Thursday, October 10, 2013

Rite of Spring - Cherry Blossoms in Washington, DC

Walk, run, or bike to see the annual cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC.

The cherry trees were a gift from Japan in 1912 as a commemoration for the 1854 Treaty of Peace and Amity which officially established formal relations between the two countries.

The Yoshino Cherry Blossoms in Washington, DC only bloom in the spring and the window of opportunity is very small. I photographed this on a Monday when the cherry blossoms were beginning to peak and by that Friday night strong winds blew most of them off the trees. As with any once-a-year photographic opportunity, it can be very crowded with people, especially at sunrise.

The most photogenic groups of cherry blossoms are located around the Tidal Basin which is a man-made inlet adjacent to the Potomac River. That morning hordes of photographers, tourists and fitness enthusiasts were jockeying for position to get a view of the pink cherry blossoms.

It took me over 1,000 hours in Photoshop to clone out all the pesky people in the background to get this lone biker in the scene, or actually, I secured a presidential order to keep everybody back at least 500 feet from my shot or I simply waited until this lone biker walked under this cherry blossom branch where I was camping out with my Canon 5D Mark II.

What story do you believe?

Happy Travels!

Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography

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