ANGELA B. PAN

One of the really cool things about being in Las Vegas this time of the year was being able to see all the Lunar New Year decorations. Each hotel that participated had such different vibes and recreations of the holidays but my favorite is always the one at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. I don’t know what it is about it, but they always seem to go all out for special occasions. So I knew I had to stop by at least once to check it out.

This was taken one night when I went on a walk alone with me and my camera. It was so much fun just taking my time to explore the city at night. So I basically started from our hotel and walked about a mile and a half on one side of the strip, turned around and walked on the other side on the way back to the hotel. I knew that I had to pop my head into the Bellagio and thought that the interior decor was crazy cool but then when I stepped out, I saw all the lanterns hanging above the entrance into the hotel. I was actually on my way to go watch the famous water fountain show but then I saw this reflection out of the corner of my eye and I had to stop. I get so excited when I see little surprises like this. The fountains of Bellagio were going to have to wait. LOL so worth it.

My camera settings for this image is F7.1 at 1/8th sec at ISO 1200 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens. I didn’t use a tripod for this because I didn’t want to have to carry it around with me so I ended up balancing my camera on the edge of the water fountain which turned out to be perfect because I was able to capture much more of the reflection being so down low.

Home from Vegas and I had the time of my life. Is it me or even if you’re not up all night partying and drinking, it’s still an exhausting place to be. LOL. There’s just so much to do and see that the sensory stimulation is on overdrive 24/7. Whatever the case is, I had a blast over the weekend. Like I said before, I was there for a wedding in the family and so most of my weekend was spent with them but I did manage to slip out for some time on my own and check out some of the sights that I’ve always wanted to go to.

For example, the Neon Museum. Talk about a cool place to visit! The best part was the short art talk provided by the museum as we walked around the grounds, they explained some of the more popular signs that are there. One interesting thing that I never thought about was the fact that Las Vegas is known for these neon signs, but they’re quickly becoming extinct as casinos and hotels are opting for LED signage. So this museum only has the potential to grow so much.

I think the next time I visit, I’ll go at night. Even though it was still cool to see in the daytime, I’m sure the night time experience would be so different. I heard that a lot of the signs actually light up. Unfortunately with all the activities already preplanned, I was only able to go during the day. This image is a selfie I managed to capture through a neon sign. I really like the way that it turned out and totally show off the “behind the scenes” of what it’s really like there.

My camera settings for this image is F14 at 1/80th sec and ISO 160 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

Even in the middle of January, I’m already starting to get questions about cherry blossoms season in spring. Actually, I started receiving them in December! Props to all of you early planners out there who want to make sure they capture my favorite time in Washington DC. Seriously, cherry blossom season is the best time to be in the Capital. I don’t blame you.

Even with all my experience shooting the blossoms, it’s still very difficult to predict when they’ll actually bloom. I usually say beginning of April will be your best bet, but I’ve seen them as early as late March and as late as mid April. They don’t last too long either. From what I’ve seen a week to a week and a half tops. I remember one year we may have only had 3 good days with the flowers before they all fell off due to rain we got. They’re fragile flowers so don’t be disappointed if you planned so much to see them and you don’t. They honestly really hard to plan for.

But for those of you wondering, I created this guide. Hope this helps. I try my best to update it every year and plan on doing so this year when we’re closer to the dates. I like to update it with what NPS has forecasted as peak bloom, new changes and developments, etc.

I have also dedicated a whole chapter in Snap DC about photographing the cherry blossoms. You can never have too much cherry blossom info, am I right? So if those two resources don’t help, let me know and I’ll try my best to answer any questions you may have.

My camera settings for this image is F8 at 1/25th sec at ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens. 

When people think about Washington DC, one of the first things that come to mind is the White House. But for some reason, it’s never a real go to spot for me to go capture images. There are several reasons for this regardless of who’s residing in the house.

1. The White House is located in a spot where it’s not great at either sunrise or sunset. The only way to get a really nice sky in the background is if you are lucky with one of those days where the color takes over the whole sky. Those days are so hard to predict that it’s just easier to be closer to one of the monuments as opposed to the White House.
2. The security around the White House keeps getting increasingly stricter. Since I first started out in photography, you could actually get pretty close to the gate and no one would say anything. Now, you have to be a least across the street. With all the tourists all cramped up in one little sidewalk, it’s so difficult to get a great shot.
3. If you are want to take your White House shot, try to bring the biggest zoom you can. It will be the only way you can get a close up shot without a lot of people in your image. This image was taken with my 70-200mm at 93mm.

This image also happens to be an image I took just for my book, Snap DC and had never been published before. I definietly remember the day I took this because I remember I parked my car, walked all the way to the White House, and then realized I left my camera in the car. OMG how does that even happen? I swear, only me.

So if you’re interested in more Washington DC photo tips like this, check out Snap DC on Amazon. Just remember to bring your camera with you 🙂

My camera settings for this image is F6.3 at 1/200th sec and ISO 320 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm ultra zoom.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2019! WOW. Not to total ignore 2019 but everytime I think 2019, I can’t help but think 2020 is just around the corner and that is just bananas to me. Like can you imagine people saying that they were born in 2020? The number is just crazy to me. P.S. Where are the flying cars at?

Anyways…

Much like my top travel images of 2018, I like to reminisce and look back on my favorite images from Washington DC from the past year. It makes me feel so fortunate to live in the Nation’s Capital. I love being able to hop in my car and within minutes be among some of the most recognizable and loved landmarks in the world. I feel extremely blessed and look forward to another year of capturing more images.

Click on each image to read the original blog post but I’ll try to add some additional light on these images now that I’ve sat on them for a while. In no particular order except chronological, here are my favorite images of 2018.

This day was definietly a highlight of the winter season. I remember we had some crazy foggy mornings but on this particular day, the fog happened in the middle of the day. Oh yea, it was raining too. Luckily, it was on a Sunday and I didn’t have much else going on. So what better way than to walk around the National Mall than with my friend, Birch. I still love how everything lines up in this image, even the little reflection you see in the puddle behind the lady is so interesting to see.

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Every year during this time of the year, I like to go back through my images that I’ve captured and pull them together for a ‘best of’ post. I capture so many images in a year that it can be a little difficult to narrow them down so I like to divide it them into two days, one for travel and one for just Washington DC images.

This image did not make the cut but it reminds me of one of the more memorable trips of the year. My trip to Aruba with all my girlfriends. It was so much fun to have that girl time and to spend a long weekend at the beach. I stayed in a room with my friend, Sue. It was perfect because we both just naturally wake up early and she is very patient with me when I want to stop a million times on the way to breakfast just to take pictures. She’s patient because she’s probably taking a million pictures too. LOL.

This image was taken on our last day. Sue and our friend, Neena woke up in the morning to get breakfast and do some last minute souvenir shopping for our loved ones back home. Andrew’s always the easiest person to shop for because he doesn’t necessarily want any of the touristy stuff you can get. I usually just go to a local grocery store or convenience store and buy a whole bunch of different snacks and treats that we don’t have back home but look interesting to try. We have a good time trying them together. So while I was waiting for Sue and Neena to shop, I saw this rooster just walking around. I loved the colors behind him so I took a quick shot before he ran away.

My camera settings for this image is F7.1 at 1/500th sec and ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom.