Just to make things clear, this photo posted today was taken two years ago when I went to High Park during the cherry blossom/sakura peak season. To demonstrate the difference of taking cherry blossom photos during peak season and not during peak season, I thought I’d post a couple photos that I’ve taken in previous years.
In yesterday’s post, I listed some quick tips on how best to take photos of cherry blossoms. I mentioned that the peak time for photos only lasts for a few days at most. Further, these flowers are very fragile so if rain is in the forecast, it’s best to go before it falls.
This first photo above may look like a pretty picture with the full blooms of cherry blossoms, but what catches my eyes the most are the spots of green scattered throughout the flowers. These green leaves signal the end of the cherry blossoms as they’ve reached their maturity. You don’t see too many leaves here, but if you look at all the trees lined up along the path, and all of them have spots of green in them, they will become quite noticeable.
Now, let’s look at the photo below.
Besides the fact that the lighting is slightly darker—this photo was taken as the sun was setting—you can see that it is a sea of white and pink. There is very little green in sight, allowing you to enjoy the full beauty of the cherry blossoms. It’s sights like this that you will want to see.
The only complaint I would have with this scene is that there aren’t enough flowers to cover the branches! If you’ve ever seen photos of the cherry blossoms in peak season in Japan, you’ll notice that the number of flowers literally cover any sight of branches. It’s truly a spectacle over there.
Sakura Peak Season at High Park
This year, it looks as though the peak at High Park will fall on a weekday—likely around wednesday or thursday. If you’re in the area, be sure to visit. If you’re able to walk to the park, that’s highly recommended since traffic and parking tend to be packed during this time of year.
And most importantly, abide by the rule: no climbing the trees!