ANGELA B. PAN

Referring back to my autumn to-do list, I checked another location off the list, Rock Creek Park. I’ve only been one other time in the fall but this year I really wanted to go back again. In a city full of cars and people, I love it when there are big parks like this that make you feel like you’re in a totally different area.

Last time I was there, I photographed Boulder Bridge but it was around sunset time instead of sunrise. At that time it must not have rained for a while I could basically walk in the middle of the creek with no problem. This year, I captured the same spot during sunrise and there was no way. I had to improvise and photograph it from the side. Luckily there were some trees with fall colors that I could use to frame the bridge. However, I think my favorite part of the image is the rolling water. It reminds of wavy long hair. LOL. I had my tripod at the time, but I think I just used a tree trunk as a camera support.

My camera settings for this image are F22 at 0.6 sec and ISO 100 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide-angle lens.

Long story short, I got invited to go to the Crumbs and Whiskers Cat Cafe in Georgetown, Washington DC for National Cat Day. The invitation actually had two dates. One for National Cat Day: October 29th at Crumbs and Whiskers and the other for the next day at their sister store, Crumbs & Whiskers: A Kitten Cafe. The biggest difference is cats vs. kittens but the October 29th date worked best for me. I rsvp’d for the date and was so excited all day to go. Once I got there, the Cat Cafe was surprised I showed up. The event for the day I was there got canceled since everyone else rsvp’d for the following day. Everyone wanted to go to the Kitten Cafe!

So since I was already there, the very kind people at the Cat Cafe let me stay. All by myself, with no other guests, and 30 CATS ALL TO MYSELF. Am I dreaming? OMG it was the best Tuesday night ever. I fell in love with 2 cats while I was there and really wish I could take them home. To be honest, I just don’t know how Frankie would react to cats in our home. He’s been a solo pet ever since we got him so I don’t know what he’d do if there was a cat dividing his attention. But I’ve been obsessed ever since. I’ve been sending cute cat memes to Andrew almost every day since then. LOL.

So in honor of the best Tuesday night ever, here’s a compilation of cat investigating my camera. I love the way they turned out even though they’re out of focus. I love all the pink and black noses. I was so surprised how 30 cats were able to be in one spot and be so friendly to each other and me. I would have definitely thought there would be some catfights but everyone seemed so happy and well taken care of.

If you’re interested in adopting a cat in the Washington DC area, please check out Crumbs and Whiskers. They have some of the sweetest, cuddliest cats I’ve ever seen. And please tell Monkey and Douglas that I said, “Hallo”

Walking around the White House area has become one of my new favorite places to photograph in Washington. For some reason, I’ve always dismissed the White House itself because it has always been a difficult landmark to photograph. With the gates, so many tourists and extra police protection, I still consider the White House one of those places that I haven’t gotten a great image of yet. It will happen one day! But in the meantime, I’m enjoying the views of the surrounding areas like Lafayette Square.

This image was taken of the United States Department of the Treasury that’s located right next to the White House but on this particular morning, I noticed how the statues were lining up with the General William Tecumseh Sherman Monument. I think it is so interesting how everything lines up so well with the statues, street lamps, and columns. A view a lot of people may not see or even notice so I’m glad I was able to capture it.

My camera settings for this image are F7.1 at 1/250th sec and ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and my 70-200mm zoom lens.

I’ve been working on this fun photo project lately. The best part about it is that it’s getting me to parts of Washington DC that I never knew about or never really had the chance to go to before. For example, this image was taken in Dupont, right around the corner from the Philips Collection. The Philips Collection is a place that I’ve been to a couple of times but noticed how close it was to the Embassy of India where this Mahatma Gandhi Memorial is right in front of it. My mind was blown how close I had been to this memorial but had never seen it before.

I’m grateful that I finally know where it is and had the opportunity to photograph it in the fall. I think the green, almost yellow leaves really make a great pop of color in the image but also gives the image a bit more layers and depth.

My camera settings for this image are F5.6 at 1/320th sec and ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm.

Home from another amazing weekend in New York. I seriously love going to that city and I don’t think I’ve ever said “photo” so much in my life. But it was all worth it because PhotoPlus was so much more than I expected. To be honest, it was a little overwhelming. So while I’m still digesting everything that happened, here’s a little image I captured of the General Andrew Jackson Statue located close to the White House in Washington DC right before I left on the trip.

My favorite part of this image is how simple it is, but I also love the framing. The American Flag in the background is the flag you see on top of the White House and it was just in perfect alignment with General Jackson and his hat. Patriotic but effortless all at the same time. LOL. I think the cloudy day even worked well for this shot to simplify this image even more.

I plan on spending the day going through the images I captured in New York over the weekend. More about that soon!

My camera settings for this image are F7.1 at 1/40th sec and ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

I have gotten to the point that when I go out to photograph the sunrise in Washington DC, there will be times that I won’t even pull out my camera. It doesn’t happen often, but most of the time it’s because I don’t see anything that I haven’t photographed before or the light isn’t the way I want it so I save the composition idea for another day. Either way, I don’t get mad about it. I just think it happens sometimes.

This day was shaping out to be one of those days. I had watched the sunrise at the Tidal Basin but there were no clouds in the sky and nothing that really made it a particularly interesting morning. It wasn’t until this Great Blue Heron flew by until I felt inspired to actually pull out my camera. He landed on the edge of the Tidal Basin and was staring down the fish in the water. I honestly don’t think he even knew I was there. I just kept on creeping on him closer and closer until I captured this shot! He had caught a few fish while I was trying to photograph him, but I was so surprised I actually captured this. It was perfect timing!

My camera settings for this image is F6.3 at 1/640th sec and ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm.