ANGELA B. PAN

Attention! Attention! I have a new sunset spot that I need to share. It’s very similar to the view at this one, but at least this time you’ll be able to go whenever you want and won’t be trespassing on residential property. LOL.

Its at the Observation Deck at the CEB Tower in Arlington, VA. If you haven’t already you gotta go! I honestly don’t know what took me so long because it opened in the summertime and earlier this week was my first time visiting. You can walk 360 degrees all around the 31st floor of this building which gives you very interesting viewpoints of Rosslyn, VA and Washington, DC. It’s absolutely stunning! The one downside is that you’re always shooting through windows.

This image was captured right before sunset through the window. The glow on the memorials is what caught my attention to this scene and I couldn’t help but snap multiple images. My tip is to put your lens right up against the glass to reduce glare. If you have a dark black cloth that you can put over the lens, that’s even better! In order to capture this, I actually used my cell phone as a shield against the little spot that was being reflected. It was enough for the day but in case you’re there on a super sunny day, a cloth would be best.

But I haven’t told you the best part yet! The best part is that you can go up to the second floor of this observatory and go outside! You’re still shooting through glass but it’s even better with the fresh air. There are little spaces in between the glass panes that you can sort of fit your lens through but otherwise, it’s an interesting place to experiment.

My camera setting for this image is F5.6 at 1/100th sec at ISO 640 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

Speaking of fog, Saturday was really foggy. There were times that you could not even see the Washington Monument it was so foggy. But at sunrise, the fog brought this beautiful glow to the city and it was amazing.

On this particular day, I parked on Ohio Dr. so coming from that side of the National Mall, I had my first glimpse of the US Capitol at the Reflecting Pool. I love how the dome is partially covered by the mist and lights. This was the very first shot I took and probably my favorite from the entire morning. I didn’t have my tripod with me so I sort of balanced my camera along the side of the reflecting pool and for this shot it worked well. Others, not so much. Another reason why this is my favorite shot. LOL.

So I have been getting questions about foggy mornings. Just like a colorful sunrise, they’re hard to predict. This particular morning I knew it was going to be foggy because the night before had been incredibly foggy and the weather apps said it was going to last all night. However, there have been times that I have been out and knew there was going to be fog without the weather apps saying so. I’ve realized that when I listen to the radio or a weather forecast and the meteorologist says, “warm front” then there’s a good chance for fog. It’s the combination of the warm air mixing with the cold that brings the foggy mornings and I love it. Foggy mornings like this is what makes photography so much fun. You just never know what you’re going to get.

My camera settings for this image is F5.6 at 0.6 sec and ISO 800 with my Sony A7II with my 70-200mm ultra zoom lens.

This past weekend was an unusual one. If you have been in the Washington DC area then you know that it pretty much skipped fall weather and went straight from summer to winter. We may have had a week or so of ‘warm’ weather but it didn’t last too long. So when I saw that Saturday was raining all day but Sunday was going to be a little foggy with the high in the 50’s, I knew I had to take advantage.

My original Sunday plans were canceled so Andrew and I were left with a whole afternoon to ourselves. That’s when we decided to take Frankie to the US National Arboretum. Neither Andrew or Frankie had ever been there so I thought it would be a great place to just get out of the house. That and the fact that a lot of it is paved and Frankie wouldn’t get too wet walking around was a huge plus.

Typically when the three of us are out together, I’m busy taking pictures while Andrew and Frankie are checking out the scene. When we arrived at the National Capitol Columns, I was happy to see the yellow shrubs in front of the columns. It was a great pop of color in an otherwise gloomy day but it needed something. Frankie obviously! LOL.

I called Andrew over and asked him to stand a little bit inside of the bushes and lift Frankie up above his head. I had no idea how it was going to turn out but I love it. LOL. It definietly has some Lion King vibes to it. Thankfully Frankie’s so great that he’s not even phased by all our weird ideas.

My camera settings for this image is F4.0 at 1/1600th sec at ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm lens.

I know I just talked about this on my last blog post, but I’m still not over it. The difference between now and then was that I was able to actually go see the Martin Luther King Jr memorial print in person! Shout out to Shane who runs the social media for BWI and who arranged and escorted me to the different terminals and even outside to see the hanging. It was so cool to see it from all different perspectives. While walking through the terminals all I could think about was how all the people around me were able to see my work. It was the coolest thing ever.

The image above was from outside. Honestly, I thought I was going to have to wear the ear muffs and bright vest that you see everyone else wearing and was a little disappointed that I didn’t have to. LOL. Oh well, this probably came out a lot better that I didn’t have it. But you can see the size difference between me and the print. I mean that thing is big!

The print is hanging outside of Terminal C which is American Airlines but if you go to Terminal B, Southwest, you get a very nice view of the print. This was taken in a little food court area. I’m not sure if this guy is actually looking at the art but I wanted to capture some images of people looking like they were 🙂

And this last image was taken in the observatory. It’s a direct view of the image and I could not be any prouder.

Also seeing a little behind the scenes of the airport was fun too. I love airports. It’s always so exciting going to one because you know an adventure is right around the corner.

Thanks again BWI airport for selecting my image and for Shane who showed me around the airport. Now I’ll be even more tempted to fly out of BWI for my future travels 🙂

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Happy Friday! I have more good news 🙂 Remember this image from 2012? Probably not, but it was one of the first images I ever created of the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial in Washington DC. I remember when the memorial opened in August of 2011 at the Tidal Basin. Everyone was talking about it and it was just so exciting to go see. If I remember correctly, this image was taken at sunset. It’s hard to believe since there’s no one around. I just think that it was such a new memorial, not many tours were visiting it yet plus I remember it being pretty chilly while I was capturing it. So those two factors probably had a big role as to why it was so empty in the evening. If you go now in the evening, it would be nearly impossible to get a shot like this, no matter what the weather.

Well, fast forward 6 years later and this image is now hanging on the outside of the BWI Airport! AHHHH I haven’t been able to see it, mostly because it’s in the terminal and I would need an airplane ticket to go inside but it’s 22′ wide x 14.8′ tall. I heard it can be viewed from B Pier so if anyone is headed that way for holiday travel, please take a picture. I would love to see what it looks like in the day time.

Here’s an image that I received from the contractors who put it up.

BWI isn’t the usual airport I fly out of just because it’s further away from where I live, but I think I can make an exception for my next trip 🙂

Here’s one more view:

My camera settings for the original image is F8 at 0.3sec with ISO 320 with my Canon 5D Mark II and 24-105mm lens on a tripod.