Cherry Blossom "Litter" (click for larger view)

I took a few trips to DC this year hoping to catch even more photos of the cherry blossoms (like I don't have enough already). The scenes in our nation's capital this time of year are one of my favorite things. Alas, the weather didn't cooperate very well for my plans as I hit mostly cloudy and foggy mornings and never got the beautiful, colorful sunrise I was shooting for. The last day I went up was the exact peak of bloom. I spent more of the 5 hours exploring and looking for different shots with a few friends.

However, even though the trip was for the trees, this non-tree photo ended up being one of my favorite shots from the day.

When I go to shoot a scenic location I get (too) easily consumed pursuing the perfect shot, watching alignments, lighting, and composition in the scenes around me. I frequently forget to slow down, take a seat, and just enjoy the moment without the camera in front of my eyes.

There were some empty benches neat the FDR Memorial along the tidal basin this particular morning and I ended up having a seat for a few moments. When I looked down, the "litter" on my shoes told me a story.
I could see the entire morning and environment written on the brown leather; walking through the wet grass, remains of the blossoms clinging to my shoes with tiny petals all around, almost like a light blanket of snow across the grass and sidewalks if you squinted your eyes. That entire trip, all 4+ miles that I walked, summarized right there in less than two feet.

Of course, seeing this meant I had to pick up the camera and "ruin" the moment :)