ANGELA B. PAN

During cherry blossom season, I was obsessed with finding puddles. I made it a mission to find whatever reflection I could get and try to make it work. So I figured after Monday’s rain that there would be tons of puddles. Wrong! There were hardly any. Even the ones that I knew that had to be here, were not even there. It was so strange. It was almost like it didn’t even rain. Oh well. So I was happy when I saw this one itty bitty little piece of reflection.

At one point while I was shooting other potential reflections, this couple from Panama came up to me. They told me that they owned a camera store and were desperately trying to get their kids in to photography. I must of looked like I had the biggest question mark on my face because I think they were trying to ask me for advice. I dunno? Give them a kick-ass camera and tell them to go play? That’d definietly motivate me to get more into photography. They were also super impressed by the fact that I’d get down low for my shot. So I showed them some of my images on my camera and for some reason I felt like they were really happy for me. The kind of look that only parents give. They were so sweet. I think it’s awesome that they were pushing their kids toward the creative side. At the end of the conversation they invited me to go Panama to eat sea food with them and visit their camera store. I have no idea what their names were or even where they live in Panama but it was so kind of them to stop and say such nice things. It really made my night that much better.

I’m really hoping this marks the beginning of storms here in DC. Summer is my favorite just because we can get some really dramatic skies and this past Monday was no exception. It was super hot over the weekend and finally a cold front came in bringing this storm that created the most amazing skies right at sunset. The storm itself was a little disappointing. We were expecting lightning and only saw a few really far away. But the clouds, the rainbow, the light soooo made up for it.

I met up with my friends Dave and Zack at the Lincoln Memorial. We figured that while it was raining, it’d be a great spot to take cover and still take pics at the same time. It was so fun running back and forth on the outer perimeter of the memorial. At first we were in the front capturing the dramatic skies. All of the sudden I turned around and saw this amazing glow coming from the back of the Lincoln. We ran back there to check it out and take pics. Then we get a message from Zack saying there was a rainbow at the monument. We ran over and started shooting that. It was so fun and exciting. I know we weren’t the only ones doing going back and forth. So many tourists were running along with us. LOL.

My camera settings for this image was F14 at 5 seconds and ISO 50. I chose to shoot this as a long exposure so I could blur out some of the people in the foreground. *What were they all doing there standing in the rain anyways? This was definietly shot on a tripod but somehow I left my remote at home 🙁 Oh well. There better be more storms in next few months.

Recently I was asked about my favorite place east of the US Capitol. First, I had to look on a map. LOL. Then found out that there were so many places that I could list – Union Station, the Arboretum, etc but it always came back to the US Capitol. Does that count? I don’t know what it is about the Capitol, but it’s such a beautiful building. My favorite is just walking around it. From all points of view its amazing. My favorite for sunrise is this spot right here. Right in front of the reflecting pool while watching the ducks swim past.

But have you ever been inside? It’s the best part, in my opinion. The Rotunda is stunning. As soon as you walk in you are overwhelmed with beauty. And then when you look up! OMG. Breath taking. So the only way to see the Rotunda is to take the Capitol tour. They’re free and highly recommended. I really should go back again soon. Last time I went was during the restoration and most of the dome was covered up. This may have sounded like a paid advertisement for the tour, but it’s not. LOL. Just a huge fan in the interior of this building.

In reality, I captured this sunrise a while ago. I think it was during cherry blossom season. I was just so consumed by the beautiful blooms that I didn’t have time to work on this image. My favorite part is definietly the sun burst coming out of the Capitol. I think it’s what really makes this image pop. The camera settings on this one was F22 for 1/13th of a second ISO 250. If I remember correctly, this was a handheld. I think it was the day after my ‘little’ tripod incident and wasn’t about risking it again.

One of my favorite things to do is just to walk around and get lost while traveling. It’s so fun to just explore a new city with no real plans and a camera in hand while documenting the things that inspire you. I’ve never really thought about doing the same in the city that I live in. I don’t know. I feel like “oh I already know all the cool spots” or “whats more could I actually see?” So I tried it out last week. I parked my car and started wondering around Georgetown. I picked Georgetown because I’m used to going to the area with all the shops and restaurants. Oh and also the waterfront is my favorite part, but I’ve never really explored the surrounding neighborhood. I’ve always heard that it’s a great place to live so I wanted to see why.

Everybody’s right. What a cute little neighborhood to live in. I felt so happy just walking around and exploring. All the houses are painted in bright colors, a lot of them how flowers surrounding them. Everyone just seemed so happy walking their dogs. While walking I found Oak Hill Cemetery. It wasn’t opened while I was there but from the outside it looks like a beautiful cemetery. (is that weird to say about a cemetery?) Regardless, I’d love to shoot there before all the flowers wilt. Also on my list to shoot, Dumbarton Oaks. Another place I’ve never been that’s on the top of my list.

This image was taking in front of someone’s house! Can you imagine walking home and seeing this beauty crawl along your walls. I feel like I’d be in heaven everyday. So if you’ve never done it before, you should try to be a tourist in your own neighborhood. You may find something that you’ve never seen before and totally fall in love.

The camera settings for this image is F5.6 at 1/30th of a second ISO 160.

It’s been a while since I’ve visited the Holocaust Museum in DC. The first and only time was when I was in elementary school. It wasn’t a school trip or anything but it was an experience that was hard to forget. I remember the hall of shoes and wanting to run out of that room as fast as I could. I also remember being so relieved once we were done with the museum because it was that emotional and heart-breaking. As a young girl, I don’t think I completely understood what I was looking at but even then I knew I didn’t like it.

So when the opportunity came up to visit the museum again, I was hesitant. I wasn’t sure if I was still ready to visit all those emotions again. However this time was different. I was asked to visit for a social media architectural tour in honor of the Holocaust Remembrance day at the museum. The concentration was on the building itself however my favorite part was listening to Holocaust survivor, Margit Meissner speak. Her story of escaping the Nazis were both heroic and inspiring. She wore a pin that said “What I do Matters” and I will carry that mantra with me for as long as I can.

This image is from the Tower of Faces. An overwhelming three-story hallway of portraits of families, children and people devoted to the Jewish community in Eisiskes, Lithuania. Just looking into the eyes and faces of these people was so powerful. In the middle of the image is my friend, Zack. I didn’t tell him to pose like that or anything. It’s was just his natural reaction to try to capture it all. I think we were both just totally blown away by this particular room because we both walked in saying “Wow”.

Sometimes finding a new point of view can be difficult. Especially if you’ve visited the same location multiple times. That’s always the problem that I have visiting the memorials. How can I make it look different from all the other times I’ve shot it. Sometimes I try to go at different times of day, other times I’ll make sure the sky is really unique or different. I’ll shoot high or I’ll shoot low. But I always try to make the memorials that I love so much different in each of my posts. So when I saw this puddle I was super excited. It was just this gigantic puddle in the middle of the grass/dirt. I got some crazy looks from people when I kneeled down to get closer to it, but I think it was all worth it in the end. There were people who even stopped next to me just to get down low to see what I was looking at. LOL. Some people may not get it but these puddle shots are quickly becoming some of my favorite to shoot.

The camera settings for this was F7.1 at 1/100th of a second at ISO 160. It was a pretty cloudy day. A storm was expected to hit a few hours later (and you know how I can’t resist shooting in storms). My main focus was to get everything even and symmetrical. I think my favorite part about this image is the tree leaning over. When you’re standing up you barely notice it, but I think with the reflection in the puddle the curvature is a little more exaggerated. It really acts as a leading line to bring you through the whole image.

Anyways, hope you all have a great weekend filled with fun, amazing light and beautiful views. We’re celebrating my brother and my grandma’s birthdays tonight with some Turkish food!