appropriations season and some blooms

march 2023 · washington, dc
shot on mamiya c220
cinestill 400d · portra · ilford hp5

I worked in Congress in public policy. That was my day job. But I photographed for a living, in a sense.

Every fiscal year, the House of Representatives is charged with creating the budget for the entire federal government. Congress decides how much to fund, or appropriate to, certain programs in the executive branch. It’s a long and incredible process that typically begins in the spring - the busiest time of the year in Washington, DC. Not to mention, one of the prettiest times of the year with the blooms all over town: cherry blossoms, magnolias, tulips, redbuds, you name it.

At the time, I was a hybrid employee, based in Miami and traveling to DC on occasion, mostly during busy times, for example, appropriations season. That year, to my fortune, the dates I was tapped to fly up to the District lined up quite nicely with the peak week for the annual cherry blossoms. It was incredible that, in my second year living back in Miami, after a decade in DC, that I had not missed peak bloom since I first moved to DC so damn long ago. I had caught them the year before on a weekender with my wife and daughter. 

March always is unpredictable, weather-wise, and this one seemed to follow the script. One morning it was sunny and hot, the next cold and dreary, and it flip-flopped all week. No matter - I took my Mamiya around town, locked in countless miles of walking, and brought back four rolls.