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Playground of the Fae by Todd Henson

Playground of the Fae

I’d searched my entire life and I’d finally found the gateway to fairyland. I documented my discovery, photographed the gateway, and sent you an evidentiary missive. I hope you received it. The odds of you receiving this one are perhaps even less than the previous, but I must continue. And I will keep documenting my findings.

And my findings have been wondrous. Upon entering the gateway I found myself in a forest that seemed at once familiar and foreign. I’d found the gateway in woods I knew well, and so perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised the woods beyond were equally familiar. And yet, as you can see if you receive this letter and photograph, they are also so extraordinarily different. It’s a playground of the fae.

How can I convey to you just how wondrous is this realm? The photograph can’t fully capture the impossible reality, the shifting kaleidoscopic colors and patterns, the swirling shapes just out of view, the rustle of something moving just beyond a tree, the enticing scent of something making me feel almost at home and yet knowing I couldn’t be further from it.

I found myself at a crossroads, with a path to the left and one to the right. I stood long contemplating which path to take. They looked the same, mirror images of one another. Perhaps they would take me to the same place. Perhaps not. But I must find out. Before moving on, though, I created this photograph and wrote you these words. I hope they will find their way back to you, though I’m uncertain how they could. But one can hope.

And I have never lost my hope. Or my desire to know more, to explore. And explore I shall. I will pick a path. I know not which. I will sit here a while, breathing in, relaxing, calming my mind and my heart. I know I will feel a pull, either left or right. And when I move on I will continue my efforts to document and to share with you the wonders of this journey and of this land.


Another Inverted World. I hope you enjoy these periodic departures from my usual posts. The photo above began with the one below, which I also enjoy. But as I let it rest, let it breathe, I found myself curious if there was more. So I inverted it again and found a wider landscape, and a wider world to explore.

Entering the Playground of the Fae


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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? 😊


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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.


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