Cherry Blossoms

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 before sunrise. 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.

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.

Cherry Blossoms

Well, it's that time of year again. The cherry blossoms at the tidal basin are blooming. I hustled over after work one afternoon and got caught up in the crowds.

Cherry Blossoms and Crowds

 It was overcast all day, but some sunshine came through at times.

Washington Monument and Cherry Blossoms

 The Jefferson Memorial still looks pretty bad. The dark stuff is still growing on the roof and the area in the photo below where the people are walking regularly floods, leaving muddy pools to walk through even on the sidewalks.

Jefferson Memorial

 The blossoms were at peak, with most of the flowers in the white stage, and only a few trees into the pink phase.

Cherry Blossoms

Cherry Blossoms

 Back into the gloomy overcast, I got a hint of dramatic skies.

Washington Monument and Cherry Blossoms

There was a steady stream of helicopters flying over. I think every pilot wanted to buzz the basin. When I heard them coming, I quickly switched to a slower shutter speed to get a shot with blurred rotors. Marine One flew over twice, although I think it was a training flight, not a flight with the president aboard. So I guess it wasn't actually Marine One, but a VH-3D Sea King configured for the president's use.

VH-3D Sea King, Sometimes Called Marine One

 And here's another helicopter, this time a Blackhawk, also buzzing the crowd.

VH-60N Whitehawk

I wanted to go at dawn, but between work and driving my son around to his events and cloudy skies, I wasn't able to get the cool golden hour shots that I like. Maybe next year.

More Cherry Blossoms

I made my annual trip to the Tidal Basin over the weekend to try to photograph them, but the weather was awful. I had the opportunity to go again yesterday afternoon. Here's the second round of photos.

Cherry Blossoms

The Grebes were Playing among the Petals

Cherry Blossoms

Jefferson Memorial

Cherry Blossoms

Cherry Blossoms

It's that time of year; the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. I was unable to visit during the week, so I went this morning and arrived at the crack of dawn. It was cold and windy and cloudy with a brief period of mixed drizzle and sleet. I was hoping the bad weather would keep the crowd down. It did suppress the size of the crowd, but still there were lots of people.

I grabbed some shots of the monuments before the lights shut off. Aside from the tent, I like this one.

Jefferson Memorial

As I wandered around, I mostly used my 85mm f1.8, like most visits. However, I saw some horned grebes playing in the water, so I switched to my 70-200 f2.8 about halfway through. There was a pair that stayed pretty close to shore, diving frequently. Here's one who managed to surface under a flower petal.

Horned Grebe with Cherry Blossom Petal

 The overcast skies created a soft light that didn't really do much for the subtle colors. I've read plenty of times that overcast can create flattering light, but I've decided that I don't like it.

Cherry Blossoms

Robert E. Lee's house overlooks Washington DC. Here it's visible way off in the distance across the Potomac River.

Robert E. Lee's House in Arlington National Cemetery

Given that I passed the spot directly opposite the Jefferson Memorial while I had my zoom lens mounted, I went for the head-on shot with Jefferson's statue silhouetted.

Cherry Blossoms

The National Park Service decided to try to clean the top of the monument. It's had this ugly bacteria growing on it for a while. A contractor did a test cleaning with a new process, and it's easy to see the strip of the roof that got cleaned.

Jefferson Memorial with a Cleaned Strip

And I went inside for a quick shot of Jefferson. That dark statue in dim light was hard to expose for a usable photo. Wide open, with high ISO, and image stabilization, I got some detail in his face. It's possible to see the bird droppings.

Thomas Jefferson

So I'm glad I went, but I don't think I'll try again in the future if the weather is this lousy. There was a wedding taking place in the grass next to the Jefferson Memorial. The men all looked cold. The women in their bridesmaids dresses, and the bride too, looked like they were uncomfortably cold as the wind blew their dresses around a lot.

Cherry Blossoms at the Tidal Basin

It's that time of year again. We had an incredibly warm February, which accelerated the blossom formation. Then there was snow and frigid cold in early March, which damaged a lot of the flowers before they could pop open. After the park service adjusted the peak bloom prediction for the warmth, and then again for the cold, peak bloom finally arrived this week. I had an event downtown in the evening and was able to squeeze a visit in. Between the time crunch and gathering clouds, I didn't have a lot to work with. I favor my Nikon 85mm f1.8 lens for this subject, and that's the only lens I brought. Given the changing light conditions with the clouds and walking in and out of shade and changing the direction in which I was shooting, I was constantly on the aperture wheel to adjust the exposure. I was selective in my shot selection, came back with only about 50 photos, and had a lot of fun with it. As I've gotten more experience with photography, I like to think that each year I get a little better with this subject. Now sometimes the conditions don't cooperate (last year I shot in drizzle), but as I compare my work from previous years, I definitely like the progression in each sequence. Here we go...

Lincoln Memorial under Gathering Clouds

Cherry Blossom Close-Up

Another Close-Up Shot

Brief Rays of Sun on the Tree

In Full Bloom along the Tidal Basin

Dramatic Skies Contrasting with Blossoms

Just a Bit of Fleeting Blue Sky

With the Old Post Office (aka the Trump Hotel) in the Background

The Jefferson Memorial across the Basin

One More Sunny Shot before the Sun Disappeared for the Day

Cherry Blossoms

The cherry blossoms were in bloom at the tidal basin last week. I wasn't able to take off from work to visit at dawn as I did last year, and I didn't bother trying on the weekend because of the crowds. I did make it Tuesday evening under a gloomy, overcast, drizzly sky. The weather drove most people away, and it was clearly past peak bloom with many petals on the soggy ground or in the water. In some places it was like getting rained on by petals as the wind and rain dislodged them from the trees. I shot anyway, and here are a few of them. Hopefully next year I can get there during better weather.

Cherry Blossoms and Jefferson Memorial

Cherry Blossoms

Tidal Basin

Cherry Blossoms and Washington Monuument

Cherry Blossoms and Jefferson Memorial

Cherry Blossoms in the Rain

Tidal Basin

Cherry Blossoms

Tidal Basin

Tidal Basin

It's Raining Cherry Blossom Petals

 

Tidal Basin

Cherry Blossoms at the Tidal Basin

Like so many people living in the Washington DC metropolitan area, I've seen the monuments and museums and other sites. A lot. I visited when I was a kid living in Louisiana. I visited again when I was in the National Guard and had duty in Virginia. When we moved here, we consciously went to the museums, monuments, and more-obscure places that the locals know about but that tourists rarely go to. Then we had relatives visit, so we went to the same places again. And again when other relatives came. You get the idea.

The Cherry Blossom Festival is a big deal. The cherry trees bloom as the weather gets nice and people go out in droves to see the trees and take part in the festival. It's easiest for me to visit weekends, but it's really crowded. Weekdays the crowds are smaller, but then I have to work.

This year I have use-or-lose vacation and I needed a day off from work anyway, so I decided to go to the Tidal Basin yesterday. I got up really early and got on the Metro with all the commuters. I got to the Tidal Basin just as morning twilight was starting and was immediately surrounded by crowds of people who were there to see the trees. People in suits were there on their way to work. Joggers and bikers were there. Photographers were everywhere, shooting the trees, the blossoms on the trees, and people with the trees in the background. Tripods were set up. Smartphones were out in force. Some people were holding their iPads up to shoot.

I brought three lenses, but quickly settled on my 85mm f1.8. It was overcast, with the sun weakly shining through the thin clouds. Not great light for the look I was going for.



Cherry Blossoms at the Tidal Basin

Most of the blossoms were lily-white, but some were decidedly pink.



Blossoms

Even though I was there before 7AM, there were lots of people already there.



The Tidal Basin is Popular During the Festival

I circled the basin, stopping for photos, and occasionally moving away from the water to walk under a canopy of flowers.

Under a Canopy

The blossoms were overwhelmingly this shade of white.

Blossom Close-up

I worked my way around past the Jefferson Memorial, shooting as I went. Eventually I got back to my starting point, having spent a couple of hours there.

Jefferson Memorial and Cherry Tree Crowd

I went home with photos and the realization that this was a lot more fun than a day at work.

And so ends my rendition of the cherry blossoms this year.