Peak bloom for the cherry blossoms arrived Monday, but before it did, the blooming “puffy white stage” is still bringing out photographers trying to capture one of D.C’. s most beautiful scenes.
D.C.’s Cherry Blossom Watch said the very warm temperatures of the past several days have rushed things along. While many trees are still budding, plenty of them are picture perfect.
The National Park Service determined that 70% of the blossoms reached the “puffy white” stage this weekend. That’s the penultimate stage before “peak bloom.”
“Peak bloom” arrived Monday afternoon, the Park Service said in a tweet.
View this post on Instagram
Monday morning saw professional and amateur photographers alike flock to the Tidal Basin right after sunrise.
“I think this is great. I usually come before or after peak to avoid all the people,” said professional photographer Stacy Smith Evans. “You get the golden light coming from over here, so it usually shines on the blossoms.”
She was joined at sunrise by dozens of other photographers and even those just looking to take some shots on their iPhones.
Michael Fahler describes himself as an amateur photographer.
“Definitely worth taking a taking a look at — it’s not as pink but definitely lots of the big bursts of white and there’s a few greens to have the backdrop, so it works out really nice,” Fahler said. “Got the early sunrise and gotten reflections so it went pretty well.”
The Monday morning sunrise also brought people taking advantage of the beautiful scenery to take graduation pictures, family photos and even wedding pictures, including Jay and Charisma who got married in February.
“So I figured this is one of the most more beautiful places and we wanted to be stereotypical,” joked Jay.
“Pretty much!” laughingly added Charisma. “Because we are unique just like all the other weddings going on right now.”
They got hitched in February — 2/22/22 to be exact.
Smith Evans who’s based in Northern Virginia offered some tips for any amateur photographer that want to get the best shot of this year’s blossoms. She said get there early in the day to avoid crowds in the background and to take advantage of the good lighting.
“Definitely do a variety of shots. I usually do wide angles and then I use a portrait lens for close-ups,” Smith Evans added.
