Even though I have lived in Seattle for 14 years, this will be the first year in which I invested the time to visit the Quad at the University of Washington to admire the aesthetic decor of the cherry blossom trees in Spring. It may seem curiously counterintuitive and ironic that as an enthusiast of photographing major cities, I am not always keen on major crowds of people — especially if there is no mandate to be a member of the crowd. As a result, I have often evaded the university in the first two weeks of April. This is when the cherry blossom trees are in their peak of perfection and beauty.
Now that I have seen the trees for myself in person, I can fully understand their seductive allure and why people make their own deliberate, personal pilgrimages from their residences to this specific area of the university. In their totality, the university’s cherry blossoms were concurrently spellbinding, poetic, and romantic, even with all the people present. Some individuals were there for their own photographic opportunities — portraitures, landscapes, etc. Others were there simply to admire the Quad’s enchantment with family members and significant others.
I was there for all of it and more!
I will not use too much prose to describe what I saw. Alas, that’s the wonderful efficacy of photography and this blog! Via La Vue Atypique, I can provide images to share what I experienced when I visited the Quad on several occasions this month.
As a special treat, and in accordance with my ongoing mission to delve fully into timelapse photography this year, please enjoy two different timelapse videos that I recorded of people interacting with the ecosystem of cherry blossom trees.
Enjoy them all!
Here’s a slideshow depicting what I witnessed during my visits to the campus.
Thanks for reading this article. If you enjoyed the timelapse video here, please visit my official website @ www.tia-international-photography.com for an indelible, visual experience.
Absolutely lovely!
Merci bien, mon ami!