The Gateway to Fairyland /  by Todd Henson

The Gateway to Fairyland

I’ve spent the majority of my adult life, and much of my youth, searching, trying to find that obscure gateway hidden in plain sight. I knew it was there but it had always eluded me. I explored every patch of forested land I could, knowing it really didn’t matter much which I explored, that the gateway can be found in any of them, but I wondered if perhaps it might be easier found in one than another.

Little did I know I’d eventually find it in the forests closest to home, those I knew so well, had explored so long. Perhaps it wasn’t so much where or when I explored but how. What state of mind was I in? Did I really believe, or did I just want to believe? Or perhaps the gateway answers to that sense of desperation we may feel when we’re closest to giving up, and yet choose to keep searching. All I know for certain is that I finally found it. I found the Gateway to Fairyland.

I stared long into the depths within, trying to make sense of all the kaleidoscopic patterns, the infinite shades of green and brown. I almost lost myself before I even entered. But I focused, I concentrated, I remembered I’d meant to document my findings before exploring further. And so I attempted to photograph the gateway, to show you proof it does exist. You can find it, yourself, you just need to believe and to keep looking.

And now it’s time for me to enter the gateway, to find out what’s beyond. I will attempt to return and share my findings, if I’m able. But if not this may be my last letter to you.

Another of my explorations of Inverted Worlds. Gotta have fun sometimes, right? 😊

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!

Mason Neck Great Marsh in Snow /  by Todd Henson

In the latter half of January Northern Virginia received a small amount of snow that stuck around long enough my father and I were able to get out for a hike through the woods of Mason Neck. We hoped we might see some tundra swans in the snow as it’s the time of year they can be found in the area. But more importantly, it had been a while since we’d gone walking and the thought of walking in the snow was very appealing (though the gusty wind was not). We left the house later than we usually would because I was worried about possibly icy roads, so we arrived in the parking lot around 9:23 am.

Forest

The first photo shows the information shelter near the parking lot. It gives an idea of the amount of snow, perhaps a couple inches, and that plenty of others had already walked this trail.

The information shelter at the beginning of the Great Marsh trail at Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge.

Along with the snow were some very gusty winds that kept blowing long after the snow stopped falling. We found many trees with snow blown right up their sides, some even further than the example here.

Snow blown up the side of a tree.

I don’t photograph in snow very often so I did struggle a bit trying to find pleasing views. I enjoyed this one perhaps because of the fallen tree and the patterns of light and shadow on the snow.

A simple woodland snow scene with light and shadow.

Observation Platform

Just before 10 am we arrived at the observation platform that overlooks the Great Marsh. You can see the frozen marsh, and if you look very close you might just see the observation platform on the opposite shore in the center of the photo.

Approaching the Great Marsh observation platform.

Here’s a closer view of the platform. On the right is a telescopic viewer to let folks without their own gear get a closer view of things in the distance. To the left of the Great Marsh is the Potomac River, and the marsh continues to the right, getting smaller as it winds into the woods.

The Great Marsh observation platform in the snow.

Great Marsh

Here is a view of the Great Marsh, looking out from the observation platform towards the distant shore. That rectangular chunk of snow near the middle of the far shore is the other observation platform. And you can see the channel where the water flows. It appears this was low tide as the water level is extremely low, which might help explain why we didn’t see any swans in the area: no water for them to swim in! 😁

The Great Marsh at Mason Neck covered in snow.

This is a view to the right from the observation platform showing how the water channel winds its way around.

Waterways of Great Marsh in snow.

I zoomed in to show the creek and how the ice was hanging over it, the water having receded.

Ice and the waterway.

And here I zoomed in on the distant observation platform. That’s where we first viewed tundra swans last year. We chose to visit this platform this trip because of the snow. I was concerned the slightly more hilly trail on the other side might be slick and icy.

The distant observation platform of Great Marsh.

Here’s another view of the distant shore, this time a little to the right of the distant observation platform. I liked the light brown tones of the grass and reeds with the snow covered trees in the distance. Bonus for those of you who can spot the adult bald eagle perched in the branches of a tree a little bit right of center.

The far shore of Great Marsh in the snow with light brown grass and reeds.

Wildlife

Though we didn’t see the tundra swans up close we did get to see a little wildlife, though all at a distance. Some of the photos below are of very poor quality both because I may not have brought them into sharp focus and because I massively cropped the images so you could see the birds and not just blobs in the distance.

This is a well-known area for seeing bald eagles and we were fortunate to see both adult and juvenile eagles flying by. I only captured an image of a juvenile in flight but I did watch an adult as it landed beside its mate and captured an image of the two. The one on the left is facing away from us and the other is facing this way.

Two views of bald eagles at Great Marsh, one of an adult pair in a tree, and another of a juvenile in flight.

At one point we watched another large bird in the distance flying just above the ground surveying below. I couldn’t identify it in the field but after looking through the photos and comparing its behavior to descriptions in field guides I’m reasonably confident it was a northern harrier. I wish it had flown much closer as it’s a beautiful bird.

Four very distant views of what I believe to be a northern harrier.

Another distant visitor to the Great Marsh was a red fox. I first watched it move from the left to the right where it disappeared. At that time I had on my wide angle lens so there was no way to photograph it. Later, after I’d switched to my longest lens, it moved back from the right to the left, and though it was moving just beyond the brown grass/reeds I did manage to capture a view of it looking back over it’s shoulder to the right. Also notice how close it was to the observation platform on the distant shore. I really wish we could have seen the fox from that vantage point. 

A red fox at a distance in the snow at Great Marsh on Mason Neck.

Parting Views

The wind was starting to whip around and our faces were getting cold standing still on the platform, so just before 11 am we decided to head back to the car. But before we did I captured a couple parting views. The first shows blue sky just beginning to appear.

A parting view shows blue sky just beginning to appear over the snow covered Great Marsh at Mason Neck.

The final view is facing the Potomac River, and in the distance towards the right you may notice a bunch of white bumps in the water. I wonder if perhaps those were some of the tundra swans we’d hoped to see?

Could those be the tundra swans in the distance?

Kaeru in the snow at Mason Neck. 😁

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 Bend in the Road /  by Todd Henson

Inverted Worlds: A Bend in the Road

I’ve increasingly been on a bit of an abstract kick of late. I’m not sure I could say why or where I’m going with it, but I’ve decided to allow myself to walk down that path and explore a while.

Today we look at one of the simpler images I’ve created that fit into a theme I’ve been thinking of as Inverted Worlds, created by inverting photos in various ways. In this case we have a simple mirror effect creating a bit more of a bend in the road than we’d typically see.

This road passes through Prince William Forest Park and is a favorite drive during autumn when leaves are changing colors.

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!