Reflecting Pool. It was awesome! There was only one row of people in front of me and that was it.

I sat there for almost 3 hours, reading on my kindle app and playing some phone games. Its funny though, I stood up to get my camera ready at around 9p. The fireworks were supposed to be going off at 9:09p. And even though I had been waiting for those fireworks for sooo long, it still surprised me when the first one went off. I’m pretty sure I screamed so loud that the people around me heard me yelp and jump a little bit. A little embarrassing, but whatevs. The show was one that would be hard to forget! I’m not usually one to say anything but I was ohhh-ing and awe-ing the whole time.

My camera settings for this image is F5.6 at 1 second ISO 160 shot Bulb with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm lens.

It seems like everyday this summer has either been super hot and humid or super rainy, right? There hasn’t really been an in between in a while. This image was actually taken on one of those rainy days. It rained the night before and it rained right after this image was captured so I was really surprised when color actually came through the clouds during this sunrise. And as a side note super lucky that I left the Reflecting Pool right before it started pouring. The whole morning was really dark so I love the way the pink and purple hues brought out the contrast.

Now that I have my 70-200mm, I’ve been challenging myself to keep the lens on my camera without switching to one of my defaults.  It’s actually a lot harder than it sounds but I think it’s really interesting how subjects that I photograph all the time seem so different. I’ve always talked about getting really low or getting high could help make things look different. Well, getting a new lens can do the exact same thing. I captured this image at focal length 112mm.

Besides the color and the reflection, my favorite part about this image are the ducks. I always get so happy to see them, especially in the summer time. There seems to be new baby ducks all the time. Of course they could be the same ducks that I’m seeing over and over again, but they’re just so tiny that I can’t even imagine being more than a few weeks old.

My camera settings for this image is F4 at 1/60th of a second and ISO 1600 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm. The reason the ISO is up so high is because this image was captured handheld.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Still basking in the glow of the photowalk this past Saturday. It was so much better than expected. To be honest, I was only expecting about 25 people to show up. But about 10 minutes before the photowalk was scheduled to happen, people were were just pouring in. It was so awesome and exciting! I may have counted at least 70 people in total. I still can’t believe it. Thanks again for everyone who woke up so early to walk around the Mall with me. I had such a great time meeting and talking to you all!

Even the weather was better than expected. The days leading up to the event called for some really cloudy skies. Meaning a really dark, probably uneventful sunrise due to rain we were expecting later in the day. Luckily, the weather gods were with us and the clouds parted a bit to bring in these cotton candy, puffy clouds. It was so beautiful, especially at that pre-dawn blue hour.

This image was taken at about 4:55a. I arrived to the Lincoln Memorial early just in case and met up with my friend, Larry for a quick little photoshoot at the Reflecting Pool. He always early to everything so I knew he would have been there even before I arrived. My favorite part of this image is the fog that you can see on either side of the reflecting pool. Those trees are actually along side a path way. The pathway has trees on both sides of it so if you’re lucky enough to see fog, sometimes it gets trapped in there and creates this amazing atmosphere. I just wish I had more time to photograph it.

My camera settings for this image is F8 at 10 seconds and ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

Special Announcement! I’m hosting my very first photowalk and I’m so excited!!!

It’s happening on Saturday June 9th at 5:20a meeting at the Lincoln Memorial. Mark yo calendars. Super early, I know, but it will be so fun. I’m teaming up with the Focus on the Story International Photo Festival for a super cool Saturday morning. Don’t quote me on this but I heard they’re bringing Krispe Kremes too. So what could be better than the National Mall, sunrise, donuts and ME?! LOL.

Click here to sign up for the free event. And while you’re at it, check out some of the other events that will be going on that weekend. I’ve signed up for a couple myself and really looking forward to learning from other photographers.

This image was taken in August 2016 but I still remember the details of taking it. It was a super humid summer evening and we were expecting thunderstorms that night. So with weather conditions like that, I thought the sunset would be super colorful. It was, but only along the bottom of the sky, right above the horizon. So I decided to crop the top part and focus more on the water ripples. I don’t know if this image would have been as successful as it is without the water because I think the best part of it was catching the color reflection. It makes it seem a lot more colorful and dramatic than it really was. The most interesting part to me is that little line that flows down the center left hand side of the reflecting pool. I love the way that it bounces from one side to another so subtly.

So that’s our meeting spot! The Lincoln Memorial! Don’t forget to register for the sunrise photowalk and see ya there!

My camera settings for this image is F6.3 at 1/10th of a second at ISO 250 with my Sony A7II and 28-70mm lens.

If you’ve signed up for my newsletter then you already know, but I have a super exciting announcement to make. I am this year’s Ball for the Mall’s official photographer! AHHHHH!!!!!!!!

I am so thrilled and so grateful. If you don’t know what the Ball for the Mall is, it’s a fundraising event that the Trust for the National Mall puts on every year to raise money for the National Mall. This year the tent is going up right in front of the Smithsonian museums. Being the official photographer does not mean I’m photographing the event. It just means that the Trust for the National Mall is featuring my images on all their materials for the event like the invitation, save the dates, etc. I’m honored to be helping with such a beautiful cause that’s so close to my heart. I’ve spent so much time at the Mall and it’s given me so much. I’m grateful to be able to give back. Plus I heard there’s going to be some super cool people like Wolf Blitzer emceeing the event. I am going to try to take a selfie!

I’ve never been before and I’m really looking forward to attending the event with Andrew later on this month. Now, to go ball gown shopping. AHHH!!!! 🙂 I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m so excited.

This image was taken on morning on a super cold winter morning at the National Mall (obviously). I love it because the sky reminds of tie-dye. I mean when you see a scene like this, how could you not fall in love with our national parks?

The settings for this image is F9 at 1/10th of a second at ISO 200 with my Canon 5D Mark II and 17-40mm wide angle lens. You know this is an older image when the Canon 5DmII is mentioned.