“Light as feathers, as fleeting as Zephyr, one moment they breathed pink, the next they faded. Cherry blossoms were as much an inspiration for beautiful verse
as they were a reminder of life's fickleness, she thought.”
Alice Poon, The Green Phoenix: A Novel of the Woman Who Re-Made Asia, Empress Xiaozhuang
The last time I photographed the cherry blossoms in the garden downstairs, they were covered in snow. Even though it was a stunning sight to behold, it was also kind of crazy at the same time. I much prefer them basking under the sunshine so I did another photo study. I had quite a marvelous time reveling under the fully bloomed trees. Up close the blossoms are ever captivating and appear even more delicate and beautiful. It's no wonder they are considered a visual metaphor for the transience of life in Japanese culture.
Photo note: I took these with a shallow depth of field and overexposed by a quarter stop to emphasize the ethereal, dreamy quality of the blossoms. I'm often asked how I edit my photos and to be honest, I'm pretty old school and try to visualize and compose my shots in camera. The most I usually do in post is crop and adjust for contrast or color balance.
I've always loved photographing cherry blossoms and this particular series with Rena and Ian might be some of my favorite photos I've ever done with them (with an assist from my husband). Just for the record, I'm not done photographing those two yet. They will be back.
CONTINUE READING ≫BLOGLOVIN' | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | PINTEREST | GOOGLE+ | FEEDLY
