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It Has Begun: Cherry Blossoms in Kyoto
A single cherry blossom sits among many buds on a branch during the early sakura season in Kyoto, Japan
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — full exif & mapnearby photos
First Cherry Blossom
Kyoto, Japan  ·  Spring 2008
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Well, at least the first that I've noticed. Returning from a trip to the store around 2pm, I noticed a few blossoms on the trees near my place. It's just in time, too, because as I noted in the last couple of posts, the plum blossoms have started to wane. So, I grabbed a few snapshots of them, and even turned a couple of ones with blue sky in the background into desktop backgrounds....

Cherry-blossom buds just starting to open, in Kyoto Japan
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/750 sec, f/4.5, ISO 320 — full exif & mapnearby photos
Branches of a cherry tree laden with buds, but no cherry blossoms, in Kyoto Japan
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 102 mm — 1/320 sec, f/8, ISO 200 — full exif & mapnearby photos
Most Trees Still Like This

Using the time-lapse sequence I made last year as a guide, it seems that these trees have started to bloom about one day earlier than last year.


Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 150 mm — 1/3200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 320 — full exif & mapnearby photos
A few cherry blossoms adorn branches filled with buds, early in the sakura season, in Kyoto Japan
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — full exif & mapnearby photos
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Standard: 1024×768  ·  1440×1080  ·  1600×1200      Widescreen:  1280×800  ·  1680×1050  ·  1920×1200  ·  2560×1600

Comments so far....

Can’t wait to see more. Try to shoot them in a new way this year! Here in DC, we have a lot of cherry blossom trees near the river, which should be in full bloom within a week… can’t wait. I will be sure to see them this year and hopefully get some great shots.

— comment by Jon on March 28th, 2008 at 12:43pm JST (3 months ago) comment permalink
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