barn

Down in the Valley by Todd Henson

Down in the Valley, a view of a farm amongst the foliage.

Shenandoah National Park is a beautiful place, bounding parts of the Blue Ridge Mountains and crossed its entire length from north to south by Skyline Drive. Within the park you’ll find wildlife of all sorts, lovely streams and waterfalls, and many mountains to climb whose peaks provide fantastic views of the surrounding landscape.

But another pull of the park is the perspective it gives on the communities below. With a telephoto lens you can zoom in on smaller details in the larger landscape, perhaps finding a red barn at the end of an open field surrounded by trees awash in the colors of autumn. What sort of farm is this? The field is full of large rocks, not likely suitable for planting crops. There’s a stone wall around the property. Perhaps they raise animals. Cows, goats or sheep.

And what of the buildings on either side? Are they part of the same property or nearby neighbors? What else might be there, hidden by the trees? Surely a road. Perhaps other smaller buildings.

It’s fun to speculate sometimes, building stories from the scenes we find. And that’s also what we hope some photographs might do, tell stories. Though what those stories might be may vary from one viewer to the next.


Do you enjoy these posts?

Sign up to receive periodic emails with updates and thoughts. Don’t worry, I won’t spam you. And please consider purchasing artwork or products from my online store, and using my affiliate links in the sidebar to the right when shopping online.

I appreciate your support!