DC Cherry Blossom Festival 2008
The Cherry Blossom Festival committee says that about a million people crowd into Washington D.C. during the two weekends of peak blossoms. The peak bloom was Saturday, and it seemed everyone who was there was carrying at least one camera.
So, with all these cameras, how do you come up with a photograph that's not been done before? Or, as Bob Dorksen, a terrific photographer friend in Cleveland once told me, "Excellence is always excellent." In other words, if it's a good picture today, it'll be a good picture tomorrow. And, getting something different isn't always the best choice.
As he also told me, and I've remembered since 1970...
"Good different is wonderful. But bad different is awful." As scenic photographers, we sometimes go to extraordinary lengths to get something different. And if 'different' shows the scene in a new, crisp, story-telling perspective, that's terrific. However, trying to show something different sometimes gives us a muddled, strange or unrecognizable image.
And that's awful.
glenda · April 2, 2008 11:07 PM
That's definitely "good different". Thanks!
Kristin Murphy · April 2, 2008 11:38 PM
Cool shot Bil! Definitely no cherry blossoms out here in Utah...
Jess · April 4, 2008 5:43 PM
What a great shot! I love the Cherry Blossom Festival