Mostly Photos

Passing Petals /  by Todd Henson

Walking by I notice a bit of color on a green leaf, fallen petals from a wild geranium.

Most often I seek to photograph flowers in their prime, looking for those perfect specimens with beautifully shaped petals, full of color and life. But there is also plenty of beauty to be found in the latter stages of a flower’s existence, when its petals have faded, wilted, perhaps even fallen.

The season has passed, its time is done, a white trillium with wilted petals.

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Blue Ridge Texture /  by Todd Henson

Blue Ridge Texture

Very near the white trilliums I spoke of in a previous post, I found this section of cliffside along Skyline Drive, the road over top the Blue Ridge Mountains in Shenandoah National Park. Something about the color and texture drew my attention, as often happens with this sort of scene, busy as it is. The day began overcast and ended in storms, and this photo was created in that brief moment of transition between the two.

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First Eastern Gartersnake of 2023 /  by Todd Henson

On April 2nd while hiking Seven Bends State Park in Virginia my father sighted our first Eastern gartersnake of the year. It was resting just off the trail on some leaves. He said he might not have seen it if we hadn’t been actively looking for Virginia bluebells and that while scanning the edge of the trail he noticed the coiled snake. He called me over and I created a couple photos.

The photo below was the first photo I created, looking down on the snake, trying to get something quickly in case the snake fled. This is nice in that it shows how the snake can blend into the scene. Look closely and you might notice at least a couple boxelder bugs.

First view of an Eastern gartersnake in 2023

Then I got down low to get closer to eye level with the snake. I love the added intimacy of these sorts of views. Getting low and close with a macro lens helps simplify the scene by blurring out the background, really focusing the viewers attention on the snake, and in particular the eye of the snake.

Eye to eye with an Eastern gartersnake

Unfortunately, shortly after I created the photo above the snake slithered away into the leaves. I always hate it when I scare away a subject, but as slow and quiet and respectful as I try to be, it does sometimes happen.

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