trees

Two Views of Huntley Meadows Woodlands by Todd Henson

Most often when we visit Huntley Meadows I focus most of my attention on the wetlands and all the life that thrives there. But this particular morning in mid to late October I was drawn to the trees of the forest that surround the wetlands. It was early morning, the sun was above the horizon but not yet high enough to shine directly into the woods, so the scene had a very soft look, one I attempted to capture in the photograph below. Click on the photo for a larger view.

Soft Light of Morning

Some leaves had fallen, but there were many still on the trees, shrubs and vines, some changing color, though not a great many. I liked the soft even lighting that illuminated as far into the trees as we could see, and all that green intermixed with the brown lines of the trees. I have often found these sorts of busy scenes very difficult to photograph, and yet I found myself drawn to this one.

A couple hours later, after visiting the wetlands, we found ourselves once again in the woods on the way back to the car. The sun had risen and was now shining bright and contrasty light through the trees, lighting up the leaves and illuminating strips of grass, as seen below.

Woodland Highlights

I found this scene just as interesting as the one above, though they have a very different feel. The woods had a very different feel. The changing angle of the sun will do that, and it’s nice to be there to see it and turn it into a series of photographs. I hope you enjoy them.


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!


A Canopy in Green by Todd Henson

A Canopy in Green

I’ve mentioned before how I enjoy pausing to look up when hiking through the woods and today’s photograph is another example of why this is. There’s so much beauty out there and some of it is directly above us. In this case we’re looking up into the green canopy of what I believe to be a black walnut tree along the trails of Caledon State Park in Virginia. I just love all the shades of green, and the patterns of the branches and leaves. I get lost in these scenes and can only hope the photo might affect you similarly.

Exposure is always a challenge with this sort of photograph when making a single frame. There’s a large dynamic range and trying to show details in the shadows without blowing out highlights is not always easy or possible, though I feel this photograph is a nice balance between the two. And thank you, Alex, for our talks of glowing greens. I believe this photograph benefited from them.

I encourage you to look up once in a while when out hiking, whether out in the woods or even in the city. You never know when what’s above you might be just as interesting as what’s below.


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!


Beginning of Spring in Shenandoah National Park by Todd Henson

Mountains as seen from Skyline Drive

I realized this year how great a location the mountains can be for observing the signs of seasonal transitions. My folks and I were on a day trip and decided to drive over part of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. This is the north-south road through the park and provides lots of views of the mountains and down into the valleys. We picked a fortunate time to visit in early spring when most of the trees at higher elevations were bare but at lower elevations you could see lines of color of new leaf growth. I would love to see a time lapse movie of this process as the new green growth moves its way up the sides of the mountains.

New leaf growth moving up the mountains

An alternate, vertical, view of the first image showing the new green growth moving up the slopes

I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief observation of the transition from winter to spring.


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!