There are cherry blossom trees in Jackson Park around the Columbian Basin just south of the Museum of Science and Industry. They have been there for several years now, but I have not always gone to see them, and the conditions here in Chicago have not always been great for the best blooms. Timing a visit is also a factor.

Either my timing was bad, or the blossoming was not great, as the trees did not look all that impressive on this visit. I have never gone to Japan, Washington DC, or anywhere else where people have cherry blossom tree viewing events. Chicago is not known for that so I do not have experience in this. I have seen some amazing pictures of blooms on the web, but amazing this was not.

The trees are not planted very densely. There were no pink flowers either. As the scene was not very impressive I decided to go with a monochrome look and opened the lens aperture all the way for a more abstract look. Manually focusing on a small flower moving in the wind with a rangefinder was proving difficult for my aging eyes so these images are not all that great either. But I made the trip over there so I was not leaving without a few shots. These three are the ones I like the most. None of them are very satisfactory. I will have to try again next year.

Please let me know what tips you may have on getting the most out of the annual blossoms.

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