Cherry Blossoms in D.C. Late March [Archive] - Page 2

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In2Photos

30th of March 2006 (Thu), 21:51

It certainly was a great day for the blossums. My family and I were there from around 11 until almost 4 and although it was crowded it will be much, much worse tomorrow and into the weekend. I never ran into any of you all who were there. I kept my eye out but didn't see you. Oh well. The Azaleas (almost 100,000 bushes) in the National Arboretum will be just as spectacular next month and it will be much less crowded if anyone is interested.

Attached are a couple of my favorite shots for the day. It helps to bring along your model.

There certainly were a lot of folks with DSLRs. Lots of 20Ds and XTs but even more Noink D200s. No accounting for taste... Interesting that the DSLRs outnumbered the paper box cameras and those trying to take pictures with their cell phones.

Lots of fun and great weather. Hopefully I can meet up with you all on the next excursion.

-- Scott.

Scott that first one is just adorable. All of these photos look fabulous. sounds like it would have been a lot of fun. Maybe next year.

BottomBracket

30th of March 2006 (Thu), 22:39

It was great to meet POTN members in the DC area on such a lovely day. The weather was perfect, and we caught the flowers in full bloom. This was my first Cherry Blossom Festival ever; I have always wanted to experience it before but somehow I couldn't make it to DC during this time of the year.

Dave, Jon, and Suzy, it was a pleasure to meet you all. I apologize for my croaky voice, I have been bothered by laryngitis lately and the long drive and lack of sleep the night before didn't help at all. But the whole experience was worth it, from the flowers, conversation, photo ops to the lunch beneath a canopy of cherry blossoms. I just wish that irate lady didn't honk her horn too much though :) Some pics that I took, ran briefly through RSE:

#1 Jon
http://piofort.zoto.com/img/700x467x1/d2ab8cbf0d434cf03971223a4742d4a4-.jpg

#2 Suzy
http://piofort.zoto.com/img/700x467x1/6aeef8e2e33cc9a1df9c2fa6ac4dbd5e-.jpg

#3 Dave
http://piofort.zoto.com/img/700x467x1/e512be4857bc5553704e7e37a365cbe8-.jpg

#4 Cherry Blossom
http://piofort.zoto.com/img/700x467x1/bf686a52adc358021daad6e7a0b02222-.jpg

#5 Passing Cyclist
http://piofort.zoto.com/img/700x467x1/e1b1f69f06569a31f81bddbf57c5073b-.jpg

#6 The Washington Memorial
http://piofort.zoto.com/img/700x467x1/dbd2663f91bcee66703613a4af70a8b7-.jpg

#7 Tulips
http://piofort.zoto.com/img/525x700x1/d59a0b0c7ea9b68e37b03ea9b4960fba-.jpg

#8 IR Shot
http://piofort.zoto.com/img/525x700x1/6c92fd168021deac9c99a1d7fdf9015b-.jpg

SuzyView

31st of March 2006 (Fri), 04:31

Wow. Some of your shots were amazing, Pio! And a model, cheater! Jon, now that I see your picture, you were of course, correct. Still, we were all kind of loaded. Why didn't you see us at 11:00? We were at the Jefferson and headed for food by noon. Then we rested under two beautiful trees and stayed for a bit. Sorry we missed you. Not hard, though. It was so crowded.

I am headed there again this morning with my 6 year old and best friend. Should be extremely crowded today and very sunny in the morning. Again, my joy is to take my gear out with my favorite little model and he is ready to go, will be up by 6:00, I'm sure. If anyone is down again, you know what I look like now. Just follow the blue camera bag and the cute little boy with a screaming mom telling him not to jump into the water or climb the tree. :)

chinabuddie

31st of March 2006 (Fri), 05:29

i'm headed there today as well. it's suppose to be even nicer than yesterday. my friend was up there yesterday and said the number of DSLRs outnumbered the number of point and shoot cameras. I think there will be some performances later on today at one of the memorials.. forgot which one. Also tomorrow there will be a fireworks display at like 8 or 8:15pm.

pyterps

31st of March 2006 (Fri), 05:39

Yes it was a great day and the number of DSLRs was astounding to me also. Could you imagine what you could get on EBAY for all of them????????

We need to get together next month and do the Azalea's. Do we know when peak time is? I am available from 22-26 May, I will be in Korea the two weeks prior.

chinabuddie

31st of March 2006 (Fri), 06:01

Andy_T

31st of March 2006 (Fri), 06:38

Great shots, looks like you all had a lot of fun :D

Jon, did anyone ever tell you that you resemble your dog a lot :wink: ?

Best regards,
Andy

Jon

31st of March 2006 (Fri), 08:25

Great shots, looks like you all had a lot of fun :D

Jon, did anyone ever tell you that you resemble your dog a lot :wink: ?

Best regards,
Andy
My wife has a tendency to collect shaggy critters. Ranging in size from her Icelandic horse on down to Banjo. Which doesn't explain Smiley.

FScott

31st of March 2006 (Fri), 13:04

oooo the arboretum or whatever? heh last time i tried WALKING there from the Smithsonian.. then I asked a police officer.. he told me I was like 7 or 8 miles away..haha. i still have NOT been able to figure out how to get there.. i suck :( metro doesn't go directly to the arboretum.

The National Arboretum is on New York avenue as it heads out of town going east as it becomes US Route 50. For us who live east of town it is very easy to drive in on Rt 50 and get to the Arboretum. If you haven't seen the Azaleas at the National Arboretum then you are missing one of the best kept secrets in Washington (the other being the National Aquatic gardens for the lillypad blooms). Luckily the azaleas last longer than the cherry blossums so the timing isn't as critical. According to:

http://www.usna.usda.gov/Education/blooming.html

The peak time is the last two weeks in April and the first week in May.

-- Scott.

SuzyView

31st of March 2006 (Fri), 13:28

Here are some from today. It was even more sunny and definitely more crowded. I couldn't believe how hot it got around noon. Blossoms truly are at full peak today.

Jon, your dog is adorable, as you are :) and trip to see the flowers in May sounds wonderful, if I am in town. Doing a wedding the first two weeks, but may be able to sneak out.

67600

67601

SuzyView

31st of March 2006 (Fri), 13:29

And two more.

67602

67603

Actionphotog

31st of March 2006 (Fri), 14:53

Glad some of you all got the chance to meet wish I was there. I had Senior portraits to shot.
Nice photos may be we can all meet over the summer

sunbeast

31st of March 2006 (Fri), 21:20

Unfortunately my day off wasn't until today (Fri.), so I missed the group. Took my wife and grandson today.

67688

67691

sunbeast

31st of March 2006 (Fri), 21:23

Two more from today.

67692

67693

chinabuddie

31st of March 2006 (Fri), 21:46

The National Arboretum is on New York avenue as it heads out of town going east as it becomes US Route 50. For us who live east of town it is very easy to drive in on Rt 50 and get to the Arboretum. If you haven't seen the Azaleas at the National Arboretum then you are missing one of the best kept secrets in Washington (the other being the National Aquatic gardens for the lillypad blooms). Luckily the azaleas last longer than the cherry blossums so the timing isn't as critical. According to:

http://www.usna.usda.gov/Education/blooming.html

The peak time is the last two weeks in April and the first week in May.

-- Scott.

i'm from Manassas.. i TRIED to get there one night to test myself at like 11pm at night.. i got lost.. drove past the capital and just couldn't find the arboretum. and the metro doesnt take you there.. ive always wanted to go and take pictures of the asian structures and buildings alongwith the beautiful flowers and trees.. maybe one day i'll find out where it is and the easiest route to get there.

chinabuddie

31st of March 2006 (Fri), 21:49

some I took from today.. nothing fancy. i'm just a beginner
http://home.comcast.net/~chinabuddie/blossoms13.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~chinabuddie/blossoms11.jpg

SuzyView

31st of March 2006 (Fri), 22:29

Great shots, everyone! I think this year the blossoms were a complete success. I always try to get to the Basin at the peak blooming time. It's one of our national treasures and so wonderful, it's worth the effort to get down there. I so enjoyed meeting some of you and I even talked to a few people today and gave them the forum information. I met up with a 10D user who is published in text books and magazines. She said she is looking for upgrading to the 30D soon. She wants spot metering.

William_luo

1st of April 2006 (Sat), 09:48

sunbeast

1st of April 2006 (Sat), 10:46

This is a great year for Cherry Blossom. I just uploaded some of Cherry Blossom images I took last Friday into dcphototour.com. Please comment.

http://www.dcphototour.com/WashingtonDCEventsPhotoTour/WashingtonDCCherryBlossomFestival-06.shtml

William
http://www.dcphototour.com

I agree William....it was a good year for the blossoms and the weather was great. Great shots. I took a shot of the Jefferson framed by the exact same tree you did...I suspect everyone found that tree..lol.:lol:

SuzyView

2nd of April 2006 (Sun), 07:31

Wonderful shots William and great for the website. I am always amazed at how many people who up for this. And my goodness! How many Canons did I see out there with red ring lenses! If I had a microphone, I would have shouted out, "Anyone with Canon stuff can come here and we can talk for about 20 hours in a row about our great stuff and our shots today!" I bet about 500 people would have run over and we would have had a field day! Keep posting if you haven't yet.

JimAskew

3rd of April 2006 (Mon), 08:57

Suzie,

Here are a couple of my shots. My wife and I went to the Basin on Sunday at 0800. We ran into the Cherry Blossom 10K runners and had to wait 20 minutes to cross the street :)

Stopped and made a few pictures of the Tulips and then on to the Blossoms :D

This was the best year for viewing I can recall! Perfect weather and near 99% in bloom:lol:

All of my shots were made with my 24-70MM in "P" mode with ISO=200.

Sorry to hear about your 24-70MM lens issues. I used my 24-70MM for all my shots, took over 200 pictures, and did not get a single "bad" shot at least from an IQ perspective. I would send yours back to Canon for a check.

JimAskew

3rd of April 2006 (Mon), 08:59

Suzie,

Two more shots :D

I have 196 more if anyone wants more:o

Thanks to all who have shared their experience with the Cherry Blossoms this year...it was the best:lol:

staciecd

3rd of April 2006 (Mon), 09:39

I was there on Sunday as well

http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=154950

I did noticed alot of DSLRs around. Very professional looking people and I was happy to be right there with them.

Stacie

JimAskew

3rd of April 2006 (Mon), 12:07

Stacie,

I agree...I saw lots of Canon bodies and lenses around. Should be a lot of excellent photos floating around...it was the best Cherry Blossom event I can recall...the flowers were just awesome :)

staciecd

3rd of April 2006 (Mon), 12:29

I fully agree. And with Sunday being so beautiful, it was a big help! I've never seen the blossoms, so I don't think that I have anything to compare it to, but this has been a beautiful spring just looking at the trees around my house.

Stacie

SuzyView

3rd of April 2006 (Mon), 14:26

Everywhere here in northern Virginia has been amazing. The funny thing is, some of the most beautiful blossoms were on trees in front of gas stations and malls. But when you see thousands of trees blossoming at the same time in a beautiful setting, it is almost a miracle. Aren't we lucky we saw them?

afb

13th of April 2006 (Thu), 14:00

i found this thread too late...but i did get out there on sat w/ some of my biker friends...

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/8363/img06479pl.th.jpg (http://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img06479pl.jpg) http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/5993/img06690il.th.jpg (http://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img06690il.jpg) http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/3813/img07094oa.th.jpg (http://img130.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img07094oa.jpg) http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/6311/img07056fw.th.jpg (http://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img07056fw.jpg) http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/5199/img06978wi.th.jpg (http://img130.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img06978wi.jpg) http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/5052/img06915va.th.jpg (http://img130.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img06915va.jpg)

SuzyView

13th of April 2006 (Thu), 15:27

Welcome, afb! And if you are in the area, we plan to get together again soon.

Nice shots! I clicked on them and boy, are they sharp. I loved the last one. What equipment are you using?