Saint James’ Episcopal Church, Warrenton, Virginia /  by Todd Henson

Saint James’ Episcopal Church in Warrenton, Virginia

I haven’t photographed a lot of architecture, though I very much appreciate a beautiful building, and churches often make for very beautiful buildings. In this case my father and I happened to be in Warrenton, Virginia, and stumbled upon Saint James’ Episcopal Church.

History of Saint James’ Church

St. James’ is part of Hamilton Parish which was first established in 1730. St. James’, itself, was first constructed in 1816 in a different location and built of a wooden framework. The old church was sold in 1846 and rebuilt from brick in 1853 at the current location. A fire consumed the church in 1910, though it was quickly rebuilt with the current stucco and brick in the style of an English parish church, and services resumed in 1912. 

Photographing Saint James’ Church

Photographing a church like this can be a challenge for a number of reasons. This one is located on a small street and the building isn’t too far from the street, so there isn’t a lot of room to compose a photograph. I used a wide angle lens at 16 mm to get as much of the buildings in as possible. As you can see this resulted in power lines running in front of the buildings. If I’d stood under the power lines my lens wouldn’t have been wide enough to capture the scene and there would have been an enormous amount of geometric distortion.

Using a wide angle lens up close leads to several types of geometric distortion. Wide angle lenses tend to be very rounded and this causes straight lines to curve and angle, especially if the camera isn’t held level but instead angled up to try to get all of the building in the frame. They make lenses specifically to deal with these issues, called tilt-shift lenses, but I don’t currently own any and they have limitations of their own.

So I did the best I could to capture as much of the church and yard as possible. When I imported the images into Lightroom I had to decide whether and how to correct for any distortions. For the main photo at the top of this post I decided to both apply the lens-specific profile corrections that account for the specific distortions of my model of lens, and I also decided to use the Transform feature of Lightroom to further correct the image by trying to make horizontal lines horizontal and vertical lines vertical. This does end up cropping in more of the image so I did lose some of the edges. Click on the image below to flip between the corrected and uncorrected versions of the photo to see the differences.

Angled View of Saint James’ Church

Finally, I wanted to try an angled view to better capture the depth of the church. Of course, this created even more distortion because I was much closer to the building. In this case I chose to only apply lens-specific profile corrections to try to keep straight lines straight, but I didn’t apply any additional corrections of the Transform feature.

Angled view of Saint James’ Church

Click on the image below to flip between the corrected and uncorrected versions of the angled view of the church. These were just lens-specific profile corrections, not Transform corrections.

I still have a lot to learn about photographing buildings in tight spaces, but I look forward to the continued practice. One idea I have is to try using my fisheye lens in some situations and compare that to the more normal wide angle views. Of course, using a fisheye will introduce even more distortions, but we’ll see how well they can be compensated for in Lightroom.

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think of my attempts at photographing Saint James’ Episcopal Church.

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Lakota Ranch in Remington, Virginia /  by Todd Henson

The entrance to Lakota Ranch

Signs at the entrance to Lakota Ranch

On a Saturday morning in late August (2024) the weather forecast was a bit iffy so my father and I decided to go for a semi-random drive around the area and see what we could see. One location we visited was Lakota Ranch in Remington, Virginia, a working farm known for their herd of Devon cattle.

Established in 1990, Lakota Ranch takes up 726 acres of the rolling hills of Remington. It’s a beautiful location, just far enough away from any main roads or towns, and though I’m sure the folks who live and work there can be very busy and hard working, for those of us fortunate to visit it’s a wonderfully peaceful place.

After passing through the main entrance and over the cattle guard you drive along the gravel Big Horn Road where you get to see some very nice views of the hills and fields of the area. Eventually you’ll see a second stone wall entrance with another cattle guard. Drive into the woods and you’ll see signs directing you to the right for the kennels and to the left for the Farm Store, petting zoo and the rest of the ranch.

Some of the rolling hills and fields of Lakota Ranch

The second stone entrance to Lakota Ranch

The Farm Store is a small but interesting store. They had a range of different items, from shirts to various leather products and other locally made items. There was a cooler and freezer with drinks, fresh eggs and meat. This is the only time I’ve visited so I don’t know how the selection varies over the year, but their website indicates you can purchase seasonal fruits and vegetables, local honey, farm fresh eggs, and a variety of meats to include the ranch’s own Certified Devon Beef. I bought a shirt and my father bought some frozen beef. And by buying, I mean we wrote up a receipt on the pad on the counter, put our cash into one of the envelopes, and placed the envelope in their drop box. The store uses the Honor System when no one is actively working there.

The Lakota Ranch Farm Store

Just beside the Farm Store is their petting zoo. There weren’t a lot of animals around at the time we visited, but we did see several donkeys, a pig, a goat, and a number of ducks. Another family arrived while we were there and fed the animals some corn kernels.

The animal pens of the petting zoo at Lakota Ranch, just to the left of the Farm Store

The pig in the petting zoo

"Come on it," says the goat in the petting zoo

Donkeys in the petting zoo

Saddle Up and Ride the Bull!

The view from behind the Farm Store at Lakota Ranch

The rolling hills of Remington, Virginia, as seen from behind the Farm Store at Lakota Ranch

There are several private homes on the property, as well as the beautiful Lakota Chapel built in 2019 with a southwestern look to the architecture. The Chapel was built for the family but starting in 2021 they decided to offer it for small wedding ceremonies, baptisms, and other services.

Lakota Chapel at Lakota Ranch

Given this is a cattle ranch, they offer just about any cattle-related services you can think of, including replacement stock, semen, embryos, consulting services, and of course, selling the beef. They offer hunting on their Lakota Hunt Preserve, where you can sign up to hunt deer, turkey and bear. They offer Lakota Stock Dogs bred and trained for exactly the kind of work that’s done on a working ranch. And they have kennel services and training packages. To learn more visit their website at Lakota Ranch.

One of the Devon cattle relaxing on the grass under a tree

A horse grazing in the field at Lakota Ranch

Right at the main entrance is a small pull off with an informational sign that provides a general map of the property and gives a few lessons on the Civil War history of the area. One corner of the property was the site of the First Battle of Freeman’s Ford, August 22-23, 1862, which is where Brigadier General Henry Bohlen died while retreating from Confederate forces under the command of Brigadier General Isaac Trimble. On another part of the property is the burial site of Major David M. Whaley.

An informational display about Lakota Ranch

The Major and the Emperor: A Hackberry Emperor butterfly landed beside the photo and description of Major David M. Whaley

Keep your eyes open for this fantastic wood carving from a fallen tree along the road to Lakota Ranch

If you’re ever in the area consider stopping by Lakota Ranch in Remington, Virginia. It’s a beautiful location, one I hope to visit again soon.

Lakota Ranch
9272 Big Horn Road
Remington, Virginia

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Backroads Buildings: In Search of the Vernacular by Steve Gross & Susan Daley /  by Todd Henson

Backroads Buildings: In Search of the Vernacular by Steve Gross & Susan Daley

Have you ever driven some back road and noticed that interesting old building, perhaps in disrepair, perhaps still in use, but with plenty of character? I often do, and yet for whatever reason I rarely stop to photograph these buildings. Reading this book, Backroads Buildings: In Search of the Vernacular by Steve Gross and Susan Daley, I wish I had stopped more often and created a collection of my own photographs of these marvelous buildings that leave one wondering about their long history.

Thankfully, these two photographers have often stopped to photograph the buildings they’ve found. In this book they’ve focused on architecture from around the time of the Civil War to the Great Depression, roughly 1870 to 1930, and stretching along the eastern United States from Vermont down to Louisiana. I often smiled when I saw buildings from not that far down the road in Virginia.

“With their humble beauty and distinctive character, these once-useful structures infuse the American landscape with a strong sense of place. This collection of buildings preserves a sampling of our country’s architecture heritage and encourages travelers to slow down and notice the details.”

As with any collection of photography like this, some photos will resonate with me more than others. Many of the photos felt strictly documentary, and to some extent I think they all were intended to be documentary. The photographers have documented pieces of the past before they fall into complete disrepair or are torn down. But some photos also had an artistic air about them which I appreciated.

The book appears designed to last as long as some of the buildings have, being printed on a very thick smooth white paper well suited to showcasing the collection of color and black & white photographs. Schiffer Publishing has done a fantastic job with both the quality of the book materials and the overall layout. There is very little text throughout, though the book does begin with a foreword by Brian Wallis, followed by a short preface. All the rest of the 144 page book is photography, with each photo having a very short description along with the location of the building.

This is a book that may appeal not just to photographers, but to anyone who appreciates these old everyday buildings along backroads just along the fringes of society. If you’ve ever taken a moment to notice one of these buildings then you may appreciate some of these photos.

I found a copy of Backroads Buildings in my local library. Check your own library and maybe you’ll also find a copy. If you’d rather own a copy then check out the link below to see if it’s in stock.

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