Photography: Cherry Blossoms by Night

Cherry blossoms approach peak bloom at the Tidal Basin Sunday evening

Having missed this weekend's Cherry Blossom festival kick-off due to a mini-vacation, I took a trip down to D.C. Sunday evening to try out my new camera and external flash. Let me begin by saying that I would highly recommend viewing the blossoms at night. There was plenty of parking, no crowds, and it was absolutely gorgeous, even at night. It's a different experience strolling down the Tidal Basin walk in almost complete silence, without thousands of tourists pushing through from all directions. Most of the time I saw no-one else, which kind of surprised me, given that the blossoms are almost at peak bloom.

I found a tree that aligned with the Jefferson Memorial and set up my tripod and camera. I also wanted to try to include the walkway in the photo, something that's not possible to photograph during the day given the constant flow of tourists down the same walk. Well, just after setting up my gear, a lone couple decided to stop and gaze at the Jefferson, right in front of me and the camera. I'm thinking, the entire Tidal Basin is empty and the two of you decide park yourself right next to me? I patiently waited, and after about five minutes they realized they were not alone and quickly moved on. Perhaps it was my super bright external flash hitting them from the side that ruined their moment, not sure. :) Anyway, it just took a moment to photograph the scene that I wanted and I quickly made my way back home after a super busy weekend. The camera details are as follows: Sony A350, ISO 100, F9, 13 second exposure with external flash.