Cherry Blossoms in Washington, D.C.

[Mike Buckley]

The first photo, which includes the Jefferson Memorial, was captured 30 minutes after sunrise and the second photo was captured a little less than two hours after sunrise. Both photos were captured using a polarizer. The second photo was captured handheld because it would have been impossible to use a tripod. The first photo was captured using a tripod and a flash unit to brighten the flowers that otherwise would have been in nearly complete shadow. The flash unit's built-in diffuser was in position and the unit was handheld off-camera.

[Shadowman]

Very scenic captures.

[xpatUSA]

Not bad for a beginner, Mike

I like the subtle tints in the first - also the composition.

And the more forthright colors in the second - also a good feeling of depth as we approach the right side of the image.

[rpcrowe]

Beautiful images #1 is framed wonderfully. I have never been in Washington D.C. for the cherry blossoms but have been in Japan for the Sakura (cherry blossom) Festival. That is where the Washington Cherry Blossoms originated....

[Sam W]

These are nicely framed as Richard said. Great work!

[NorthernFocus]

Both shots are nicely composed and executed, Mike. Well done.

[bnnrcn]

Both very nice images Mike. As soon as I saw #1, I said WOW! , great framing

[Wavelength]

I never thought you would ever leave your glasses and bottles in your studio and come out to the world outside and continue your magic there also... awesome images !!!

[Rita]

I really like the subtleness and softness of the colours and light in first image.
It has such a peaceful feel to it.
Tomorrow I am hoping to go to "Luminara" in Vancouver. This is where they
light up the cherry blossoms with led lights and Japanese lanterns.

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you, everyone!

Not bad for a beginner, Mike

I actually felt like a hopeless beginner, as I had never used a flash unit for this exact purpose and in this exact situation. Though I realize the concepts are the same as when using it for similar purposes in similar situations, I kept my fingers crossed until I got home and saw the pleasing results.

[wilgk]

Both are really nice indeed, a beautiful scene, that with your composing, the viewer feels a part of... Or at least I certainly do.

[ScoutR]

Both are lovely. I'd be proud, colours, composition, lighting...all look good to me

[ShaneS]

Gorgeous work Mike! You should get out more

[Sailorstu]

Wow, these are both very pleasing photos. Great light and composition. Congratulations.

[Rob Ekins]

I love the colours in #1 Mike,
How early do you have to get up to beat those punters to the steps of the memorial

The centre cluster of blossoms in the upper half of the image appear to be a bit softer than than the others in the image, is this because of lens flare? I would have thought the flash pop would negate that.

I know I am being nit picky about a great image but I am curious

[John 2]

Two nice shots but the first one is a beauty Mike. Well worth the thought out effort.

[dje]

Excellent shots Mike, very well done.

Dave

[Mike Buckley]

Continued thanks to everyone!

You should get out more

The problem is that I can't take wine with me when I'm walking around. And carrying broken glass in that situation is downright dangerous.

How early do you have to get up to beat those punters to the steps of the memorial

Earlier than I got up. I arrived about 15 minutes before sunrise and they were already there. The light is not as good that early when shooting from the vantage point I used. However, I have to mention that I don't mind those people being included in the image. That's because I believe monuments are meant to be enjoyed, so I think it's fine to display them being enjoyed.

The centre cluster of blossoms in the upper half of the image appear to be a bit softer than than the others in the image, is this because of lens flare? I would have thought the flash pop would negate that.

I don't know for sure but I think it has to do with the flash. It couldn't have been flare caused by the sun because that light was coming strongly from the left and I used a lens hood. So, I'll explain what I think is the cause, though keeping in mind that this is the first time I have used a flash for exactly this purpose in exactly this situation and it's the first time I've used its built-in diffuser:

When the flash was set to 1/4 power, it didn't brighten the flowers enough. So I made this shot with it set to 1/2 power. That worked well except that a few flowers only in the center of the image were brighter than the other flowers, so much so that there were no shadow tones. I was able to easily correct that during post-processing but it made me wonder why that happened. I guessed but it's only a guess that the flowers in the center were closest to the center light emitted by the flash and thus were rendered in brighter tones than the flowers farther away. Is that the likely cause?

As to your point about the specific blossoms that you mentioned, I agree that they are a tad softer and I'm reasonably confident I could make them more consistent with the other blossoms by increasing the contrast just a little bit. If I remember correctly, I already made that adjustment to those blossoms but could add more. Adding just a touch of Local Contrast Enhancement might also do the trick.

[Rebel]

Lovely shots Mike

[outwithmycamera]

Mike, we may well have crossed paths as I was prowling around those same areas on Thursday and Friday this week. Very nice pictures, you timed your visit well as the cherry blossoms are peaking now, probably won't be very long before they are gone.