2023 spring blossom retrospective

92 photos of trees in flower, just because

Shot on a Sony a5100 with a Helios 44-2

The flowers on the fruit trees are fading, so it's time for me to show you a retrospective of some of the many photos I've taken of blossom this spring. The RHS suggested in mid-February that we were due a good year for blossom, and anecdotally that seems to have been true. Just a few weeks ago I got into conversations with 4 strangers in 48 hours about cherry and wisteria blooms—something that maybe I'm amazed I'm doing, since I didn't really start paying attention to plants until a couple of years ago.

I'm going to keep this relatively minimal on commentary, and focus on the pretty pictures, since that's what you're probably here for. There are 92 of them (+1 bonus.)

2. February

First blush

Two cherry trees in early blossom, one slightly barer and pinker from the other, reach for a deep blue sky with wispy cirrus clouds. — Shot on Fujifilm Superia X-tra 400, developed & scanned by Analogue Films

A tree with white blossom on its otherwise bare branches hangs in front of a river on a blue, sunny day, with the opposite bank (reflected in the water) being golden-brown, bare vegetation. The flowers are lit from behind and seem to sparkle. — Shot on Fujifilm Superia X-tra 400, developed & scanned by Analogue Films

Shot on Ektachrome 100, developed & scanned by Analogue Films

3. March

False starts

A red bicycle on a kickstand in front of a bridge with the sun setting behind boughs laden with white blossom. A runner heads away from camera on the bridge while two walkers come the other way. — Shot on an iPhone 13 Pro in RAW mode

Shot on Portra 800, developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

At a jaunty angle, a bunch of trees spawn white cherry blossom that seems to be on fire in the sun, offset against the grey cladding of the apartment buildings behind. — Shot on Portra 800, developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

A child on a bicycle rides along a path over a mound between two rows of trees, festooned with blossom and starting to come into green. — Shot on Portra 800, developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

The sun emerges from behind a fluffy white cloud behind a tree whose bare branches are starting to pop with pastel-pink coloured flowers. — Shot on Portra 800, developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

A person with sunglasses and curly hair takes a photograph of pink blossom with their phone which is on a street against a brick wall. The sun is bright behind a gap in the wall. The top of a black people carrier is visible. — Shot on Portra 160 (exposed at 100), developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

4. April

The thieves are out as the buds boom

White cherry blossom on a tree looking up at a blue sky with fluffy clouds, the flowers feathered with white sunlight — Shot on Portra 400 (exposed at 200), developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

Shot on Ektar 100, developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

On a white cherry tree in front of some pine trees, a parakeet walks along a branch, pecking away away clumps of blossom as they go. — Thief sighted. Shot on Portra 400 (exposed at 200), developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

At the juncture of two branches from a tree trunk, a parakeet steals some white blossom with pink centres. A pink-orange light leak falls across the lefthand third of the image. — Shot on Ektar 100, developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

Tiny delicate white blossom flowers on a bare bush, defocused, with an orange light leak across the left third of the image. — Shot on Velvia 100, developed & scanned by Analogue Wonderland

Shot on Velvia 100, developed & scanned by Analogue Wonderland

White-pink blossom on a warm, sunny evening, cast in golden orange, exalts to the sky, with branches criss-crossing delightfully. — Shot on Velvia 100, developed & scanned by Analogue Wonderland

Backlit white blossom flowers against an apartment building with grey cladding. — Shot on Velvia 100, developed & scanned by Analogue Wonderland

Shot on Ilford FP4, developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

Shot on Portra 400 (exposed at 200), developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

A street, Cruikshank Road, with a row of terraced houses, a narrow pavement, and a fenced off green area. Two trees are in a full and vivid white blossom which is lit from behind by the sun in an almost monastic glory. — Shot on Portra 400 (exposed at 200), developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

Tiny, sparse pink-white blossom flowers swirl against the backdrop of a harsh sun. — Shot on a Sony a5100 with a Helios 44-2

A brick block of flats with concrete balconies. A tree in a fluffy pink blossom, lit by golden-hour sun, creeps towards the balconies. — Shot on Fujifilm Superia X-tra 400 (exposed at 200), developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

Shot on Fujifilm Superia X-tra 400 (exposed at 200), developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

A blossom tree hangs down over a dark yellow portaloo, with graffiti on the door saying "ANTIFA". — Shot on UltraMax 400, developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

Boughs of a tree laden with white blossom that's starting to go over. Staring into the cloudy sky, we can see a half moon. — Shot on UltraMax 400, developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

Through the hanging branches of a beech tree with fresh red-orange leaves, we see another tree with glorious white blossom which blooms against the blue sky. — Shot on CineStill 400D, developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

Shot on CineStill 400D, developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

Small children run and play in a field towards a plum tree in a full reddish-pink-sorbet colour blossom. — Shot on CineStill 400D, developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

Bright white blossom flowers with a faint pink light leak vertically down the image. — Shot on CineStill 400D, developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

5. May

The slow end... for now

View down a residential street with a blossom tree that's starting to go over, with leaves replacing where browning flowers once were. The pavement is covered in pink petals. — Shot on Portra 400, developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

Shot on Orwo Wolfen NC500, developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

A woman on a blue bicycle cycles past a filtered pedestrianised area chock-full of trees that have their blossom going over on an evening with a warm brown cast. — Shot on Orwo Wolfen NC500, developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

A brick wall at the side of a house and garden with the golden hour sun's shadow cast sharply across it. A green bicycle with blue panniers stands on its kickstand on the pavement. There are pink petals everywhere—on the carriageway, on the pavement, and it's glorious but feels a little sad and deflated. — Shot on Orwo Wolfen NC500, developed & scanned by Rapid Eye

And with that, spring blossom season draws to a close. It's been a long one, and I know it sounds trite, but it truly is wonderful to pay attention to the world around us hewing itself to be ready for another summer. You can easily see why viewing cherry blossom is practically a national tradition in Japan.

Now, as for what's next...

A woman with a patterned navy-and-white coat, red trousers, and blonde hair, rides a blue bike past a house with a spectacular wisteria which seems to have exploded across a vast expanse of the wall, purple flowers raining down over the doorway and the pavement.