Photo Walk: Cherry Blossoms in the Rain

by Apr 18, 2021Photography

Feelings of Spring Captured with a Photo

Every Friday, I try to get out for a short photo walk, often scouting for something that strikes my eye when I take my puppy for his morning stroll. Today, the weather was an epitome of spring in the Pacific Northwest: The rain was falling steadily, coating new buds and blossoms with dewdrops that sparkled in the light shining through the clouds. Cherry blossoms are always my favorite sign of spring, so when I spotted a freshly erupted pink tree across the street, I knew I was going to go back with my camera.

Days like today, I am incredibly thankful for my weatherized Pentax K-3, and the weatherized kit lens that goes with it (18-135mm). They make it so that I am not worried about the wetness falling from the sky ruining my camera. I set my lens to the smallest f-stop (5.6 in this lighting) and zoomed all the way in on the lens in order to emulate my macro lens. The ISO was higher than I normally use, set to 400, in order to balance out the dark shadows under the tree and to keep the shutter speed quick enough to crisply capture the cherry blossoms daintily bouncing in the breeze.

If you look closely, you’ll see some faint white streaks in some of the photos. At first look when processing and picking my favorites, I thought that something was on my lens. It took opening the images up full screen (thank you to my iMac’s massive screen!) to realize that it was actually rain drops streaking past the flowers. My shutter speed was slow enough (about 1/60) to capture the rain falling in motion. However, on a few photos (not shown on this page) I did end up with a bit of “fogginess” from moisture getting on my lens. From now on, I’ll make sure to put a micro-fiber cloth in my pocket for drying my lens. 

Little photo walks like this always bring me such joy, and leave me with a smile on my face. It is a way to connect with the world around me, exploring the little details and beauty that abounds around me.

Happy Spring,

~ZieBee

Camera Notes

Camera: Pentax K-3, with Pentax 18-135mm lens (both are weatherized)

Settings: The f-stop ranged from 5.6 – 7, depending on the lighting. ISO was higher than I usually prefer, set to 400. And the shutter speed was kept around 1/60, sometimes up to 1/100 when the lighting changed. 

Photo Processing: After quickly browsing each and selecting my top 20 favorites, I open all of the RAW images (DNG files) and process them Adobe Photoshop’s Camera Raw program. For these photos, I adjusted a little exposure, contrast, and clarity in order to bring out the depth of detail that I saw with my own eyes. I like to keep editing to the mimimum, unless I’m doing it for an artistic effect. 

Location: Near Mt. Tabor Park, Portland, OR

*Note: All photos are edited to be small and low quality for web viewing, which unfortunately causes pixelating and decrease in quality. 

My Favorite Photos from the Walk

About the Author & Artist

Hello, my name is Mackenzie and I am a multipassionate fusion creative. I love animals, the great outdoors, and creating long lasting, deep connections with the people in my life. It is my goal in life to spread love and laughter, and to help brighten the world one moment at a time. My art, photography, writing, and creative projects bring me great joy to create, curate, and share.

If you have a story to tell, want to start a business, or simply want some new photos taken or new art in your life, please get in touch, I would love to work with you.