The Darkness of Spring
Mar, 2022Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
At the Washington Monument in Washington D.C.Time
This photo was taken in the midst of the spring cherry blossom bloom in D.C., and I was out taking shots near the Monument and the Tidal Basin in the early afternoon. The weather called for rain and gloomy skies later in the day, so I knew the morning and afternoon were going to be my only opportunities that day for good shots.Lighting
The sun was fully out at this point in the day, but there was some light cloud coverage that diffused some of the direct sunlight on the Monument (for any who don't know, the Washington Monument is all off-white stone, so it can be overexposed very easily in direct sunlight). The sunlight was hitting the cherry blossom tree perfectly without too much reflection, and the sky in the background wasn't overly bright either, so the only thing I had to account for in terms of getting the lighting right was ensuring the monument in the background didn't become overexposed.Equipment
Canon 60D + Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lensInspiration
The cherry blossom bloom in D.C. only lasts about two weeks max (it's been as short as four days in previous years), so getting out to take pictures of them in full bloom is always top priority during the spring season. Nothing in particular inspired me to frame this shot with the cherry blossom tree in the foreground and the Monument in the background. I'm a fairly spontaneous photographer, I enjoy getting inspired to capture beauty in things in the moment without too much forethought. I find my pictures turn out better this way.Editing
I did quite a bit of post-processing that isolated the tree and flowers in the foreground, upped their saturation and clarity a bit, then worked to make all the rest of the picture B/W. I'm not the most skilled at the complex skills in post-processing, so it was fairly labor-intensive getting this pictures processed to it's current form, but I'm obviously happy with how it turned out. I actually didn't originally plan to process the picture to look like this, the idea just sort of popped into my head while I was working on itIn my camera bag
I always bring a camera bag backpack with me wherever I go to take pictures. I'm a Canon shooter, so the bodies and lenses I carry around are all Canons. I always have my 60D and 70D bodies with me, as well as the 50mm lens used for this picture and the 10-18mm wide-angle lens. Batteries, chargers, extra SD cards, and various mounts (tripods, monopods, mini-tripods, straps, etc.) also always come with me so that I am never left without anything I may need. I've learned from experience how to pack my camera bag based on times when I was left unable to fully capture a moment because I was missing something.Feedback
This picture is a perfect example of how spontaneity is a cornerstone to my method. I just went out to the Tidal Basin in DC with my cameras, no plans of where exactly to go or what exactly to capture, how long I would be out, or what exactly I wanted to come back with. I went to the rough area I knew had cherry blossoms, put my cameras together, then started looking around, pointing, and clicking. In my post-processing, I also didn't have a good idea what direction I wanted to go, but I did know this was a good picture I wanted to keep. It was only as I was processing this picture that I decided what final form I wanted it to take. So, my advice for other photographers, no matter how long they've been shooting, regardless of whether it is a full-time career or a side hobby or something in-between: don't forget to be spontaneous at times. The task of a photographer is to capture life's most beautiful moments, and rarely are those ever things we can plan, predict, or control.
