Cherry Blossom festival

[bchernicoff]

w/ 70-200 Mk II @ 140mm f/2.8 1/125 ISO 320

[aZhu]

Wonderful expression on the dog's face.

[Chewy734]

awesome shot!

[squarebox]

Great shot...

Is this a previous year's Hanami or are you in southern japan?  The cherry blossoms JUST started opening today in Aichi, so people aren't expecting mankai till next weekend (when all the local matsuris are being held).

[Positron]

EXIF says March 24, 2012. Making me wish I were still visiting Japan.

[squarebox]

Well i'm wondering if it is the plum blossoms.  As they flowered last week and are currently falling off the trees now.  That and plum blossoms are purple and red where cherry blossoms are predominately pink (though redish in Kyoto and other areas)

[Ricku]

Nice shot!

I am in Osaka right now, just hanging out while I am waiting for the cherry blossom to open in Kyoto. Thats where I'll be staying during first half of April!

[bchernicoff]

Actually, it was this year's Washington DC festival.

[squarebox]

Actually, it was this year's Washington DC festival.

Well there you go.  I did think that it was weird that there was NOBODY in the picture.  In Japan anytime there is sakura there are HUGE mobs of people.    But still a great picture.  All my Japanese friends really liked it

[ippikiokami]

Is that an American Eskimo Dog? I have one too though she is currently not as white as your dog haha. Seems like he/she has the same pink nose deal as mine though

Really killer shot though! You definitely should submit it to the paper or something!

[preppyak]

Actually, it was this year's Washington DC festival.

Yeah, the Cherry Blossom's came very early this year...we basically never had winter in DC. By the time the parade comes around in mid-April, it'll probably be well past cherry blossom time.

[bchernicoff]

The blossoms were so early I almost missed them. I sold my Mk II after I preordered the Mk III. It very nearly didn't get here in time. I called and upgraded to overnight shipping and these pictures were some of the first I took.

There were actually a LOT of people walking amongst the trees, but the owner of this dog (not me) had it posing on the bench for pictures so the crowds were leaving plenty of space. I had been taking some wide shots with my 12-24 and by the time I switched lenses, the dog had jumped off the bench and looked like he was about to take a nap (yawning and stretching). I shot a burst and caught this great one.

[bseitz234]

The blossoms were so early I almost missed them. I sold my Mk II after I preordered the Mk III. It very nearly didn't get here in time. I called and upgraded to overnight shipping and these pictures were some of the first I took.

There were actually a LOT of people walking amongst the trees, but the owner of this dog (not me) had it posing on the bench for pictures so the crowds were leaving plenty of space. I had been taking some wide shots with my 12-24 and by the time I switched lenses, the dog had jumped off the bench and looked like he was about to take a nap (yawning and stretching). I shot a burst and caught this great one.

Question since you've been there (and not wanting to start a new thread...), I'm going to DC April 3-7th this year for a conference. I know it's a little late for blossoms, but I've been thinking about lenses... the widest lens I have is 17mm (7d as a body), and I was wondering if you think it would be worth investing in a 10-22 before I go? I guess, if you hadn't had your 12-24, would you have felt like you missed it? I have no hesitations about the 10-22 as a high quality lens, just whether I need it in addition to my 17-55...

Thanks for your advice!
-Brian

[bchernicoff]

The forecast for peak blossoms is March 26-30, so I think you have a good chance of getting some good shots. My picture in this post was definitely after petals had been falling for a couple days. As far as lens choice goes, your 17-55 will be great. There may be a couple of creative shots you could try with a wider lens, but honestly none of mine were keepers. That being said, I'll tell you that some of the monuments are fun to shoot with a really wide lens...like standing in front of Abe or under the dome of the Jefferson Memorial.

Out of curiosity, I had a search for conferences with those dates. Fruit fly genetics? Who knew?! EDIT: I should say, "Who knew there was a conference for this?". I've long known the species genetics were studied.

If you are interested in meeting up, I'm happy to play photo guide over the weekend.

[bseitz234]

The forecast for peak blossoms is March 26-30, so I think you have a good chance of getting some good shots. My picture in this post was definitely after petals had been falling for a couple days. As far as lens choice goes, your 17-55 will be great. There may be a couple of creative shots you could try with a wider lens, but honestly none of mine were keepers. That being said, I'll tell you that some of the monuments are fun to shoot with a really wide lens...like standing in front of Abe or under the dome of the Jefferson Memorial.

Out of curiosity, I had a search for conferences with those dates. Fruit fly genetics? Who knew?! EDIT: I should say, "Who knew there was a conference for this?". I've long known the species genetics were studied.

If you are interested in meeting up, I'm happy to play photo guide over the weekend.

Thanks! I saw the forecast today- the fact that it's so close to the conference made me think I had a good enough chance of catching blossoms to ask the question. Glad to know my 17-55 will do well for this- I am starting to get better at maximizing what I can do with the gear I have, rather than thinking about what I could do with more.    And yepp, fruit fly genetics conference! I've known about the conference since I've been in the field, but this will be my first year attending! Looking forward to that, as well as sneaking out to photograph cherry blossoms and the nat'l zoo...  I will certainly send you a message when I have a better idea when I'll be able to sneak away and photograph, sounds like a great time!

thanks again!!