SakuraWatch 2007: The First Shoot
Things are really looking good at the park right now. The Santa Anas are blowing in warm air and desert dust, but sweeping the clouds out of the sky. All in all, it was a pretty good weekend to do some shooting. Which is exactly what slave_to_anime, chase_the_bunny, talonomega, kamuishirou1999, and the other kameko of i360 along with photo whores such as myself, scruffyrebel, sana_chan, richiied, rurouni_jedi, and solaria.
I hammed it up in front of the cameras, but I managed to snap a few pictures myself, so I could keep you apprised of the state of the sakura.
As you can see, it was a lovely day. The trees were full of blossoms. Unlike last year, the blooming of the trees seems to be staggered a bit more, so rather than everything blooming as once, it seems like the blooming will be spaced out a bit more. Which, hopefully, will make the photographable flowering period a bit longer this year.
There are a couple of different areas of trees, of different ages and different looks. Some are sparser than others, but a decent photographer can still get a good picture.
Flowers EVERYWHERE! Just kidding. But plenty enough flowers to make for nice pictures!
scruffyrebel looks "sassy" for the camera.
Ah, the beautiful, sexy, love of my life!
i360 were in full effect on Sunday! They got there bright and early and stayed through sunburn and heatstroke to get some great photos! I'm sure they will be posting their shots soon.
We got a few shots in the dirt parking lot, which looks a little like a desert scene. chase_the_bunny wisely dressed all in black.
Taking a gander at the sakura was what slave-to-anime had on his mind.
talonomega is the designated petal pusher for a shot of scruffyrebel. After all, you can't properly enjoy the flowers without destroying a few hundred of them and angering half a hive of bees in the process!
This shot makes me chuckle because it looks like slave-to-anime is a little kid. Or scruffyrebel is a giantess.
If cherry blossoms aren't your thing, here are a few more shots of the crazy bamboo growing along the creek. Now with a nerd in the pictures, for scale!
As I mentioned previously, the bamboo was of a pretty impressive density and length. They'd be great for ninja photos and the like. And what's even better, they're not as short-lived as the sakura, so you don't have to rush to get pictures with them.
scruffyrebel looks like she's about to get clobbered by a tidal wave of bamboo. Surf's up!
There are gaps in the bamboo, too, so you can go in between and take surrounded-by-bamboo shots.
Consider yourself informed!
I think the park looks great right now. So much so that I'd consider going to the park tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday) to do some photoshooting if anyone wants pictures. This would be good for those of you who live nearby and are too busy on the weekend. Also, there are bound to be a lot fewer people at the park on a Tuesday afternoon, which will make photography easier on everyone (and less embarrassing for cosplay, if that sort of thing concerns you).
So if you want a photoshoot with me at the park tomorrow, let me know as soon as possible. I should be free by about 2 PM, and the sun should be up until around 7 PM. Weather forecast is totally clear skies, temperatures in the high-70s, low-80s.
There might also be a chance that I will be available to do photos Tuesday afternoon of next week, too.