ANGELA B. PAN

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.

After coming home from a long trip to Southern California, I knew one of the first places that I wanted to go back to take pictures was the Tidal Basin. I love it and have captured some of my favorite images from there. I personally feel like I’m back when I’m walking around the Tidal Basin and ducking my head under the low hanging cherry blossom tree branches. Luckily while we were gone, Washingtonians experienced a good amount of snow. I’m all for snow but I don’t like how it gets so messy while it melts. This time it worked to my advantage because it actually created some great puddles in places that there aren’t usually reflections.

The whole mood of this image perfectly describes what it was like being there. It was cold and kind of wet. I especially like how that little piece of ice in the foreground. But trying to get myself back on east coast was a bit of a challenge. I basically forced myself out of bed but once I was out, I was happy… and cold.

Also sorry for the last minute notice but if you’re around the Washington DC area this weekend and don’t have plans on Saturday, come out to the tidal basin for sunset. At 4:30p, I’ll be leading a free photowalk with DCTography starting at the Martin Luther King Jr memorial and then ending the walk at the Jefferson Memorial. It will be a great time and a great way to meet other photographers in the area. I’ll be talking about light and trying to capture it as we walk and the sun dips below the horizon. Hope to see you there 🙂

My camera settings for this image is F8 at 1/4th sec at ISO 800 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

This image was captured almost a year ago to the day. It’s crazy because I can still remember it like it was yesterday and looking at it brings back so many memories.

I had been messaging with my friend, Birch, about something random. I don’t think it even had anything to do with photography when she finally said that she had just got into the city and it was layered with fog. Luckily I had no plans that Sunday morning so I was able to quickly get ready and meet up with her. We spent the next couple of hours just talking and taking pictures. It was the best.

Everything felt so surreal about this photowalk. The fog made it feel like we were walking through a dreamland but it was also eerily deserted. For being the National Mall on a weekend, there was no one out! Usually you would see people walking around enjoying the monuments but there was something about the fog and very light rain that must have deterred people from coming. I was not complaining though. It  made for amazing images and it was so awesome not having to worry about being in other people’s way. Parking was easy smeasy too!

I really hope that after we’re done with this subzero cold front and wind that Washington DC is going through now that we will get another day like this again. It really was magical. But until then I hope this image of fog warms your day up just a little (as I sit here at my desk still wearing my winter jacket and two layers of pants)… books flight to Florida. JK. LOL.

My camera settings for this image is F4 at 1/1000th sec at ISO 320 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

Last week was pretty epic. Not only did we have one of the coldest days of winter that we’ve had this entire season but it was also the super blood wolf moon eclipse moon turn red night too. I made up that long title but you know what I mean. Everything about last Sunday was intense.

I got a lot of messages asking if I photographed it and I’m sad to say I did not. I thought I would give moon rise a go and see how that went. If it wasn’t too bad I may have set my alarm to photograph the actual eclipse, but I just couldn’t. The moonrise was so cold and windy, I can still feel the wind blowing on my back. Coming from the California sun to highs of 15 degrees, my body was not ready for it.

So I spent the early evening with my friend, Birch chasing the moon rise. We used the app, photopills to help guide us where to go and ended up at the US Capitol. Once we saw it, we were both so excited. It was so big and beautiful. If you were out that night, you would have found us up and down Maryland Ave, basically screaming at each other through the wind saying how beautiful it was. LOL. I know cars driving past us most of thought we were crazy. LOL whatevs.

I finally came upon this closer to 3rd street. I love the way the moonlight is playing the street lamps. Even the lights lining the balcony on the US Capitol is very interesting for me to look at. If only that one street lamp on the left was on 🙁

My camera settings for this image is F4 at 1/160th sec with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom.

Taken around this time last year, I remember exactly when I captured it. This was taken after the first day we had come back from San Diego. While we were gone, the Washington DC area had gone through this insane cold snap. I remember getting texts from my friends all saying that they were going to come to San Diego because it was like 15 degrees below freezing or something crazy like that. While we were in San Diego, it was colder than usual but nothing like it was on the east coast. It was so cold that the Reflecting Pool had frozen over. It was so frozen that I saw people walking across it! I must admit I was a little jealous of the opportunity but was even more grateful to be in southern California. So feeling the fomo, I went down to the reflecting pool as soon as I could. I was glad to see that it was still frozen over because it made for a cool photo opportunity but the cracks in the ice did not give me the confidence to actually walk on it.

In order to capture this image, my camera was practically on the ice so I could get as much of it in the frame as possible. I remember really wanting to concentrate on those little ice chunks on top of the ice. It was so interesting to me.

So I thought this was a pretty cool throwback considering it was such a memorable event at our return from San Diego. As you’re reading this now, we have safely landed back home from another amazing trip to SoCal. Can’t wait to share more about it soon 🙂

My camera settings for this image is F9 at 1.3 sec and ISO 250 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens handheld.

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.