Saturday morning, at 4:50 am, my alarm went off to get ready to head downtown to shoot the Cherry Blossoms at dawn. Last year, I got to a good spot at almost 6:45 am and I was way late.

This year, I made it to Hains Point by 5:50 am and headed to the first bridge that I saw, which faced both the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial. 6:31 am sunrise was approaching quickly, so I got as many shots as I could. These, surprisingly, are the first and second shots that I took. As you can imagine, the rest only got brighter.

I was certainly not the only one who aimed to get to the tidal basin at sunrise. I even bumped into the deputy CIO from work on the bridge!

Photographers were everywhere. And not just photographers though, oh no. Runners, bikers, dog walkers and people with their kids were already there at 6:45 am.

About an hour later, I even spotted this guy with the old school camera.

I managed to get a few shots of my own. I suppose since I’ve done it before, I wasn’t as geeked about getting as many photos as I could. Plus, it was overcast. And FREEZING.

What happened to the 70-degree weather, Mr. Weatherman?

By 8:30 am, it was time to go home.


The next day, the sky was certainly bluer and there were even more people out.

And more sights to see.

I also photographed Declan’s family at Hains Point on Sunday, and even made a new client/friend along the way. Everybody asked me to take their picture since I was just standing around wearing a ton of equipment (and using it sparingly).

I hope you enjoyed the Cherry Blossoms yourself! If not, I have a hint for you: they’re found in more places than the overcrowded tidal basin!

Insana

by Insana Collins
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