South Fork Quantico Creek, October 2021 /  by Todd Henson

South Fork Quantico Creek (Downstream), October 2021

The Story

Last year I visited the South Fork of Quantico Creek in Prince William Forest Park towards the end of October when most of the leaves were yellow, orange or brown. This year I decided to visit the same location at the beginning of October when almost all the leaves were still green, though a small number had changed color and fallen to the ground and water below.

I had actually left work early and visited this location a couple days prior. At that time I noticed the greenery on the floor of the creek, mostly concentrated where the flow was strongest as it went over rocks. The water level was very low and perhaps that’s why I could see this greenery when I hadn’t in the past. So I returned a couple days later with my camera and tripod and set about looking for compositions that would capture the green below the surface of the creek.

In the end I created two photographs I’m pleased with. One is facing downstream, similar to the photograph last year, though from a slightly different position and perspective. The lower water level also alters the scene a bit, as does the color of the leaves. Here the green of the trees works well with the green below the surface, and the yellow and orange leaves on the rocks and in the water are an added bonus.

I had on my waterproof (or at least water resistant) boots which let me wade into the shallower water. I did have to be careful to find spots with enough sand or small rocks to give me a decent footing. These creeks usually flow over areas of shale-like rock and it can become extremely slippery, and I’ve fallen before so I’m trying not to fall again (thankfully I didn’t fall this time around).

South Fork Quantico Creek (Upstream), October 2021

Technical Trivia

If you’re at all curious about the technical aspects of these photographs, they are actually very similar to those of last year’s image. I was shooting with my 16-35 mm lens at 16mm. I was using my Singh-Ray LB Warming Circular Polarizing filter on the lens to control reflections on both the water and the leaves, with the nice side effect of saturating the colors just a bit and slowing the shutter speed.

For the downstream image I used an aperture of f/11 at ISO 100 with a shutter speed of 1 second, which smoothed out the water and blurred the underwater greenery as it was swaying back and forth quite a bit.

Upstream there was more light falling on the rocks and some of the trees, which made capturing a decent exposure slightly more challenging. I decided to create multiple images at different exposures, which I’d later blend together in software.

I had originally wanted to capture some detail in the underwater greenery, which would have required faster shutter speeds, but in the end I preferred the look of these longer exposures.

For post-processing I imported the photographs into Adobe Lightroom and went through my typical processing steps, which entail adjustments to exposure, highlights, shadows, white points, black points, and various other settings. I also did a lot of localized dodging and burning to lighten and darken different areas.

As mentioned above, the upstream scene had a higher dynamic range due to more light hitting the rocks and trees, so I’d shot multiple images at different exposures and merged those together into a single high dynamic range (HDR) image. I processed the HDR in a very natural way, working to keep details in the lighter and darker areas.

Thoughts

My overall goal for both images was to bring attention to the greens and the little bit of autumn color but also keep the scene looking as natural and real as possible. I wanted you to feel that early autumnal anticipation, to hear the rhythmic sounds of the water flowing over the rocks, to feel the light breeze against your face and breath in that wonderful scent of the forest, and perhaps to feel the cool water on your feet as it quickly flows downstream. I love this section of creek, and I’m hoping you can feel that when you view these photographs.

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Moss and Lichen on the Forest Floor /  by Todd Henson

Moss and lichen on the forest floor

Photographing through a macro lens can affect how we see. We may begin to notice smaller details in the scene before us, and find that even when we get very close there’s still an incredibly rich expanse seemingly hidden within such a tiny sliver of space. Of course, capturing what we’re seeing and feeling is another matter entirely.

While hiking trails through the forest in early summer my eyes kept moving to the rich diversity of moss and lichen in various locations. So I picked out one with a mix of color and texture and set to finding a composition. I’ve always struggled with this sort of photograph. What is the subject? There’s so much going on, and yet it’s exactly that complexity that drew my attention. So I tried to include as much of the color and texture as I could. I don’t know what those rust-red things are but I love how they stand out amongst the various shades of green, because of both their color and shape.

Looking back on it now I see things I perhaps could have done better at the time. I’m a photographer who naturally leans towards creating images with shallow depth of field. But an image like this seems to benefit from great depth of field. I knew this so I intentionally stopped down the aperture to capture more of the scene in focus. In this case I used an aperture of f/25, which on a typical wide angle lens might have done the trick. But when you get very close to a subject with a macro lens it becomes increasingly difficult to get everything in focus even with the aperture stopped way down. Granted, with this lens I could have stopped down more, but I’m not sure if it would have been sufficient.

So, what could I have done to increase the depth of field to make everything in the photograph appear in focus? Possibly nothing directly in camera. But I could have used a technique called focus stacking where I create multiple images of the same scene in the field, adjusting the focus just a bit for each image until I’ve captured the entire depth of the scene. Then when I get home I import all the photos into Photoshop and stack them together. Photoshop works its magic, picking the sharpest parts of each image and combining them all into one final, hopefully fully focused image.

I’m still pleased with this image. It shows some of the diversity of tiny life in a forest, and how there’s often so much more there than we typically see. But I also like to analyze my efforts so I can learn and grow, both in techniques like focus stacking, and in the more artistic side of how best to compose such an image. I find the artistic side the most challenging, and one I’m still working on, so today I chose to talk about the more technical side.

If you have any thoughts or suggestions, whether technical or artistic, I’d be happy to hear them in the comments below.

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Quarterly Look Back - 3rd Quarter 2021 /  by Todd Henson

And so we’ve made it through the 3rd quarter of 2021. One more quarter to go and we’ll be in 2022. I’m not sure I can associate much meaning to all that, other than we’re still here plugging along, hopefully living the best life we can. And there’s certainly something to be said for that. So on that (hopefully) positive note let’s take a look back at the quarter.

Photography

I feel relatively good about the quarter when it comes to photography. My father and I went on many hikes, at least in the first half or more of the quarter. We did slow down more recently, but I’m hopeful we’ll be able to start getting out again soon. The weather is certainly becoming more pleasant. Looking back it appears the majority of my photography was of smaller subjects like flowers and insects (and that one fantastic newt).

Below are links back to this quarter’s posts. Check them out if you missed any or just want to revisit.

Field Notes Updates

Cardinals Nesting in the Blueberries

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

Snowberry Clearwing Moth

Broad-headed Sharpshooter

Bright and Beautiful Berries

Mostly Photos

Six Views of Mexican Primrose

Cabbage White on Thistle

Photo Failures

Lesson Learned with Opteka Fisheye Lens

Random Thoughts

Green on Green

Story Behind Image

A Scintillating Spider Web

Trip Report

Boardwalk Birding

First Visit to Voorhees Nature Preserve

Variations on a Theme

Mid-May Blooms

Reading

I feel like I’ve really been in a reading groove for a while now, constantly reading something, and most often enjoying what I’m reading. I’ve heard of some folks who’ve run into reading slumps, and I certainly understand that and have experienced it, but thankfully not recently. Below is a look at the books I read (or listened to in the case of audiobooks).

The books I consumed this quarter (paper, ebook, and audio).

This quarter didn’t have quite as many really standout books, but it had many great ones with my favorites described below.

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

My favorite read of the quarter is a rather unusual zombie apocalypse sort of story. I’d have thought by now I’d be tired of anything related to zombies, not being as much of a zombie fanatic as some folks. But this book caught me by surprise, with the main protagonist a domesticated crow named S.T. (short for Shit Turd). We see the fall of humanity through its eyes. What a wild ride, full of humor and horror, and a great read for folks who enjoy reading about nature and animals, wild and domestic. I look forward to the sequel, Feral Creatures. Thanks for Tammy over at Books, Bones & Buffy for keeping me interested enough to finally read this one.

A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

A found family science fiction story of the best kind, set on an old ship, the Wayfarer, used to tunnel wormholes between systems, establishing transportation routes. Rosemary Harper joins the crew, running from her past and hoping no one will find out, and throughout the story learns what it means to really become part of a family, even if not bound by blood. I loved the characters, each with a distinct personality, each with their own quirks, and each adding something meaningful to the story. This was similar in some ways to the show, Firefly, so if you enjoyed that there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy this book. There are several sequels and I’m looking forward to spending more time in this universe.

Dead Space by Kali Wallace

Another book set in space, but this one deals with an investigator trying to solve a murder on a space station. She shouldn’t be involved as the victim was her friend, and before being murdered he’d reached out to her saying he’d uncovered something. But she managed to get herself assigned to the case and now she has to find out what he’d uncovered and who would have killed him to cover it up. If she can survive that long.

The Body Scout by Lincoln Michel

I won a copy of The Body Scout through a goodreads giveaway. The futuristic story of a baseball scout, Kobo, falling on hard times, trying to make ends meet and pay off his medical bills for all the body enhancements and upgrades he’s gotten over the years, many during the time he actually played baseball. Then his friend J.J. Zunz, whose family adopted him when younger, and who plays in the major league, dies a gruesome death on the ball field. Kobo believes it wasn’t an accident and is determined to find out who murdered his brother. Though I’m not a big baseball fan I still thoroughly enjoyed this story. It’s a bit of a gruesome future, but a fascinating one, nonetheless.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

I fell in love with the movie Blade Runner when it came out back in 1982. Later I learned it was based on a book by Philip K. Dick called Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Ever since then I’ve wanted to read the book, but it’s taken me till now to finally do it. This is the first book by Dick I’ve read and it won’t be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed it, though some elements I wasn’t as keen on, such as the almost obsessive urge of the characters to own live animals as a sort of civic duty or trophy to show off to the neighbors, with some who can’t get them opting for electric versions, hence the electric sheep of the title. But both the book and movie have elements strongly in their favor, and I’m glad I’ve experienced them both.

Movies

The movies I watches this quarter.

My movie watching started off pretty slow this quarter, but it increased towards the end. Thankfully, I mostly enjoyed what I watched, with my favorites described below.

I had a craving to return to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, so I began listening to the new audiobook narration of The Lord of the Rings by Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in the movies, while also reading along with the paper book. But it appears I wanted instant gratification, so I dug out my DVD’s of the movies (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King) and watched all 12 hours of the extended editions, and loved it all. Now I’ll return to listening and reading. 😁

Freaks was an unusual movie about a young girl, Chloe, who’s kept confined to her house by her father, afraid of what’s outside and supposedly trying to protect her from it. But she’s at the age when she wants to explore, to have friends, and is willing to disobey to get her way. Is her father crazy? Or is there actually something to his fear of what’s outside their house?

Homefront was exactly what I’d expect of an action film starring Jason Statham, and that happened to be exactly what I was looking for at the time. He is a former DEA agent who helped take down a large drug gang. Now he’s left his job and living in a small town with his daughter, trying to fit in. But of course, things never go as one would hope and his old life forces its way back in.

Music

I haven’t listened to much new music this quarter, instead mostly enjoying familiar and well-loved bands. I’ve probably listened to more Band-Maid and Nightwish than anything else, just as I did last quarter. They just seem to fit my moods lately.

From Band-Maid I’ve been listening quite a lot to their song About Us, one that is a bit less loud and energetic than the majority of their music. It has a great bass line throughout, and I love how the song starts with acoustic guitar before moving to electric. And though I don’t understand Japanese I sometimes almost feel I understand the song given how the lyrics are sung and the overall tone of the piece.

And with Nightwish I’ve had two of their songs on replay, having recently purchased an album containing both. Alpenglow is just a fantastic, energetic, feel good sort of song that always puts me into a better mood (as Floor Jansen, their lead singer, says at the beginning of the live video). Élan does much the same for me as Alpenglow, though it’s not quite as fast paced. I really enjoy the songs where Troy Donockley plays an active role with his range of Celtic instruments and vocals. He helps give extra flavor to their music.

I did stumble across one recent release from Beast in Black, a band that’s new to me. They are a five-piece metal band based in Helsinki that got their start in 2015. Their new song, Moonlight Rendezvous has a very addictive and persistent beat to it, and the chorus feels very familiar though I can’t think of what it reminds me of. The video has the feel of Blade Runner, which is so perfect given I recently read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I plan to keep exploring their music.

 

Life

It was an interesting quarter. There were some challenges and stressful times on the personal front, but also opportunities to relax and enjoy life. For the first half or more of the quarter I was getting out photographing somewhat regularly, most weekends, and enjoyed the time out in nature. Towards the end of the quarter that’s slowed down, so it’s time to start making more of an effort to get out at least once in a while. I’ve noticed my guitar practice has also slowed down, so I’d like to pay more attention to that and put some additional time into it. These sorts of things come with huge benefits if we can only get past that initial habit of procrastination. But with me it’s a strong habit so it takes more and more effort to overcome it. I will continue to work on that.

How was your quarter? Let me know in the comments below. I hope you had a great one, and I hope this next one is even better!

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