Organizing Chaos: Cherry Blossom Season at the Quad

For this outing, I brought the Hasselblad 500c/m up to the University of Washington. I wanted to shoot a slower speed film, Kodak Ektar 100, to get the creamy colors of the blossoms and the backdrop of the older university buildings surrounding the trees.

There were two main challenges to this shoot. First, though I did take a secondary 35mm SLR camera with me, I intended that only as a backup. I wanted to shoot only the Hasselblad. At 12 frames per 120 medium format roll, however, I had to be patient and make every shot count. The second challenge, then, was to make shots count by trying to make order out of the disorder that is the Quad during peak cherry blossom season: hordes of students passing through, stationary tourists, dog walkers, runners, errant frisbees, et cetera, et cetera. The goal was to capture the beauty and stillness of the Quad while simultaneously capturing its energy during this time of year. Below are the results.

It was all about balance in the shot above. You’ll notice how the woman facing the trees on the left sneaks in subtly between the passersby. The couple in the center make for nice subjects: they lean in toward each other, naturally drawing attention. Parallel lines of the grass, walkway, roof, and sky all add layered frames to the shot.

I loved this woman’s brown coat matched with the guy’s pink ball cap. It’s a strange shot for a number of reasons: the color palette and the off-balance frame. But the pole runs parallel with the shot, so it works nicely to divide the frame, emphasizing the subjects.

Again, this shot above is off-balance, but the chaotic stream of students in the background helps to create movement.

I love how the lines in this shot naturally emphasize the photographer as subject. Even though he’s in the foreground, there is a mass of people surrounding him. Follow your eyes from the footpath up to him, then up to the peaked roof, framed nicely by the blossoms.

(Above) Brilliant clothing colors helped to direct some shots.

This (above) was an experiment to see if I could redirect the audience’s eyes up to the left corner of the frame. Did it work? It seems unnatural for me not to first look at the frisbee player in the lower right.

The black outfit and hair gave this subject (above) an anti-fairytale look with contrast too good to pass up. The fabric of the dress and her stare off to the right give it a haunting quality as well.

I think the balance worked nicely in this shot (above). The man on the right in the foreground is matched by the weight of the tree on the left. The two gentlemen in the background create a triangle shape with the tree in the center background.

I put these two in the lower left corner of the frame to imply some sort of secrecy or hidden-away element. It worked well to capture this intimate moment, a shot to the advantage of the Hasselblad, which requires the shooter to look down into the waist-level viewfinder.

I wish I could’ve framed this one closer, but I wanted to get the photographer in the picture as well. The moment, I could tell, was passing quickly. I like the perspective, however: it shows how small people are compared to the trees and buildings surrounding them.