Shooting Sakura.

"Let's make it 5 o'clock instead of 6."

My uncle invited me to accompany him to shoot the Cherry Blossoms in early April. As we set up our cameras, more and more photographers appeared from the darkness, taking their positions between the cherry blossoms, all eyes on the Tidal Basin and the Jefferson Memorial sitting just across.

I don't know how many times I've watched the sun set in D.C.  This was the first time I watched it rise.

It grew crowded quickly and tempers flared as photographers bumped elbows.

At work.

If you're in the right spot, you can watch the sun rise at Jefferson's feet. Minute by minute, we watched the light evolve as the sun inched its way skyward.

Asian hilarity. Good luck with that model release. Oh wait...

The model's real entourage.

We capped off eight hours of shooting in proper fashion, with a good burger and a cold beer, a ritual that started on a fly fishing trip between third and fourth grade. My first trout, my first real burger, and now my first sunrise by the monuments and cherry blossoms. You never forget your first...