Last weekend the cherry blossoms were in full bloom at the University of Washington quad! Jeremy and I both graduated from UW, although we weren’t students at the same time. Normally, we aren’t super into getting cherry blossom pictures EVERY year because it’s just so dang crowded. This year, however, being the first year with Baby Jemma, we were determined to get some pics.
Viewing cherry blossoms is a whole thing in Japan, called Hanami. If you read my last blog post about hanami dango, you’ll know there’s even special foods you eat when you go see cherry blossoms. It’s common to have a picnic under the trees. BUT IF YOU GO TO THE UW QUAD ON THE WEEKEND THERE WILL BE NO SPACE TO HAVE A PICNIC. UGH.
Can you tell I’m an introvert?
Anyway, if you’re not from Seattle or haven’t gone to school here, let me give you some tips.
How to get good cherry blossom photos:
- Keep track of when blossoms will be in full bloom. There’s twitter feeds and a livecam for the UW quad. Usually it’s around spring break for UW students.
- Go during the weekday, early in the morning if you can. Less people.
- Try to stand completely in the shade. Your pictures look better.
- You don’t need to be right up next to the tree. If you have portrait mode on an iPhone, it actually looks really nice if you stand a little further away from the trees.
- Filter the heck out of your photos. I bump up the pink in all of mine, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.
We had enough space when we went on a Thursday morning to have a little picnic, eat some dango, and even change the baby into a whole new outfit for more pictures. Because I’m that parent.
Jemma’s second outfit is a Hanshin Tigers jinbei sent to us all the way from Japan from my friend Sabrina. The Hanshin Tigers are a baseball team whose stadium is near Osaka. Sabrina and I went to a Hanshin Tigers game with a bunch of other friends 10 years ago! We got on the jumbotron, probably for being obvious tourists, sans jerseys. It was great. Thanks, Sabrina!
Here’s my last tip for getting good cherry blossom photos:
Find your own secret spot! There’s cherry blossom trees throughout the greater Seattle area. We had a family picnic earlier this week at our own spot and no one else was there!
Which do you like better? The UW quad or our own secret spot? 😉