Cherry Blossoms Around the Tidal Basin

[ctank77]

Taken this past April with a Canon A710 IS. Or as I know it, pre-D40.

[GB1]

I like the upper part of the photo , but I find it a bit dark with the exception of the center well-lit branches. Cherry blossoms are white and they don't seem like that here.. seems the camera meter was fooled by the bright(er) sky? In this situation, best to add 1/2 to 1 f stop of light.

The middle to bottom is somewhat of a letdown, just too dark and without any life. Perhaps this shot would have been better if you aimed up more, eliminating the ground?

[MB1]

I like the top half or so but the dark bottom lacks something (like detail). It might be improved with the use of a split ND filter to lighten up the foreground.

I am also sorry you didn't manage to include the reflection of the Washington Monument in the water-that would have been cool. As it is the image doesn't really have a sense of location when in fact it is DC in the spring.

Finally I think your color balance is a little cold, cherry blossoms have a bit of pink tint in them (even those on a quiet edge of the tidal basin) and I don't see any pink in this image at all.

[ctank77]

Thanks, guys, for the input. I agree that it would have been a good move to shift my point of view a bit in order to capture the reflection of the Washington Monument. Do you think a crop of the lower part of the picture would help with the blandness of the ground?

As far as the color of the blossoms, I kid you not that they were more white than pink on this day at this location. If I remember correctly the next day they had changed to their usual pink. Here's a close-up of a blossom from the same time of day and area as my previous shot.

[GB1]

C - I like your new post. It seems perhaps a tad dark in the background, but the flowers look good. I think it's a stronger shot than the original post, though it is really a completely different type of photo and composition.

Now you have another 8 months to plan out the next blossom shot