The cherry trees were entering the peak phase today and the tidal basin was lined with photographers at sunrise. Last night, however, there was a full moon and only three of us (photo colleagues Joan and Cynthia) were shooting in this new location.
Full Moon, View from Virginia Shoreline
(Technical: Nikon D810 with 70-200mm f/2.8 lens extended to 165mm; exposure: 2.5 sec. at f/5.6, ISO 400; taken about 35 minutes after sunset)
While the moon was rising the cherry trees were hard at work, getting ready for this morning. Both of the images below were taken before sunrise this morning.
Dawn, Tidal Basin
(Technical: Nikon D810 with 24-70mm f/2.8 lens extended to 24mm; exposure: 5 sec. at f/16, ISO 800; On-camera flash at reduced power to provide slight fill on blossoms, taken about 35 minutes before sunrise)
Dawn, Jefferson Memorial
(Technical: Nikon D810 with 24-70mm f/2.8 lens extended to 48mm; exposure: 0.5 sec. at f/16, ISO 800; On-camera flash at normal power to provide fill on blossoms, taken about 25 minutes before sunrise)
I suspect none of the photographers there were thrilled to see all those cranes to the left of the Jefferson Memorial. They are in the early phases of a major development along the waterfront on Maine Avenue. I suspect most of us will be using Photoshop to “disappear” them.
The blossoms will be with us for a few more days, weather permitting.
Keep Shooting….
Beautiful images despite the cranes.
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Thanks, Laura. Aside from Photoshop surgery, I’ll try a different vantage point on the next trip down.
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nice work, I’m going to give it a go this weekend. will be my first trip to see them bloom.
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Great, hope you have good luck. Be aware that there usually is a sunrise Easter service on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial so that will add to the traffic congestion early on Sunday morning.
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Great capture on the moon!
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Thanks, Michele. We were pretty lucky, although it would have been even better if the moon had come up about 15 minutes sooner. But you can’t have everything.
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Gorgeous photos! The first one is breathtaking.
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Thanks! We were pretty nervous because it was the first time at that location and there was absolutely no “wiggle room” if the moon was slightly too far to the left or right of the monuments.
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What a lovely series 🙂 Great to get those sunset and sunrise tones to compliment the warmth of the cherry blossom! Hahaha, cranes, what cranes? Try photographing anything in London and I’ll show you cranes lol 😉
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Thanks, Sarah. I take your point. Actually, we are heading over to London in about 3 weeks, but will only be there a day before we head up to Oxford to see friends. So, being forwarned by you, I won’t be surprised if we see a lot of cranes the day and night we spend in London.
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Wicked 🙂 Hopefully we’ll have some decent weather for you!! I love it around Oxford 🙂 Such a beautiful place! Which part of London are you staying in? There always seems to be development going on everywhere around the city! If you get time, go to the Shard. My favourite building in London 🙂 It’s quite something to look out over the entire cityscape from the top too!
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Thanks, Sarah. We’ll be staying across the river from Westminster and Big Ben. I hope we have time to get over to see the Shard; it looks very cool. But when we go with more than a single day, we will definitely find a place in the area near the Shard, London Bridge, and Tower Bridge.
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Gorgeous. I made mistake of going there in day today. Awful experience and no photos
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Thanks, Valerie. Sorry to hear it didn’t go well for you today. I made a similar mistake when I went in this afternoon and got bogged down in the traffic. No pics from that trip;-(
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The cherry tree foregrounds are really beautiful and add another element to describe the season in DC. I once went to the cherry blossom festival about 25 years ago. I was a bit early but it was still beautiful. Gorgeous images as usual Robin!
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Thanks, Laura. I really appreciate your kind words. If it has been 25 years, you might not like it so much these days. I’ve been going down there for about 10 years now and each year it gets more crowded. But the trees are still fabulous.
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I actually thought it was only 15 years until I thought about it. yIkes!
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It’s a very different experience from the mid-1970’s, which is when I first began to visit them during blooming. Back in those days there was no social media and hardly any coverage by the various news outlets, so getting there during peak was a bit touch-and-go. Also hardly anything in the way of crowds compared to now…
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That full moon last night was gorgeous! Your captures are beautiful, I’m hoping your next post will continue with more cherry blossom captures. 🙂
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Thanks very much, I hope to get some more. It was pretty windy in the early hours this morning and the movement of the trees made the longer exposures inadvisable. But I hope to have better luck this afternoon or tomorrow.
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LOVE that last shot!
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Thanks very much! It was a really nice sunrise that morning.
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Three more masterpieces, Robin. My favorite is the first, but all are breathtaking.
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Thanks, Greg. I was lucky that I chose that side of the tidal basin for a change. It was completely dark when I got there, so I had no idea I would be shooting directly toward a great sunrise.
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Love all your shots, Robin — though I share your chagrin at the cranes in the last image. Looking through my shots from past years, it’s tough to find any visits without one crane on the horizon someplace.
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I know what you mean, MItch. But that batch down at the waterfront is the largest gathering of cranes I’ve seen in one location.
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Agreed. Any idea what the project is for — government or private sector?
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From what I know, it’s a so-called “revitalization” project along Maine Avenue that will have housing, commercial, a public spaces. In theory, that’s not a bad idea. It wasn’t the most attractive area. However, the height of a crane is usually a tip-off to the ultimate height of the building it is erecting. So it would appear there are some pretty tall buildings that will be above the tree line next to the Jefferson Memorial.
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Ouch; I didn’t realize they were along Maine Avenue. You’re right — those ARE some tall cranes for that section of town. I bet some people north of them are going to be seriously upset when their view of the Potomac gets cut off…
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These are stunning shots! Beautiful reflections – color – with a lovely full moon!
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Thanks so much, I appreciate your kind words.
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Robin, your images are stunningly beautiful … cranes or no cranes, blooms or no blooms. .. just gorgeous
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Thanks very much. It will be interesting to see if the high winds today had a big impact on the blossoms. I suspect the end is close. But that means the bluebells along the Virginia shorleine upriver from the city will be taking their turn. My hiking colleagues tell me they are about to pop out.
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Glorious, Robin! 🙂
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Thanks!
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Love the reflections.
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Thanks, Daniel, I appreciate your comments!
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A nice twist to shoot the cherry blossoms at night! Beautiful images.
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Thanks, Denise. One advantage to shooting in the near dark is that there are fewer people around;-)
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Hi Robin Kent. I think your photo of the monuments is absolutely outstanding. Is there any way I could include it for a page in my college reunion book this year?
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Thanks for the comments, David. If you are able to copy it directly from the post, that would be OK. Photo credit would be appreciated, if possible. If you need a higher resolution file, there would be a fee and you can contact me via my website at http://www.photographybykent.com for details.
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Absolutely stunning images. Thanks for sharing this one!
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Thanks very much for the nice words. I’m glad you liked the images.
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