A couple weeks ago, on peak day for the cherry blossoms in D.C., a very brave couple met me at dawn by the Tidal Basin. You would imagine sunrise on a Thursday morning would be a good time to avoid the crowds. Wrong. By 6:20am, we were three of the hundreds crowded beneath the blossoming branches to witness the first glow of the rising sun. I've now come to realize, sunrise cherry blossom photos are like the holy grail of photography in the D.C. area. Everyone has to get a taste of it. The vest-wearing, tripod carrying landscape photographers, the old, retired, amateur photographers with their handheld light meters, the upbeat bloggers and news reporters with their soft boxes and reflectors, the chattering tourists with their point and shoots, my fellow portrait photographers waving and directing their matching, pastel wearing subjects, and the frantic joggers with their iPhones yelling over their Jay-Z workout mix to their jogging buddy, "Oh my god, SO pretty right?". And then me, the very sleepy girl trying to get the most beautiful engagement photos ever of a very sweet couple in the midst of the Times Square of Washington, D.C. Because, you see, there really wasn't a patch of sidewalk or grass you could safely "set up shop" because not everybody under the cherry blossom trees is pointing their camera out towards the water. No, you have people aiming their camera through the trees, at the trees, macro-lensing inside the trees (blossom bokeh!), and across the trees to get a shot of their reflection in the water. No matter where you stand you ARE in someone's shot. It was like trying to take a selfie at a red light. There's no possible way to do it and not get noticed. Thankfully, we ran into (literally) nothing but kind folks, one of whom even offered to hold a branch out of frame for me so I could get an unobstructed shot. It was adorable and if the photos hadn't turned out it would've been worth it just for the people watching. But, thankfully, the photos did turn out! So, with that background story fresh in your mind, please enjoy my deceitfully tranquil and romantic photographs of Phoebe and David.
A huge shout out and thank you to Phoebe and David for going with the flow and acting like there weren't hundreds of people staring at them cuddle. You guys were rockstars and made my job so easy. Much love. xo