However, right now Iwakuni is in the peak of cherry blossom season, the tiny whitish-pinkish flower that blooms for only a couple of weeks (at most) during the spring in Japan. Japanese tourists from miles around go to prime sakura (cherry blossom) blooming spots around the country to enjoy the blossoms and take photographs... lots and lots of photographs. I knew that I would be asked by my American family and friends about cherry blossoms, and even though I am not really a pink flower person, I figured I'd better go take some pictures since the Kintai Bridge in Iwakuni is one of the major hot spots to enjoy sakuras. My Dad, especially, I think, would be disappointed if I neglected the skills my photojournalism degree afforded me. He's the one who has still not forgiven me for not crawling through a long, dirty drainage culvert from our housing track in to the cemetery when Nicole Simpson was buried in the early 1990's. I was in high school at the time, yet I still had a sense that trespassing on a tragic victim's funeral wasn't a moral decision I could live with. But, then again, I may have been able to sell the photos and pay for college instead of taking out student loans. I can see Dad's point. But I digress...
So, Friday morning, I headed off to the Kintai Bridge, which is about 15 minutes from base, and got the required photographs. Of cherry blossoms. Not Nicole Simpson. It was cloudy, but since my original plan had been to take the whole family the day the kids had off of school on Wednesday, but rain ruined that, I decided to just go for it even though the skies weren't blue.
I, possessing a photojournalist's mind, had to have some people in some of the photos, even though this was more of a landscape photography opportunity. But, again, with that moral issue I have (one of the few, really...) I didn't know where I was going to post these photos, so I tried not to show any faces where you could identify the person. I took 135 photos in 40 minutes. I'm more of a speed photographer, which is why photojournalism fit me well. Either you get the shot of the exploding building while it is exploding, or you might as well not even show up on the scene. And then you have a deadline to make, so there's no fooling around. Part of the reason I did not pursue a career in photography is that I do not have the patience to set up equipment, wait for the right lighting, take 20 shots of the same thing, only each with small lighting (f-stop) or composition (moving the camera so the image in the viewfinder has tiny changes, more tree there, less water there) changes, etc. And I got my degree before Photoshop was something that was taught as part of the photography curriculum, so my "digital photo editing" skills are amateurish and I have not devoted the time necessary to really get good at it. But I can dodge, burn and mix chemicals like a pro. I am dating myself, but I do miss spending time in the dark room. But again, I digress...
Here are my favorite photos from Jessica's Great Kintai Cherry Blossom Photography Excursion (click on the photo to make it larger):
I did ask these people in the photo below if it was OK for me to take their photo, to show you a Japanese picnic, and, clearly, they were OK with it. They even offered me a beer. Sadly, I do not care for beer, or I might have taken them up on it so I could try and talk them in to giving me some of the wonderful-smelling meat they had cooking. Please note the peace signs. Japanese people always hold up peace signs in photos. I don't know why. I have asked them why they do this, and the ones I have asked don't know, either. The photojournalist in me needs answers, so I will keep asking...
And in honor of the annual sakura bloom, I made fruit pizza... and served it on the four blue sakura dessert plates I got at the base thrift store for 50 cents.
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