Posts Tagged ‘Spring’

Missing Cherry Blossoms

Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media

Washington, DC

It just happened, but I am already missing the cherry blossoms this year. The photos from this year’s blooms were really satisfying. The weather, and the amount of time that I had to take advantage of their peak really came together nicely. Morning, afternoon, and evening, were all available to me this time. Moreover, I did not have to rush around as in other years. There were so many photographers around the Tidal Basin this year, with all kinds of gear! There were so many that were trying different angles, and strategies to get the perfect photo. I joined them with my own attempts. Of course, not everything will work when you first try, and this was probably my biggest disappointment.

Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media
Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC – ©TimeLine Media

From this spot, most images are of the blossoms in the foreground with either the Washington Monument in the background towards the left, or the Jefferson Memorial towards the right. In between these two familiar sites is a clear view of the Capitol Building that is much further away. Because of the distance, it is much smaller than the other two memorials in the frame. Consequently it is not as popular a subject from here.

But I wanted to try going for it since it seemed really easy to see this morning. I used the longest lens I had in the bag, a 105mm focal length. This was giving me what I wanted as anything much longer would have made the building larger, but the blossoms would have been harder to distinguish. In the first frame above without any added light, the blossoms were really in shadow, and look like really ugly clouds or debris in front of the lens.

Sunrise Blossoms

Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media
Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC – ©TimeLine Media

My next thought was that I should add some light from a speedlight to illuminate the blossoms, and show off more of their color. I held the flash off of the camera with a sync cord so that the light would not be positioned directly in front of the blooms. Here is the result:

Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media
Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC – ©TimeLine Media

It was as expected, but not that great to my eye. I tried a few more frames changing the flash power, the angle of the flash, but it did not change much. Perhaps I could have tried “painting” on the light with a small flashlight or had a softer modifier for the speedlights, but I did not have any more time as the sun started to rise quickly out of the horizon really changing the look of the overall scene. Turns out – THAT was what I needed to make a better frame.

Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media
Cherry Blossoms and the Capitol Building in Washington, DC – ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

2014 DC Cherry Blossoms – Part 1

Jefferson Memorial and Cherry Blossoms - ©TimeLine Media

Counting on the predictable weather in the Washington, DC Metro area is not a good business to place your bets. There are so many factors that the meteorologists will say contribute to the fickle nature of weather in this area. Predicting the peak bloom for cherry blossoms is also an annual ritual that can be difficult to time correctly. We have invited many out-of-town guests to come for the occasion, but the window for their best viewing is only a few days at most. This year had to have been some of the best blossom-viewing time I have ever witnessed. After a LONG winter, we had warm mornings with no precipitation. The winds were kept to a minimum so the fragile blossoms stayed on the trees for as long as they could. I took advantage of the luck, and made a trip to the Tidal Basin early before sunrise, and in the middle of the day just to see the blooming trees, the flowers, sun, the crowd, and all the activities.

Washington Monument and Cherry Blossoms Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media
Washington Monument and Cherry Blossoms Washington, DC – ©TimeLine Media
Peak Cherry Blossoms Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media
Peak Cherry Blossoms Washington, DC – ©TimeLine Media
Jefferson Memorial and Cherry Blossoms - ©TimeLine Media
Jefferson Memorial and Cherry Blossoms at sunrise – ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Peak Blossoms – Washington DC Photography

Photographers at sunrise Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media

Yes this blog post is very late today. I do have a good reason, though. The cherry blossom trees in Washington, DC are in peak bloom! Being a native northern Virginian, this has been an annual outing for my family for a VERY long time! The earliest photo that I have of my swaddled very well was less than a year after I was born. The crowds were a little less packed that the ones today, but there were already a flood of people walking the Tidal Basin with their best cameras in tow.

Nanay and GGB at the Cherry blossoms - ©TimeLine Media
Nanay and GGB at the Cherry blossoms – ©TimeLine Media

I am about the same age today as my mother was in the photo on the left. She still enjoys walking through the blooms, and taking lots of photos! It has never become cliché, and if anything, the event has become more popular than ever. It is inspiring to see so many photographers out there! And I don’t just mean at the peak times in the middle of the day. You have to carve out a spot even an hour before sunrise! That is another testament to digital technology making photography more accessible.

Photographers at sunrise Washington, DC - ©TimeLine Media
Photographers at sunrise Washington, DC – ©TimeLine Media

Yes it does look like there is a lot of competition for photographers out there – and there is. For me, though, this is something I would do whether or not this was my main profession. But knowing what people do for photos out there really pushes me to make even better photos! There are just as many visions for capturing images as there are people behind the camera. The tools may be similar, but they can be manipulated in an almost infinite number of ways!

Portrait at cherry blossoms peak - ©TimeLine Media
Portrait at cherry blossoms peak – ©TimeLine Media

Get out there this weekend before the blooms blow away! They are already starting to fall from the trees as of Friday evening. I have lots of editing to do with the many photos made over the passed few days. I’ll be sure to update the blog as I finish them. Happy Spring!

Self Portraits at cherry blossoms peak - ©TimeLine Media
Self Portraits at cherry blossoms peak – ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

1 2 3