National Cherry Blossom Festival - lots of imgs

Phyxius

It's National Cherry Blossom Festival time (and it's SNOWING TODAY :huh). Luckily I actually trusted the weather people and I went to photograph the Tidal Basin with fellow dgrinner, jbswear, on Tuesday. It was 80+ degrees and sunny! The tourists and photogs were out in full force. I think the on again, off again weather has caused the blooms to be not quite as impressive as they were last year, but they were still quite nice.



Hopefully jbswear will post the shot he took like this one, because judging by the LCD his is nicer...but I still like how the sunburst turned out.



A pretty knarly looking tree trunk.


The big pencil.


A bird in the hand is worth three in the tree?


Always take time to stop and smell the Cherry Blossoms.


Blooms-a-plenty





The trees have eyes...


The Jefferson Memorial -







This was supposed to be a duck silhoutte...but it didn't work.


BALD EAGLE! This immature fellow flew RIGHT over me...but I was so busy telling people I kinda forgot to take pictures. I got this rather poor one (I was shooting manual and had set up to take a shot of the very well lit, white Washington Monument. I know...excuses, excuses.

grannyrobin

Love these pics!
Thanks so much for posting these pictures of the cherry blossoms! I live close to Washington, D.C. but I haven't gotten down there this year to see the blossoms (although I have seen them in Kenwood).

Yay! I'll be sure to forward this link to my friends who will love these as much as I do, I'm sure.
-grannyrobin

Phyxius

Thank you grannyrobin! This was my second year visiting the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC. I have a very good friend who works in DC and she warned me that peak would me Tues, Wed, and Thurs. Of course Wednesday was stormy and Thursday was cold. Last night and into this morning southern Maryland, where I live, got snow. I'm very happy I made it to the tidal basin Tuesday.

I may try to get up there for the parade, I have friends who are in it and I keep saying I'll go up to see them, but every year I'm busy. I'm supposed to be working that day, but I'm going to try to go up after I get out at noon.

I hope you get the chance to stop by and see them this year.

Ann McRae

So, Christina, you know that I still have snow on the ground and freezing temps on a nightly basis, right?? That it is another 6 weeks before we can expect leaves on trees, right????

No fair!!!rolleyes

But, lovely photos! I am particularly fond of the ones with the isolated branches foreground.

ann

Skippy

Phyxius wrote:

It's National Cherry Blossom Festival time (and it's SNOWING TODAY ). Luckily I actually trusted the weather people and I went to photograph the Tidal Basin with fellow dgrinner, jbswear, on Tuesday. It was 80+ degrees and sunny! The tourists and photogs were out in full force. I think the on again, off again weather has caused the blooms to be not quite as impressive as they were last year, but they were still quite nice.
Hopefully jbswear will post the shot he took like this one, because judging by the LCD his is nicer...but I still like how the sunburst turned out.
A pretty knarly looking tree trunk.
The big pencil.
A bird in the hand is worth three in the tree?
Always take time to stop and smell the Cherry Blossoms.
Blooms-a-plenty
The trees have eyes...
The Jefferson Memorial -
This was supposed to be a duck silhoutte...but it didn't work.
BALD EAGLE! This immature fellow flew RIGHT over me...but I was so busy telling people I kinda forgot to take pictures. I got this rather poor one (I was shooting manual and had set up to take a shot of the very well lit, white Washington Monument. I know...excuses, excuses.

..... But where's the squirrels ???? surely there were squirrels ?
There had to be squirrels I don't see any.

........ Just joking Joyce hehehehe.... you got some lovely shots there.
The Blossoms are just gorgeous.
Nicely captured Christina .... Skippy.
.

Phyxius

Ann McRae wrote:

So, Christina, you know that I still have snow on the ground and freezing temps on a nightly basis, right?? That it is another 6 weeks before we can expect leaves on trees, right????

No fair!!!rolleyes

But, lovely photos! I am particularly fond of the ones with the isolated branches foreground.

ann

Thanks Ann! And, if it makes you feel even slightly better it snowed on Friday night/Saturday morning and the snow lingered about until today in some places, but it got up to 50 and the rest melted.

I can't wait to be b!tching about the heat and humidity

Phyxius

Skippy wrote:

..... But where's the squirrels ???? surely there were squirrels ?
There had to be squirrels I don't see any.

........ Just joking Joyce hehehehe.... you got some lovely shots there.
The Blossoms are just gorgeous.
Nicely captured Christina .... Skippy.
.

Thank Ya Skippy! Yeah, there were some squirrels, surprisingly not too many though. Quite a few seagulls, I even got one pooping in mid-flight, it'd fit in nicely with a thread that was posted a while ago in the Nature and Wildlife section. :

ShepsMom

I miss blossoms, leaving in FL for the last 15 years isn't helping. I need to make a trip somewhere where blossoms are. Thank you for posting these beautiful shots.

Marc Muench

The second image is wonderfulthumb

Phyxius

Marc Muench wrote:

The second image is wonderfulthumb

Wow, thanks Marc!!

ShepsMom wrote:

I miss blossoms, leaving in FL for the last 15 years isn't helping. I need to make a trip somewhere where blossoms are. Thank you for posting these beautiful shots.

Thank you Marina! Just think though, you've got GORGEOUS blue/green water and some of the neatest birds and flowers. Oh, don't forget the palm trees!