ANGELA B. PAN

It looks like a warm summer day, right? No, it was 30 degrees out but a cloudless morning with a bright yellow sun that made the whole city glow for a little while. I was just at the right place at the right time to capture the glow. I love how it almost looks like the street lamps could be giving off the light as well.

On this particular morning, I met up with my friend, Larry who was already standing in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue. Don’t worry though, there’s a bike lane in the middle of the street and we were standing somewhere that was very safe from traffic. Plus it was a Saturday morning was there wasn’t even any traffic. LOL.

We were trying to capture the sunrise but the cloudless sky didn’t really make for the dramatic colors he was looking for. So we started to walk around to see if we could capture the sun from a new perspective. As soon as we stepped back onto the sidewalk, I captured this. I just love how everything is lined up so nicely, leading your eye straight to the US Capitol.

My camera settings for this image are F6.3 at 1/1600th sec and ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

I’m so glad that Sunrise Sundays are becoming a thing with my photography friends. It all started on the first Sunday of 2020 when my friend, Andy invited a few people to photograph sunrise at the Lincoln Memorial. And ever since then, it’s becoming a weekly meetup at different locations and it’s been such fun each time.

This past weekend we went to the US Capitol. Currently, the reflecting pool is under construction so we ended up meeting at the Ulysses S Grant Memorial instead. I’m glad we did. The white marble allowed for a different kind of reflection than the reflecting pool would have offered. I love how the Capitol dome is just poking out from the edge of the Grant Memorial.

My camera settings for this image are F4 at 1/250th sec and ISO 160 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

Man, I take a lot of pictures at the Lincoln Memorial. LOL. It’s hard not to though. Especially with the US Capitol and the Jefferson Memorial currently under construction, it sort of limits the monuments and memorials to go to in the National Mall.

However, this image was taken as I was leaving the memorial parks and headed back to my car. I noticed how great the columns looked and loved even more that there were two people peaking their heads out trying to capture the early morning sky with their own cameras.

I think this day was unusual though. It was still very early in the morning and all of a sudden a busload of tourists came walking in. They usually don’t get there that early so I think that may have been one reason why I left so early. That and the fact that it was 20 degrees out. 20 DEGREES! I was wearing so many layers of clothing that you probably heard me swishing back to my car. But the sky that morning made it all worth it!

My camera settings for this image are F4 at 1/1250th sec and ISO 1000 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom.

Sunday was a busy photography day for me because not only did I capture the Chinese New Year Parade in Chinatown, but I also went out and photographed the sunrise earlier in the day. I met up with some other photo friends at the Washington Monument. The sunrise itself wasn’t the best, but when the sun finally peaked over the horizon, it made the city glow.

At first, it was the reflection in the reflecting pool that attracted me to this scene. I just love how even from so far away, you can see the columns so clearly. But then looking at the little details of this image is what really makes me so happy. I love seeing all the people standing at the edge of the pool. They look so little compared to the enormous memorial. And while I was framing this image in my camera, I did notice the birds fly by so I’m glad I was able to capture them in the frame. They add a bit more interest to the top of the image that I like. But my favorite part is that if you zoom into this image, you can still see the Lincoln statue so clearly inside the memorial! So cool if you ask me!

My camera settings for this image are F4 at 1/1250th second and ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

So the next morning, I obviously had to wake up to check on the fog again. 

Luckily, I got to the Tidal Basin early. The fog really seemed to have rolled in overnight and you could barely see the Washington Monument anymore. I love how even though its dark on top, the sunrise colors are still shining through. Or maybe that’s just the light pollution from the city. Either way, I love how it came out.

I’m also glad that I went early because they actually start turning off the Washington Monument lights about 30 minutes before sunrise too. As soon as they turn it off, it’s almost like a dark monster in the air. It’s hard to see and even harder to photograph.

My camera settings for this image are F4 at 1 sec and ISO 320 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

After a rainy day (or night) in the Washington DC area, you can count on finding a lot of puddles in the National Mall. In grassy areas and things, I think that is expected, but this image was taken on the steps on the way down the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. There is a landing in the middle of the steps that almost always has a puddle. The questionable part is that sometimes it doesn’t even have to rain for there to be a puddle either. Regardless, this puddle is great for reflections.

The sunrise this day wasn’t the best. It was very blue with overcast skies. So to make it a little more interesting, I thought the puddle could create some interesting symmetry. I purposely left that gap in the middle so that you can see that this was not taken at the actual reflecting pool.

But on a side note, I got a new tripod! I received the new Peak Design tripod a little bit before the holidays. It’s been so much more convenient to carry this travel tripod around then my previous Gitzo tripod. I plan on doing a review on it soon so if you have any questions, let me know in the comments!

My camera settings for this image are F4 at 1/160th sec and ISO 1600 and my Sony A7II and 16-36mm wide-angle lens.