Every year, if the weather and my work schedule cooperate, I try to pay a visit to the Tidal Basin to photograph the cherry blossoms during peak bloom. This year I managed to get there on a Sunday morning. I chose this day because the previous few days were rainy and cold.
In the past, I’ve used Metrorail to get there. But this year I wanted to try a long exposure of the Jefferson Memorial while it was still dark, so I decided to drive. I got there at 5:40 AM to be sure to get parking and so I would have time to shoot the memorial. The Park Service closed roads and even made the road out to Hains Point reverse flow so I found the navigation kind of confusing. But I found a spot near the Park Service HQ and walked around the Tidal Basin in the dark to a spot where I could shoot the memorial head-on. I got a bonus - the airport traffic was taking off to the south so their light trails showed up in my photographs.
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| Jefferson Memorial and Aircraft Light Trail |
After I got the Jefferson Memorial shots, I returned to my car, stored my backpack and tripod in the trunk, and then went back to the Tidal Basin to walk around. It got really crowded really fast. The rain turned everything to mud and standing water. I was glad I wore my hiking shoes; I didn’t care that they got filthy and the fact that they’re waterproof allowed me to plow through puddles that most people were trying to avoid.
Nearly all of the blossoms were still white; very few trees had reached the pink phase. It wasn’t much fun trying to shoot with so many people in the way. There were several professional photographers trying to get shots of their clients, all dressed up, with the flowers and the water and the memorials in the background. It was difficult to find places to stop for a moment to shoot. Here are my favorites from this trip.
