Last Weekend's Photo Outing, Part 1 - Back to Landscapes

It's no secret that I have felt tired and less than inspired lately. I was therefore very excited about the kite festival, because I needed a change of pace. So, off I went on Sunday with my camera and lenses. The festival was interesting, but yesterday was one of those days where the unplanned went even better.

I took about 300 pictures of kites, and decided to walk around. It was fairly nice out. I found myself over by the Tidal Basin. During the peak of cherry blossom season, it's extremely popular and crowded. What people don't realize is that slightly after the peak, there's a serenity and beauty that is often underestimated. Take a look at these pictures:









There are other pictures in my Flickr set, of course, but these were the highlights. You'll notice a key theme is reflections in the water. Another theme is shapes from the trees. I focused a great deal on framing, too. While I normally like brighter colors, I really found myself drawn here. It's as though spring is waiting to come out.

Technical details:

1) I used my kit lens - which means those of you who own point-and-shoot cameras would be fine here.

2) ISO = 200, White balance = cloudy, Aperture-dependent setting - 5.8.

In other words, nothing special or complicated.

When I first began taking pictures, my focus was on landscapes. I loved them. However, after taking some photography classes, began to wonder if my pictures were special enough. I then began exploring other aspects of photography, as documented in this blog. However, though, I have forgotten a key piece of my own advice - to shoot what I like. That can be unique, too. In fact, I Googled "Tidal Basin" and did not come across any pictures that look remotely like these. I therefore do have a different perspective to offer in my work.

Tomorrow - my take on the cherry blossoms.