Pohang Cherry Blossoms

There are about two truly great months to be in Korea.  One is the first month of spring, usually April or May, and one is the last month of summer, usually September and October.  The weather is awesome, the sky is blue, there's never that much rain, the nights are cool, it's basically perfect.  Spring is great because there are like a billion flowers that explode all over Pohang and paint the town yellow, white, pink, purple, and red.  The big thing here are the cherry blossoms that last for only a week or two, but bloom everywhere.  We're right in the thick of them now, and Sara and I headed out to take some pictures in all that beauty.  There's a neighborhood here called Jigok that feels like a suburb in California, with open parks, lots of trees, a pond, even ranch style houses, and that's where we headed to eat lunch and take some pictures.  I also picked up a new lens, a Nikon 105mm 2.8d, an awesome macro/telephoto that's great for close-ups and pretty good for portraits as well.  This first set is just pictures of me and Sara, so if you're not my mother or Sara's mother, maybe not so interesting.  As always, here's 10 pictures and some foolish comments.

After 4 months inside, it's so nice to be back out in the sunshine.

It's still pretty early in the cherry blossom season.  In a couple weeks all of the blossoms will fall off the tree at the slightest touch.

Looking good Poe.  Love those sunglasses.

Using the wide angle to get a couple shot.  

The yellow in some of these pictures comes from putting a plastic bag painted yellow with a permanent marker over the camera lens.  A neat trick if you've got some permanent markers lying around.

Look at how happy we are to be outside!

Away from the cherry blossoms and into the bamboo forest.

Somehow we managed to take a few pictures without a dozen or so people in the background, that was the real magic of the day.

Couples set.  Another one with the plastic bag over the lens.  High-tech stuff we get up to here in Pohang.

Last one of my new haircut.  The next set will be mostly pretty flowers and close-ups with the macro lens.  Aren't you excited?  I'm excited.