Cherry blossom festival close-out

A view of the Smithsonian building from across the mall.

The weekend of April 11 was the official final week of the the cherry blossom season in Washington. Nearly all the petals had fallen from the trees, but there was still a parade. I was in DC the year before and missed both the cherry blossoms and the parade. As I'd gotten so much from the blossoms, I thought it only fair to take in the parade. I arrived fairly early on Sunday to discover they had closed off the roads surrounding the mall. This had an interesting effect. Where normally there would be scores of runners and walkers on the paths, there were only a few people there at 8AM. This provided unprecedented views of the area.

8AM and no one to be seen!

The Freer Gallery of Art.

Toward the Capital, I noticed a large gathering of people. As I moved toward them, large shapes took form; balloons for the parade.

Japanese lanterns and cherry blossoms float overhead.

Waiting for the parade to make it to my position, I wandered over to the Organization of American States (OAS). As a kid, my best friend's dad worked here but I never visited the building. When it started to rain, I made a dash inside. The interior is quite nice, but the covered atrium in the center was really impressive.

Interior of the Organization of American States.

The rain dampened the ground, but not the spirits of the participants. The shower lasted only fifteen minutes and the parade carried on. The wet pavement made for interesting reflections.

The parade was led by a police motorcade.

I'm not really a big fan of parades, too much waiting around for my liking, but it provides one of the rare occasions when you'll find a fife and drum corps performing. It's also the only time you get to hear a marching band without having to go to a college football game.

In the afternoon, I made my way to the Japanese fair (Sakura Matsuri) on Pennsylvania Avenue. The street was packed with people and vendors.

I spent several minutes watching this team of sushi chefs at work. I've tried making sushi and appreciate that it's a skill requiring mastery. These guys were whipping out sushi rolls like a well tuned machine. The fellow in the middle starts the roll and hands the unfinished ones to his colleague to his right. The next guy puts in the necessary ingredients and then hands it across to the knife-wielding gentleman. I didn't understand why they didn't have everything flowing in one direction, but I'm sure there was method to their work flow.

The sushi machine at work.

At the other end of the road, a stage had been set up. A large troupe of Japanese university students performed traditional music, drumming and dance. I couldn't get close enough to photograph the show, but it was quite entertaining. The performers were having a terrific time showing off for the audience. When they left the stage area, they would pose for pictures with the crowd before dashing back to complete the elaborate dance.

Dancers line up as they wait their turn to perform.

The drummers' costume included an elaborate knot at the back.

The drums are a mix of ancient workmanship and modern technology.

Awesome Gothic Lolita outfit from a designer destined for greater things

The performers were not the only ones dressing up. The day's events included a costume competition. There were Gothic Lolita costumes, characters from anime cartoons, Japanese games, and outrageous street fashion. As the participants showed off on stage, I was surprised to find this girl and her friend not on stage. She told me she arrived too late to enter the contest and was rather bummed out. I can see why, it was a serious entrant. She designed her own costume and that of her friend.

Another outstanding participant told me her costume was not from a computer game or anime show, as I expected, but Japanese street fashion - the category in which she took first place. Her outfit, including the demon mask tipped on her head, derives from Japanese history and legends. It wasn't the outfit that was impressive, however, it was her stage presence. When it was her time to be judged, she bounced on to the stage and made this dramatic pose with umbrella and fan.

The part of the day that I found most surprisingly enjoyable was the J-Pop stage. A four-piece pop band called Mitsumassyu performed to a very excited crowd. The music wasn't too loud so it was necessary to get in close. The two guys and two girls on the stage were having a blast performing their high energy Japanese pop music. I couldn't understand a word of it, but found myself grinning and tapping my feet. These folks weren't fooling around, they were really rocking! I was so impressed that I bought their CD (and even got the band to sign it).

Interestingly enough, when I listened to the music later, it didn't have the same impact at all. Their energy on stage made their music so much more enjoyable. Their music, which is very fun, is better and more up-tempo when they react to a live audience. They're authentic though, and I really appreciate that. I can't imagine this group every performing a show from a recording track as far too many "artists" do today. 

The lead singer of Mitsumassyu was obviously enjoying herself.

 Over the course of four weekends, I saw as much spring as Washington DC has to offer. Given the opportunity, I'd definitely return for next year's cherry blossom festival.

Springtime in Washington DC

Spring is my favorite time to shoot and springtime in Washington is an absolute delight. The end of March is cherry blossom time in Washington. On my first weekend, the trees were just beginning to bloom. The local experts assured me that the following weekend the cherry blossoms would be at their height. I explored the Tidal Basin to get an idea for the best shots, then wandered around the great mall.


On my second weekend, I was astonished at the number of blossoms. The trees around the Tidal Basin were laden with pastel pink and white blooms, a cotton candy-topped forest.


At sunrise, the sidewalks are overflowing with tourists and joggers dodging between the trees while picnickers settle in wherever they can to enjoy their coffee and the view. Getting a good photo can be a serious challenge.


Thousands of photographers compete for the best angles. After spending a few minutes setting up a shot, you can bet that someone with a cell phone camera will step into the frame to get an artistic closeups of the branch you were focusing on, but it's all part of the challenge.


Tripods are a rarity today, but there were plenty of professional and serious amateurs photographers making good use of them. I like to watch these folks in action because it can take a few minutes to properly compose an image. During that time, you get an idea what the photographer is going for. Seeing through another artist's eyes is an excellent way of getting a different perspective on a scene.

An Associated Press photographer I met carried a small step ladder in order to get angles no one else could. He let me try it out, but while the view was good, the photo was uninspiring. Other professional photographers took advantage of the flowering landscape to shoot wedding "love story" portraits (including clayblackmore.com), fashion shoots (with Lululemon Athletica) and informal portraits.




While there are plenty of photo opportunities in Washington, I am unashamedly drawn to the most famous views. I know there are thousands of other images identical to mine, but these are my images. When I look at them, I remember the place and time and maybe how long I had to wait before the conditions were right. The photo, then, becomes a figurative key to a locked memory.


On my third weekend, the weather was not cooperative. The sun struggled through an overcast sky. While good for portraiture, it was not as impressive as photographing the pink flowers against the brilliant blue sky of the week before. Sunrise and sunset lighting was practically nonexistent.

There were fewer photographers with tripods that weekend, but one artist stood out. I imagine that decades ago the Tidal Basin would have seen dozens of his sort, but in the past few weeks he was the only one I saw in the whole city - a painter. He was chatting with a woman about his technique when I joined the conversation. His painting showed a long stretch of sidewalk overhung with cherry blossoms.

I pointed out that he had no people in his painting. "One of the problems I have with photographing these scenes is that there are so many tourists walking into the frame. How did you mange to get this image without a bunch of people in it?"

The woman looked at me like I was totally insane, but the artist didn't miss a beat. "Oh, what I do," he said dramatically, "is edit out the people ... or anything else I don't want."

"Impressive," I responded, gravely nodding my head in understanding.

The ground was covered in petals. While still spectacular, the pink haze that covered the walkways had diminished. So too, had the number of tourists. It was a bit easier to capture a scene without passersby wandering through the scene. Little did I know how much easier that would be when I hiked to the Tidal Basin on a drizzly Sunday morning.

A foot race blocked most of the vehicular traffic. There were so many runners that it was difficult to cross the street.

When I arrived at my favorite spot, there was only one person in sight! Not only could I set up my shots, I could take my time. Of course the misty rain made trouble for me as I attempted to keep my camera and lenses dry. I discovered later that one errant drop found its way onto my lens and managed to spoil quite a few shots. I am ever so thankful for PaintShop Pro for making it easy to fix.

Another favorite photo location on the Tidal Basin is the FDR memorial. It's understated and full of waterfalls. For my money, it's the most interesting memorial in the city.

Of course no trip to Washington DC is complete without a trip to a museum. I decided to go somewhere I've never been before. Although portraiture is my favorite type of photography, it had never occurred to me to visit the National Portrait Gallery. I mistakenly assumed it was full of dusty dull presidents, but it was actually remarkably good.

I should point out that the only reason it occurred to me to visit the museum this time is because Stephen Colbert's painting was hanging there. Not officially, of course, Colbert pretty much talked them into hanging it. They obliged by hanging his portrait in the toilet vestibule. Few other portraits had an much attention as his. Few others had as much truthiness either.