Tuesday, March 31, 2009

From the Archives | Cherry tree blossoms in Washington

Four Kids
Taking a break along D.C.'s Tidal Basin during the National Cherry Blossom Festival in April 2007.


ArchivesNow that this year's National Cherry Blossom Festival is in full swing, I wanted to take the chance to share some photos I snapped at the event two years ago.

I took a Saturday out of my busy schedule at American University to take hundreds of photos on the National Mall and around the Tidal Basin, the most popular viewing spot for blossoms in Washington. I was rediscovering my love of photography at the time. With a loaner Nikon digital camera from the school, I took these shots.

Expect more "From the Archives" posts on The Offlede. The recession has hit home in the form of no overtime at work. In fact, Gannett Co. Inc. is taking work time away from its employees. The company is again requiring newspaper workers to take a second five-day furlough during the second quarter. That means there is less disposable income to use on travel and local excursions that provide much of the content for this blog.

Newspapers have long depended on the automotive and real estate industries for revenue in both display and classified advertising. But with them suffering disproportionately in this recession, newspapers have taken a huge hit, too. Their success or failure has always trickled down. When the economy starts to rear its head again, we should see better times.

Until then, blog readers will have to cope as I relate a few chapters of my past through photos. They'll be mostly in chronological order. This first installment is an exception, simply because the advent of this year's festival makes it more timely.


Flutist
Lisa Tansey, 47, of San Diego plays "Yankee Doodle Dandy" on her flute near Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Park along the Tidal Basin. "I like playing around good nature," she said.

Jefferson
Looking across the Tidal Basin at the Jefferson Memorial.

Bridge
A helicopter of the Marine presidential fleet flies over the National Mall, as seen from the Tidal Basin Inlet Bridge.

White Blossoms
The white Yoshino blossoms.

Pink Blossoms
The pink Kwanzan blossoms.

Old Camera
Taking photos with a rather old camera.

Kite Stuck
A father climbs a cherry tree to fetch his son's kite after it got stuck during the Smithsonian Kite Festival, which is part of the blossom festival. Climbing the trees is illegal.

Monument and Blossoms
Two festival attendees wave over their friends during the kite festival on the mall.

Expert Kite Flier
Michael Melvin, 23, guides his two-string kite with ease, pulling it horizontally, vertically and diagonally, as it makes a deafening whipping sound when the wind resists. An old story I wrote about the festival is here.

Soccer Kids
Eli, 3, and his friend Mara, 4, play with a large kite-like soccer ball that fills with wind.

Catching Bubbles
Little children were fascinated by the bubble machine on the National Mall.

Bubbles
Catching bubbles.

3 comments:

Julie H. said...

These are great! Thank you for sharing them and making spring feel a little closer for all of us!

Joe said...

I agree. Those are all awesome.

Andrew Knapp said...

Why, thank you.