Story Behind Image

Cherry Blossom Trail - Washington, D.C. /  by Todd Henson

Cherry Blossom Trail - A path leading from the FDR Memorial towards the Tidal Basin.

It’s almost that time of year again, when the cherry blossoms bloom along the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. Above is a photograph I created from a previous year. As you can see, it was on the tail end of peak bloom when the petals start falling, covering the ground, the trail, and the water of the Tidal Basin.

In this image we see a couple of National Park Service rangers walking down the trail from the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial towards the trail along the Tidal Basin. I loved the placement of the rangers on the curved trail, both smiling, one looking towards the other, having a pleasant conversation as they walk. I loved all the scattered pink petals on the ground and on the two benches.

I created a number of frames, but this was my favorite. I do wish the orange construction cones hadn’t been placed along the pavement in the back of the image, but I could probably remove those in Photoshop if I chose to. It was a very overcast day, so there were no harsh hot spots or shadows.

Technical Details

Because it was overcast and I was hand holding and experimenting, I wanted a shutter speed fast enough to minimize the risk of blur caused by camera movement. So I set my ISO to 1600, giving me a shutter speed of 1/100 sec at an aperture of f/8. I used f/8 because I wanted a reasonable depth of field, and at 16 mm this worked very well. I love using my Nikon 16-35 mm lens when walking around town photographing these wider angle scenes.

To add a little punch and warmth to the color I often use a warming polarizer in scenes like this, with leaves or flowers as a major focus. The specific polarizer I like is my Singh-Ray LB “Lighter, Brighter” Warming Polarizer. Being a polarizer, it reduces any glare on the leaves and petals, which helps naturally add a bit of saturation to the color. And the warming aspect of this particular filter adds just a touch of warmth, something you could do in post-processing, but I enjoy being behind the camera more than the computer so I try to handle as much as I can in the field. That being said, I do still usually tweak various settings in post.

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A Bench Beside the Gardens /  by Todd Henson

A Bench Beside the Gardens, at the U.S. Botanic Garden

Many years ago my brother and I visited the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. This is a beautiful location, with both indoor and outdoor gardens. The indoor gardens are contained in various rooms within the large Conservatory, and include a wide range of plant-life, from jungle to desert environments. The outdoor gardens surround the Conservatory, with their National Garden to one side and Bartholdi Park just across the street.

While walking the outside gardens we found this lovely scene, with a wooden bench set against a brick and stucco wall surrounded by potted plants. A great location to sit, take a short rest, and admire some of the beautiful outdoor scenery. And, I thought, a beautiful subject for a photograph.

If you ever have the opportunity, stop by and visit the U.S. Botanic Garden. I thought it was well worth the trip. If you do (or have) let me know what you thought of it.

A Bench Beside the Gardens is available for purchase as wall art or on a variety of products.

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Scene by the Creek #1 /  by Todd Henson

 
 

On a quiet late afternoon, I went hiking the trails of a nearby park. The sun was going down, a light drizzle was falling, and I had the trails to myself. Something about this scene captured my attention. Perhaps it was the late afternoon light. Perhaps the interplay of patterns of the moving water with the rings caused by the falling rain. Maybe it was the placement of the rocks and the fallen log, and how the log caused the patterns to differ on each side. Whatever it was, it resulted in this photograph, which takes me back to that peaceful day. I hope it can do something similar for you.

Scene by the Creek #1 is available for purchase as wall art or on a variety of products.

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