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Snakes, History and Other Things

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Snakes, History and Other Things

This past month I took a family vacation to the Shenandoah. When I shoot vacation photos, even though they are spontaneous, I am always questioning light and composition. I delete a lot of photos now that I use digital-don’t have to pay someone to develop my bad shots anymore.

Some of my all time personal favorites are in this month’s batch. We stayed at a remote resort(I use that word loosely). The photo of the canoes was taken one morning on their lake which had beautiful views of the Blue Ridge. The plantation photo was shot our last day at Ashlawn-President Monroe’s home. It’s a very modest farm compared to Jefferson’s Monticello which it looks down upon. The garden bench was composed at Monticello. It personifies Spring to me.

Several of the photographs were taken at Robinson Nature Center, just around the corner from my home. The blooming thistle, the Middle Patuxent River, the lens flare in the forest and the snake. So why the snake? The Simpsonville Mill Ruins are located on its site. Columbia used to be called Simpsonville. In fact Verizon still uses that name instead of Columbia. Maryland is known for its mill towns-a fact I did not know until Robinson came into being in 2011. This snake was resting and molting on the frame of the old ruins the morning I caught this photo. The staff at Robinson has done much work over the past year and a half to remove debris so we can see this relic from the mid 1700’s. It amazing that it is almost in my backyard. This rat snake appreciates this little piece of important Maryland history in her own way. So my photo is a nod to that.

I hope you enjoy my photos this month.