I shot this on the Potomac River near East Potomac Park. The Japanese cherry blossom trees were at their peak bloom. I had scouted the area a few days before and decided that this would be a good spot to shoot the sunset framed by the branches of the flowering cherry trees. I set up my tripod with a wide angle lens on my camera and waited for the sun to set. About 10 minutes after the sun dropped below the horizon the clouds caught the sun's rays and lit up the sky. I took several exposures over the next few minutes, both with and without fill flash. This image is the one that came closest to what I was looking for.
Was there a breeze? It almost looks like there's movement in the cherry blossoms. I love the balance between the light on the cherry blossoms and the gorgeous sunset, although it might be a little too contrasting to one another from a technical stand point.... but I think rules are meant to be broken. Nice capture, and it looks like the scouting paid off.
Thank you, Adam.I've been shooting the cherry blossoms for many years now and each season it becomes more of a challenge to try to avoid repeating myself. I'm retired now and shoot whatever and wherever I like. It's very liberating and I threw the rule book away long ago.