Old Town Manassas - June 3, 2011 /  by Todd Henson

Today we combine photography with just a touch of history. I was recently going through my catalog of old photographs and came across some I don’t believe I’ve posted before of Old Town Manassas, also referred to as Historic Manassas, in Virginia. Given the history of this area I wanted to process the photos to give them an older feel.

Manassas Station

Manassas Station, an historic and active railroad station in Old Town Manassas, Virginia

The opening photo is of Manassas Station, an historic train station built in 1914 by Southern Railway. It was later acquired by the city of Manassas and is still in active use today by Virginia Railway Express (VRE) and Amtrak trains and also houses a tourist information center and a gallery of railroad exhibits.

Railroad Tracks

Facing east and looking down the tracks we see The Candy Factory on the left and the parking garage on the right

Turning east and facing down the railroad tracks we can see the old Candy Factory building on the left and the far more recent parking garage on the right. The garage is used for daily commuters and also for those visiting Old Town Manassas.

The Candy Factory

The Candy Factory, once a producer of tons of candy and now a home to the arts in Old Town Manassas

Turning to the left we see The Candy Factory, built in 1908. It produced tons of candy and shipped it by train all over the eastern US. In 2002 the building became home to the Center for the Arts, now referred to as the ARTfactory. They house local artist galleries and provide classes, performances, and advocacy for the local arts scene. You can see from the old painting on the side of the building that says Manassas Feed & Milling Co that the building was used for other purposes after the candy factory closed and before it became a local artists hub.

Okra’s

A view of the intersection of Center and Battle Street, once home to Okra’s, a fantastic restaurant

Continuing down Battle Street from The Candy Factory we come to the intersection with Center Street. Across the intersection is a lovely building that in 2011 was home to Okra’s, a fantastic Cajun/creole restaurant that had the best gator bites and Cajun deviled eggs in the area. Sadly, they are no more.

A Few Notes on Processing

And just to touch briefly on how I chose to process the images, I used Adobe Lightroom and processed the photos initially as I usually do, then converted them to black & white. I wanted more of a sepia tone than pure black & white so I used the Color Grading feature, formerly called Split Toning, to shift the colors. I pushed the highlights towards yellow, the shadows towards red, and nudged the midtones just slightly towards blue. I adjusted the black & white mix, shifting each color slider to affect how those colors were converted to monochrome. Finally I did a couple things I rarely do, I created a white vignette around the edges that faded into the image, and I tweaked the color calibration values just slightly. All of these settings were mostly the same for each photo except that I tweaked the color calibration values differently based on how they looked on each photo.

Adobe Lightroom settings for B&W and Color Grading

Adobe Lightroom settings for Effects and Calibration

I hope you enjoyed this look at Old Town Manassas in 2011, as well as a little look into how I processed the photos. What did you think of the processing? Would you have done anything differently? Have you ever visited this location? Have you ever eaten at Okra’s? Let me know in the comments below.

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First Visit to Seven Bends State Park, Virginia /  by Todd Henson

The Lupton Road entrance to Seven Bend State Park, Virginia

In mid-March my father and I drove out to Seven Bends State Park for the first time. This is an interesting park near Woodstock, Virginia, that’s split into two sections along the Seven Bends area of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River. In both cases you first have to navigate a very narrow one-lane windy road and then cross a one-lane bridge that’s very low to the river. We were told by a park ranger that it’s fairly common for the bridges to flood, so if you visit be sure to watch the weather and plan accordingly. Also, please be patient and drive safely, making way if you can for oncoming vehicles.

The one-lane bridge on Lupton Road

A view of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River

A view of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River in the other direction

Seven Bends is a reasonably recent addition to the network of state parks. It was created when Dr. James R. Myers donated almost 700 acres of land in memory of the Fravel and Myers families. It’s always nice to see donated lands turned into park land.

Seven Bends State Park was created from donated land

Though we drove to both sections of the park we spent most of our time on the Hollingsworth Road section, hiking the Bass Bight Trail. The park appears to have a range of trails of varying difficulty. The easier trails parallel the river and the more difficult ones head up into the hilly mountains. This time around we stuck to the river trails.

The trail map for Seven Bends State Park

The first thing we noticed on the Hollingsworth Road section was a large corn field just beyond the parking areas. It wasn’t in season so everything had been cut down and was brown, but it might be interesting to return and see what it looks like with corn growing. I wonder if it might be a good location to photograph certain species of birds that might gather in corn fields?

Looking back towards the parking lot over a cleared corn field

Bass Bight Trail parallels the river with the corn field to the right

It was early enough in the year that most trees were still bare of leaves. But we did see the first signs of leaf growth, both lighter shades of green and in some cases shades of red. I was drawn several times to different sections as the sun lit up the leaves. I don’t know that any of these photos are anything special but I think they show some potential for this area.

Some of the lit up trees that caught my eye on the slopes on the mountain

A touch of red on otherwise bare trees

I loved how the sun highlighted the new leaves on the trees

We noticed several flowers while there, though it’s still early in the season. The first we noticed were small groups of grape hyacinth in the grassy areas. Later, at the end of the trail, I stumbled across some unknown flowers that I later learned were young Virginia bluebells, an absolutely lovely flower sometimes found along rivers or creeks. It’s good to know another location where we might find these flowers if we arrive at the right time. In the same area we found lots of rough horsetail growing.

Grape hyacinth were scattered around in the grass

The buds of Virginia bluebells were just beginning to emerge

I loved the look of several sections of rough horsetail, especially this one with a vine running through it

Near the end of trail I noticed something moving in the river. It was bright white but also orange. All I had with me was a wide angle lens and a macro so I couldn’t get any closeups, but with the macro I was able to create a few photos that revealed the creatures to be a pair of Greylag geese. I very strongly suspect these are domesticated. One of them appeared to have some kind of problem with its feathers, or perhaps it was molting.

A massively cropped image showing the two Greylag geese in the river

Eventually the pair of Greylag geese went on shore

Before we left we spoke with a ranger who recommended we get lunch at the local Woodstock Cafe, and I’m glad she did. My father and I each had a great sandwich and I sampled some of the local coffee. Stop by if you ever find yourself in Woodstock, Virginia. 

Have you ever heard of, or visited, Seven Bends State Park in Virginia? It’s certainly a location I’d like to visit again.

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Quarterly Look Back - 1st Quarter 2023 /  by Todd Henson

Looking back at the first quarter of 2023

I’ve struggled a bit with motivation this quarter, with winding down and getting into a creative mindset in the evenings after work so I can write these posts and process my photographs. That’s always a back and forth sort of thing, easy during one period of time and challenging during another. That’s one reason I’ve been working to a weekly blogging schedule all these years, to force myself to focus enough to at least put together one post a week, consistently, each and every week. Granted, some weeks it’s stressful and I question whether the post was worth it. But I worry if I don’t do that I might drop off the face of the earth and never post again. I enjoy this far too much to let that happen. And your support helps tremendously in keeping me consistent. So thank you for that.

I hope you’ll find something below to enjoy, whether that’s one of my posts you might have missed or a new look at one you’ve already read. Or perhaps you’ll see a book or movie or song that’s new to you or an old favorite.

Photography

I didn’t get out photographing quite as often this quarter as I have some. There were cold and windy days when we just didn’t feel like hiking. And there were a couple weekends we chose to do other things. But with the weather warming, the greenery and flowers returning, I’m hopeful I’ll find a new sense of passion and find more opportunities to make use of the camera.

Please take a look back through this quarter’s posts and photographs.

Before & After

South Fork Quantico Creek - Downstream - October 2021

Best of the Year

Best Photos of 2022: My Favorites of the Year

Field Notes Updates

One Morning With Tundra Swans

Observing an Adolescent Cooper’s Hawk

Mostly Photos

Though the Way Forward Be Foggy

Mason Neck in the Mist

Random Thoughts

The Fog in My Head Every Morning

Reviews

A Day at the Green Valley Book Fair - February 2023

Story Behind Image

Sunrise, Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge, January 2023

Trip Report

Foggy Morning in the Forest

Photographing Birds on an Overcast Morning

Variations on a Theme

Creekside Greenery

Reading

This felt like a very good quarter for reading. I did run into some books that didn’t excite me, such as The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, Flatland: A Romance in Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott, The Guest List by Lucy Foley, and The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz, but I didn’t absolutely hate any of these and I ended up loving several other books, which you’ll see further below.

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

The full list of books: Galatea by Madeline Miller, Moon Woke Me Up Nine Times: Selected Haiku of Basho by David Young, Wayward (Wanderers #2) by Chuck Wendig, The Angel Maker by Alex North, The Original by Brandon Sanderson & Mary Robinette Kowal, Moonraker (James Bone #3) by Ian Fleming, The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, The Mist by Stephen King, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman, Second Foundation (Foundation #3) by Isaac Asimov, Flatland: A Romance in Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott, The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura, The Guest List by Lucy Foley, Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie, Invasive by Chuck Wendig, Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz.

Of these my favorites were:

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman

What an absolutely beautiful story. A complete gem. Touching. Lovely. Delightful. Funny. Sad. All told through the eyes of a young girl who must learn to live with the death of the most special person in her life, her grandmother, who left her letters to deliver to others. Slowly little Elsa learns there was more to her grandmother than she’d realized.

Wayward (Wanderers #2) by Chuck Wendig

This was a great conclusion to the story begun in Wanderers. What starts a little slowly soon gains momentum and takes us back into the lives of the characters as they continue trying to deal with all that’s happened in the world, upending everyones lives. A pandemic story that’s more than it seems, full of technology and touching on the increased societal polarization we should be far too familiar with.

The Angel Maker by Alex North

I won an advanced reading copy through a Goodreads giveaway. This was my first exposure to Alex North and I’d like to read more. It began right off with a complete gut punch of a beginning, setting up for all that followed. A family upended by a violent act, another family that might seem crazy but leaves us wondering if so and just how much, hints of the supernatural, questions of determinism. An enjoyable fast paced story blending horror, mystery and thriller.

The Mist by Stephen King

I first read The Mist as part of the anthology, Skeleton Crew. It was the longest and one of my favorite stories of that book. Recently I learned it had been narrated by Will Patton so I decided to give the audiobook a try, and I found I enjoyed it just as much as I had the first time. An ominous wall of fog washes over a Maine community, bringing with it something terrible, and leaving a father and son trapped at a local grocery store.

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

An extraordinary book. The first part is an autobiographical look at Frankl’s experiences within Nazi concentration camps where he was taken in World War II. He tells of all the difficulties and hardships, but also of how even in places like that he and others were able to find hope and meaning in their life. The second part is an introduction to his philosophy of logotherapy, something he’d been developing before his time in the concentration camps, though it seems those experiences may have both validated and influenced his beliefs and development of logotherapy. A very moving and impactful book, something I would think could give hope to just about anyone in any situation.

Movies & Anime

The movies I watched this quarter.

I’ve been on a bit of a roll rewatching older movies and that mostly continued this quarter. I first watched these movies when they came out in the late 70’s to mid-90’s and loved them all at the time. As often happens I found myself loving them all over again during the rewatch. It had been a long time since I’d watched any of them, and though I remembered enough that it wasn’t like watching them for the first time, they did still feel fresh as I slowly rediscovered and was pulled back into stories from my youth.

Hackers was one of those perfect movies that hit at the perfect time (1995) to completely resonate with me. About a group of misfit computer geniuses who’s lives are turned upside down when they find themselves involved in something much bigger than they’d expected, starring a young Angelina Jolie and Jonny Lee Miller.

Then I decided to go back even further in time to 1981 when I first watched Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first Indiana Jones adventure. I’ve always enjoyed these movies and the first has the greatest draw for me, though I hope to rewatch some of the others, as well.

After getting back into Indiana Jones it seemed almost natural to go back just a bit further and rewatch the 1977 hit, Star Wars. I remember sitting in the theater with my mouth open, smiling, my eyes wide, completely sucked into the story, the special effects, the music, the quirky characters. I loved it all, and walked out of the theater almost dizzy. I felt as if I’d been in space with them.

Of course, I had to also rewatch both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi so I could experience the entire story again. Such fun, though I do wish I had access to the original versions and not the remastered ones where George Lucas went back and changed or added various scenes. I respect his desire to do that as a creator but they never worked as well for me as the original versions. Regardless, though, I loved rewatching these classics.

Music

I don’t think there’s ever been a bad quarter for music. There’s always something to listen to, whether that be music from years ago or something brand new. Below are some of the songs I’ve listened to the most this quarter, and I ended up purchasing most of them. As often happens, I had a difficult time narrowing the list down to just four.

Beyond the Black - Forget My Name

I recently discovered this band and this song has become one of my favorites of theirs. I love the dynamics from heavy to soft, the mix of electric and acoustic with a great acoustic guitar solo that gives me the chills alongside the more traditional electric guitar solo, some very tight drumming, and the mix of melodic vocals with occasional harsh vocals. The relaxed studio environment in the video was nice, getting to see all the musicians perform and interact both together and individually. You could see their passion for the music. I’ve completely lost count how many times I’ve listened to this song this quarter, and I’ve already purchased two of this German symphonic metal band’s albums from bandcamp, Heart of the Hurricane: Black Edition, and the newly released self-titled album, Beyond the Black.

Lyrre - Call in the Wind

Lyrre continues releasing new tracks, this being their third. They’ve also recently released a couple more. I love their mix of genres with rock elements mixed with more traditional sounds. The hurdy gurdy provides such a great layer of droning sound, it perfectly fits their style. I purchased this track at bandcamp and plan to continue purchasing their music.

Band-Maid - From Now On

I love Band-Maid. They have such range in their songwriting. Pop, rock, hard rock, metal, punk. But each song sounds like them. In this case they decided to write an instrumental heavy metal piece and it’s fantastic. Great guitar riffs throughout, some great bass moments, incredible drumming. Granted, that’s what I’ve come to expect from this band (as well as awesome vocals on most of their songs). They’re one of my favorite groups out of Japan.

Rodrigo y Gabriela - Descending to Nowhere

Thanks again to Joseph Smith of JWSmith Photography for introducing me to the incredible guitar duo of Rodrigo y Gabriela. I’ve still only listened to a small amount of their work but I’ve enjoyed it all, and this song continues that trend. So very catchy with their mix of melody, rhythm, acoustic and electric guitar, and percussive elements. I immediately preordered their new album, In Between Thoughts… A New World, from bandcamp based on this song.

 

Life

As I mentioned up top, motivation has been a struggle recently, though it hasn’t been crippling by any means. More recently I feel I’ve been “seeing” more when out hiking, finding potential in the scene. I’m not always able to convert what I see into a compelling photograph, but I think seeing is the first step so I’m happy about that.

Recently, I’ve also noticed more changes when out hiking, both the typical seasonal changes with flowers slowly appearing and some of the browns turning into shades of green, but also longer term changes as trees fall or grow, sections of trails collapse into a creek and are rerouted elsewhere, areas where flowers once bloomed being covered over by brush and vines. These are all typical and normal changes and I don’t necessarily feel happy or sad about them, though that does happen, but I find myself more aware of how things change and more aware of how very different it all may be years from now. Food for thought, if nothing else.

And to end on a positive note, I have to say it’s been a good quarter. I had many opportunities to spend time with family. I had time outside in nature. I made it back to the book fair a couple times and stocked up on more books to read. I also started visiting more of the wonderful little free libraries hidden here and there, dropping off books I’m done with and sometimes picking up a new one. I listened to some fantastic music that motivates me and leaves me feeling better than before. And I rewatched some classic (to me) movies that I loved as a kid and was able to appreciate as an adult looking back.

What about you? How was your quarter? Anything fun or interesting happen? Leave a comment below and let me know.

And I hope you have a fantastic 2nd quarter of 2023!

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