Cherry Blossoms at the Tidal Basin

by alana

Every city has at least one defining event a year that the entire city becomes enamored with annually. Growing up near Portland, Oregon it is the Rose Festival. The entire city rises up to celebrate that gentle transition between spring and summer that is escorted in by the heady scent of thousands of rose bushes coming into bloom. In New York City, there is nothing more iconic than New Year’s Eve in Times Square. I could never quite brave the freezing temperatures to go stand for hours in the crowd, but while I lived in the city there was this magnetic pull to at least watch it on television.

In Washington, DC we are ushered into spring with what I think is the most gentle sight as the Yoshino cherries of the Tidal Basin reach peak bloom and the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The Mall is cast in pink clouds for nearly a month from the start of bloom to the final petal falls.

On Sunday we had the daftest idea to go see the Tidal Basin’s luminous glory right at sunrise. This would be a rather easy task if the weather had been a little more cooperative. It wasn’t rain or wind, but the absolutely awful temperature of 27 degrees when we arrived at East Potomac Park at 6:45 a.m. In fact, what was causing the freezing temperatures was exactly why we decided to make the journey last Sunday. A high pressure system that came in over the weekend would prove to be the last we would see of any sunshine for the next few days. As a photographer, Nature provided a high contrast backdrop that was a dream come true.

While most people had their eye, feet, and minds on the iconic Jefferson Memorial, we turned around and looked westward towards the Washington Monument for this shot, an example about how you can juxtapose foreground and background even across a mile for a cohesive, single vignette.

And while we never quite warmed up after an hour and a half downtown, we did take a few moments to play with magnified images via a reversed 50mm fixed lens. The cherry blossoms and sun obliged us for a few fantastic macros.

The freezing temperatures over the weekend have prolonged the peak bloom of the Yoshino cherry trees at the Tidal Basin but today’s persistent rain and expected thunderstorms tomorrow will take a beating on existing blooms. Thankfully, we saw most Yoshinos on Sunday at about 50% of bloom. There will hopefully be plenty of blossoms for visitors who cannot make it to the Mall until next weekend.