Many long years ago, when I was a young teenager, I read a novel entitled The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter. It was about a teenage Pennsylvanian boy who was kidnapped by the Lenni Lanape Indians, raised as one of them, and later returned to his blood kin. The forest was an important part of the setting, and I always loved the images the title evoked.
Sunday, on a glorious afternoon, my husband and I went hiking in First Landing State Park here in Virginia Beach. The name First Landing commemorates the Virginia Company‘s landing on Cape Henry in 1607 before they moved westward and formed Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America.
Although it was a very sunny day, once we entered the woods, I no longer needed my sunglasses. I brought my camera along and snapped some pictures. I want to share some with you, just so you know that, even though I live in a sizable city, nature is not far away. In these photos, look at the light in the forest.
The bald cyprus swamp below reminds me of Yoda‘s planet of Dagobah. All that’s missing is the fog…and Yoda, Luke, and R2D2, of course.
It was nice to see a little fall color making its appearance among the muted greens and browns:
My camera didn’t miss the small things, either. Notice how the light illumines the fungi:
Light filtering through the Spanish moss:
Coming East 
Ha. That’s brilliant. It really does look a bit like Dagobah without Luke, R2 and Yoda of course! : )
Great photos, Susan. Love Yoda, he and I are distant cousins. We’re on Mammoth Mountain for the weekend …the aspens are gorgeous, I’ll probably post some photos Saturday.
Looking forward to your pictures, Bud.
Wow! You take amazing photos. I really like the first one and the third one. Thank you so much for posting them. I am actually trying to learn more about photography and I would feel so honored if a photographer as skilled as you could look at my blog and provide me with feedback about how I can improve. My blog is:
http://adalessphotos.wordpress.com/
ROFLOL! Thanks so much for your kind words, Amdalessandro, but I just have a fairly decent eye and a nice little camera. I am far from a skilled photographer, but I would love to look at your blog, nonetheless, and will pop on over in a minute.
Beautiful photos of a beautiful place. I love the bald cyprus trees. You’re right. Yoda belongs there. 😉
Thanks, Robin. I love cyprus swamps with all their knees sticking up.
Hauntingly beautiful photos, Susan. I especially loved the swamp pictures. 🙂
Thank you, Yen.
Nice photos!! Love the light streaming through and illuminating the simplest of things – like the fungi. Thanks for taking us with you! Since my back is out of whack right now and I can barely hike to the kitchen, I enjoyed the trek you took me on right from the comfort of my easy chair. And with my ice pack leaning on my achy back, I could feel the chill of fall in the air while viewing your pictures. 😉
Oh, Mama! So sorry about your back. Hope you feel better soon so you can take your own treks and share them.
You really captured the details of those fungi and the Spanish moss. Viewing your beautiful photos, I feel like I am walking along the trail and enjoying the light through the forest, the fall color of leaves… Thank you so much, Susan!
Thanks for your comment, Amy. Sometimes I get so absorbed in my city life, I forget to renew myself by walking in the forest, which is a shame because it is so close by.
Great photos Susan! I love the light in the forest as it comes through the trees almost like a spotlight on what you need to notice. Some of the photos are downright creepy and look like a great setting for a story!
Great photos Susan! Some of them are downright creepy…and look like an awesome setting for a story!
Thanks, Carol, but they need fog. I want to come back and take pictures of the swamp in the fog.
You are so lucky to be so close to Nature, for your treks into the wilds! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for commenting, Patti. I have to remind myself that First Landing State Park is so close and I can go there whenever I need a break from the city.
Wow, you really can see the light shining through the photographs. Great shots! And I remember that book from high school too. Thanks for sharing such great shots.
Thanks, Leah. It was made into a movie, too. I think Danno from the original Hawaii 5-0 played the boy. It was a Disney production, if I remember correctly.
You are not only a great writer, but a photographer! Your pictures are haunting. Dor
Why, thank you, Dor. It’s easy when you have good subject matter. (The picture-taking, I mean. Writing is never easy!)
Beautiful focus on what may be easily overlooked. Thank you.
Thanks, Adela. It was nice to get out of the city, even though we were still in the city.
It looks like you had a beautiful hike. My boys and I enjoyed the Star Wars video this morning!
Thanks, Jenny. I need to go back to the swamp when it gets a little colder and there is fog because it will really look like Dagobah then.
What a lovely walk!! I haven’t been to cyprus swamps before so I loved seeing them. Very cool!
Hike, Julia! HIKE! What a lovely hike, I’m sure you meant. A lovely walk makes it sound like we were wimpy old people taking a Sunday stroll, when we were rugged forest people, braving the wilderness, with vicious animals all around us. Okay, so we just saw a squirrel, but there could have been bears lurking somewhere…LOL!
Gorgeous photos. I love the ones of the swamp.
Thanks, Shary. It’s one of my favorite trails in the park.