ANGELA B. PAN

I’ve already started to scout out cherry blossom trees for next year. I’m committing to the idea of photographing the cherry blossom trees around the city and staying away from the Tidal Basin. I’m sad I came up with the idea too late to do it this year because it was such a great bloom, but at least it has given me time to think about other locations.

For example, Hains Point. It’s just east of the Tidal Basin and you sort of get the same feels as being at the basin since they are close to the water, but I really liked this location because there were a variety of cherry blossom trees. In this image you can see the Yoshino trees that you see at the Tidal Basin, but then you also get the weeping cherry blossoms as well as a peek of the Kwanzan trees. I love the variety of whites and pinks and it’s a great location for some cherry blossom portraits. The flowers are just as abundant if not more but it just doesn’t have as many people around.

When I was there I saw at least 3 photoshoots going on with professional photographers on a Saturday morning but these two girls had the right idea. From the moment I got there, they were having a blast with their own photoshoot. It reminded me of things my girlfriends and I would do when we’re on a trip together. Just having so much fun doing crazy things to get a fun shot. But I think the pulled out perspective really gives you an idea of just how much is blossoming in the area. I loved the rows and rows of trees.

My camera settings for this image is F9 at 1/125th sec and ISO 2000 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

Unfortunately, the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin have pretty much lost all their flowers. Whenever that happens it sort of feels like the official end to cherry blossom season but I’m not sad about it. It’s expected for the cherry blossoms to last about a week-ish but there was something very special about this year’s bloom.

They seemed to be puffier and more colorful than ever. We had beautiful weather the entire week with nothing but blue skies. It was so exciting to capture. And it seemed like there were so many more photographers out because of the beautiful weather.

This image was actually captured 2 weeks ago, my first official day of photographing the trees this year.

I got to the Tidal Basin a little bit earlier than my usual time. I say I’d got there around 6:20a and it was ALREADY PACKED! I couldn’t find a parking anywhere spot along Ohio Dr at all. In my head, I thought that since it was Monday and that I was there earlier than I usually am, I should be fine with parking, but I was totally wrong. I ended up parking closer to the Smithsonian museums along the National Mall.

It was all good though because I was able to capture some of the cherry blossom trees by the Washington Monument on my walks to and from the Tidal Basin. This one was taken on my way back to the car. The sun had been out for quite some time but I just loved the cherry blossom trees looked like they were about to engulf the Washington Monument. I think that little bit of cloud adds a nice touch to the framing as well.

My camera settings for this image is F7.1 at 1/640th sec and ISO 250 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle.

Ok enough with the puddles in the sidewalk, here’s one in the road. LOL. We won’t make any comments about DC potholes.

I knew the Tidal Basin was going to be a madhouse over the weekend, so to avoid the crowd a bit I spent Saturday morning at Haines Point. It is just west of the Tidal Basin but they have beautiful cherry blossoms all along the way. This image was actually taken while I was walking back to my car.

I found this puddle by accident. I loved the way that the cherry blossoms were lined up along the other side of the road and the reflection was perfect. So I just patiently waited for something to pass by to add a little foreground interest. At first, a person walked by on the sidewalk and they were way too small to even notice. Then a car drove by and it was way too big, covering most of the cherry blossom trees. I knew it had to be a bicycle to complete this image.

So I just stood there and waited. It was a good 5 minutes before I saw one coming. He was on the road closest to me and I snapped a few pictures but thought he was too big. So I knew I had to wait for someone to come on the other side. Turns out that bicycle made a U-turn and went back the other direction.

In my head I screamed “Now that’s a 2-for-1 special” LOL. This one bike gave me so many different angles, it was awesome! Then I went on my way back to my car with a smile on my face.

My camera settings for this image is F9 at 1/200th of a sec and ISO 800 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

Another puddle, same day. Just a few steps away from this image and this image, I found this huge puddle. The difference between puddles is that this puddle had some really pretty petals along side of it.

Now try saying “puddle with pretty pink petals in it” 5 times as fast as you can.

Like I briefly mentioned yesterday, there are puddles everywhere. Especially on rainy days but it doesn’t even have to be rainy to find them. High tide will also make the sidewalks flood and it’s getting really bad. It’s to the point where it can be impassable.

I mentioned it last week but the Tidal Basin really does need your help. It will come to a point where no one will be able to enjoy the cherry blossoms because of the damaged flood walls. If you are interested in more information about the problem, click here and tag your images #savethetidalbasin on social media to help spread the word.

It can be deceiving but that puddle is actually deeper than it appears. I stepped into with my rainboots and the water went up to my ankles. I’ll take no more puddle reflection shots over saving the cherry blossom trees for future generations to enjoy.

My camera settings for this image is F7.1 at 1/320th sec and ISO 1000 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

Last Friday we had our first rain of the Cherry Blossom season. It rained off and on all day but I was really hoping it would be a little more off than on. I just happened to have a photo walk with a camera club scheduled so at least until after sunset would have been the best time with me. Even though mother nature didn’t cooperate and started raining in the middle of the night, I was excited to share the experience with them. Rain during cherry blossom season means two things. 1: There won’t be as many people at the Tidal Basin. 2: The petals start falling on the ground. That’s not to say that I want cherry blossom season to end earlier than it should, but I just love the way they blanket the grass. It’s almost like snow when you watch them falling from the trees. I love it. They’re so small and delicate that it can be hard to capture but I think it’s just as exciting.

One of my favorite things to do is to get really close to foreground subjects and make them look larger than they really are. In order to capture this image, I actually just put my camera on the ground and started clicking away. I would move it in different places to get the composition I liked, but the main goal was to make the petals look big.

Although cherry blossom season may almost be over, I have plenty to share with you all! If we are counting the past 8 days of sunrises, I woke up for 6 of them. So I got tons and tons of pictures to share! Plus I can’t wait for the other flowers around the city to bloom. Ok, it’s been decided. Spring is my favorite season.

My camera settings for this image is F7.1 at 1/200th sec and ISO 1000 with my Sony A7II and my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

I’m still smiling ear to ear from yesterday’s sunrise.

IGDC held a cherry blossom sunrise walk at the Tidal Basin and it was so fun seeing so many friends at the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial to start the brand new day. They partnered with the Trust for the National Mall and The National Trust to help spread the word about the Tidal Basin. Turns out the Tidal Basin is now a national treasure of the National Trust of Historical Preservation. YAY! But now that means that we all need to rally together to help preserve it. The National Mall Tidal Basin draws millions of visitors to the 107-acre site each year, but it is estimated that as much as $500 million in repairs and upgrades is needed.

As you may have seen in some of my previous images, the flooding can get real bad. Like here and here and it’s just getting worse as the days go on. This effects the cherry blossom trees as well as our ability to even walk around the Tidal Basin.

So if you love the National Mall as much as I do, please consider donating to help save the Tidal Basin so we can enjoy these beautiful blossoms for many more years to come. Click here for more information.

This image was taken during yesterday’s photowalk. It wasn’t a particularly colorful sunrise but it was calm. It made the water so still and reflective that it was almost like a mirror. I loved the way the ducks would cutting through the water but only had a quick second to be able to capture this image before they completely swam away.

Did you also notice the other two ducks in the background?

My camera settings for this image is F7.1 at 1/640th sec at ISO 500 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.