Story Behind Image

The Hunter /  by Todd Henson

The Hunter. Happy Halloween!

With Halloween just a few days away I thought I’d share a photo that seems appropriate given the season. I apologize to those who have a rocky relationship with spiders! :-)

Most of the photos I create are out in parks of one kind or another. But sometimes I find willing subjects right at home. I stepped outside one afternoon in early September and found this hairy-looking tan jumping spider crawling on the brick wall beside my door. It didn’t seem very disturbed by my presence. If anything it seemed a little curious, so I tried to capture a few photographs. The angle was a challenge because of its location. You can see how the focus fades on the left side of the frame. This is because I had to angle my camera just a bit to position it well enough to get the spider in focus.

I decided a black and white rendition might be more dramatic in this circumstance, so I converted and processed it in Lightroom Classic. There wasn’t a lot of post-processing required, mostly lightening the spider and darkening the red bricks. I’ve included the original color version below for those who’re curious.

The Hunter in Color

I know this may be a strange Halloween given the current pandemic, but I hope you’re able to enjoy it, just the same. Stay safe out there!

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Creekside in Autumn /  by Todd Henson

Creekside in Autumn

In late September I spent a couple hours wandering beside a short section of stream in a nearby park. We had rain the evening before so the ground, rocks, and trees were still wet, and the area had that wonderful smell you find in these environments. The stream was slowly and softly flowing, creating a soothing background music, very calming. For the most part I was alone with the stream, my thoughts, and of course, my camera and tripod.

Wandering back and forth along the bank of the stream, I considered the different scenes within my view. I only had one lens with me, the 105mm macro, so I was focusing in on smaller sections of each scene. This was really the first time I’d gone out photographing in quite some time and I was just trying to slowly absorb the scenery and create images along the way.

I didn’t notice this scene right away. It took me time, exploring what was there, before I really began to see. I found I liked the reflections of the rocks, and of the one larger tree, and the lighter colors of the leaves as the light shone through, especially when reflected in the water. I tried several angles and perspectives and kept coming back to this one.

The sky was covered in clouds, so the light was soft but still illuminating sections of leaves, and this was all reflected in the water which was slowly flowing downstream. By closing down my aperture to f/22 I was able to slow the shutter speed to 2 seconds, long enough to make the water appear more calm and more reflective. I didn’t have a polarizer with me, otherwise I might have tried that, as well.

This is a scene I plan to return to, perhaps as leaves continue changing color, maybe at different times of the day. I’m considering bringing my waterproof boots and wading into the creek if it’s not too deep to play with more perspectives, ones I was unwilling to explore with the boots I had on that day.

I really enjoy this small portion of the park. It’s off a short trail with, perhaps, far less to see than the majority of trails. And because of this it tends to be less frequented, and when folks do try it they often don’t spend much time there. This gives me more quiet time to explore and contemplate this wonderful little piece of the forest. Perhaps I’ll find even more worth photographing and sharing.

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Bridge Over the Channel /  by Todd Henson

Bridge Over the Channel: The Francis Case Memorial Bridge over the Washington Channel

This photo came about during a trip into Washington, DC, to view the cherry blossoms early one spring. My brother and I had travelled into DC many times over the years viewing and photographing cherry blossoms, and so for this trip we decided to look for cherry blossoms in an area we’d yet to explore, East Potomac Park. The park is located on a finger of land surrounded by the Potomac River and the Washington Channel, and is just outside the typical circuit route popular with most cherry blossom viewers.

You have to pass under a couple bridges to get to the majority of the park, and one of those is the Francis Case Memorial Bridge, over which 395 spans from Virginia into DC. I often find bridges, and particularly their underside, fascinating, and this one was no different. So I paused briefly and composed some photographs before moving on to the rest of the park and the cherry blossoms.

I like the symmetry you often find with bridges. And with this one I was drawn to the slightly lit undersides of the metal beams, lit from sunlight reflected from the water below. I did lighten them further in post-processing to help bring out some of what I’d been drawn to, the light and shadow, the patterns of the parallel lines occasionally crossed by the horizontal supports. And I liked the variety of tones to the stones of the support columns.

A lesson that was reinforced this day is that even when you go out with a specific goal in mind, such as photographing cherry blossoms, always keep your eyes open to other possibilities. You never know what you may find.

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