This month we will discuss one of my hometown favorites. It only lasts a couple of weeks out of the year, the blooming of our Nation’s Capitol Cherry Blossoms, a gift from Japan at the turn of the 20th century. For information concerning the latest schedules for peak conditions, activities and festivals, COVID restrictions, and other pertinent information, check out http://cherryblossomwatch.com. This post will primarily detail picture taking techniques assuming you are catching the blooms during the peak window for a few days in any particular year. On rare occasion, erratic weather conditions such as a late freeze or ill-placed storm will destroy the blooms prematurely, squandering that year’s opportunity. But again, this is the freak and very rare occurrence.
Before we begin, I had gotten a question from a colleague concerning the last post, specifically about taking firework pictures (this was in reference to Disney World). What I’ve found best with taking firework pictures is to experiment. It’s sort of a surprise what is rendered on the camera sensor during a colorful firework display. First, get a sturdy tripod that isn’t going to budge for 10 to 30 second long exposures. I like to slightly (just slightly – like 1/3 or 1/2 a stop) overexpose my firework pictures so the neon lighting from the works themselves and the surroundings appear almost surreal and fantasy-like. It pushes the envelope a bit, away from reality. But your images will surely pop! So when your camera light meter says 10 seconds to expose, I’ll shoot at 15 or maybe even 20 seconds long. Also, the longer you expose your shots (that is the longer time your shutter speed is open) two things will set you up for success: 1) You have more opportunity to fill empty black sky spaces with color as more fireworks are shot up at different heights to fill the sky; and 2) the surrounding lights such as Cinderella’s Castle and Main Street’s buildings will illuminate better. Finally, after setting up the composition you want, shoot away using a remote shutter (or self-timer if you don’t have a remote shutter). After a few shots, you might need to course correct and change your composition or your shutter settings which shouldn’t be a problem since firework shows usually last plenty long, even twenty to thirty minutes. The most important aspect is to invest in a sturdy tripod to avoid motion blur. There’s nothing worse than that perfect picture on your camera screen which you find out later on the computer is a tad blurry. There’s really no fixing unwanted motion blur in post. Try these techniques out at Disney or wherever and if you want, let me know how they turn out.
Alright, back to the beginning of spring. In the world there is a no more photogenic part of a city than the District’s Tidal Basin during late March and/or early April. Picture opportunities can also extend to other various corners of the National Mall where pockets of cherry blossoms sprout and precede the iconic monuments.
Most of your time and shots will revolve around the Tidal Basin since that is where the majority of the cherry blossom activity tends to be. Unfortunately, this is where the crowds will conglomerate. To avoid the scathes of people that will be intrude your shots, try photographing early in the morning at sunrise for the most pleasing light. Sunset is attractive as well, although you might contend with heavy traffic, especially on warm sunny evenings. Try your foray in the middle of the week rather than a weekend. Your angles on the Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument will depend on the time of day and where you position yourself around the Basin. From the Jefferson Memorial itself, the view picks up the Washington Monument and White House from this novel angle.
Another technique I find to make pleasing pictures incorporates short and long focal lengths. The cherry blossoms and the iconic D.C. monuments lend themselves to this technique very easily for several reasons. 1) There is a great distance between the blossoms and the monuments so putting one of the subjects (either blossom or monument) out of focus accentuates the other; 2) Because the shape of the D.C. Monuments are so well identified, an abstract, out of focus monument still can render a strong image; and 3) Under soft light sunrise skies or even a harsh blue mid-morning sky, the pastel pinks and whites of the pedals (and monuments) contrast nicely with their surroundings.
Various techniques can strengthen compositions and add a creative assortment to your batch of pictures at our Nation’s Capitol. In the first image I tried to create a strong link between sea, structures, and sky so to angle my view and capture the blossoms dangling along the Basin. It looks as they are touching the water as they sink across the sky and land to the bottom of my frame. In the middle image, I noticed this unique interplay of the mid-morning light shining on the water. Finally in the last image, I got off the beaten path to photograph other well known D.C. landmarks with cherry blossom accents.
Even if you miss the peak time for the D.C. Cherry Blossoms, spring can be a rewarding season to come away with some great pictures. Don’t forget to view my Washington D.C. gallery to see my whole collection of our nation’s capital. Happy shooting!
