Cherry Blossom Redux

Hanging Cherry Blossom, March 1, 2010
Adobe Systems courtyard, Seattle, Washington
Nikon D80, Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 @ 220mm, f/8.0, 1/125s, ISO 400
Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.6

A year ago I shot the cherry blossoms in the courtyard at work with a rented lens. I love that shot, so it was my intention to recapture the magic this Spring. Two things are different:

1. It's not Spring. Not by the calendar anyway. But thanks to the balmy winter out here on the Pacific coast the local flora thinks it is. These trees are actually some of the last in the area to bloom; most of the cherry blossoms in my neighborhood are already falling to the ground. It has been painstaking waiting for them to pop.
2. I got a new lens and it's not a rental. More on that... now.
   

My buddy Erik bought himself a big, big shiny new lens that replaced his old 70-300. He kindly sold the older lens to me at a steal. This lens gives a me a little more reach and a modicum of sharpness over the 18-200. It arrived last week, just in time for me to test it out on the cherry blossoms. I'm pleased with it, mostly, but the minimum focus distance of five feet has posed some challenges. I did try out both my Lensbaby and the nifty 50/1.8 on the blossoms, and I hope to post some of those shots to you soon; I like them a bit more than this one.

Might even have more blossoms to shoot, if they last through the weekend and I can find some more time to shoot them on Monday.

And just for kicks, here's an alternate rendition of the photo. Started with the Aged Photo preset in Lightroom and adjusted to taste. Although I'm not overly impressed with these results, I do need to try other looks like this more often.