Creepy Memories

Japanese Gardens

Do you remember what movie scenes or make-believe stories scared the hell out of you as a kid, but now, as an adult you think of them as nothing but “kids’ stories”?   For me, it was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  Seems kind of silly now, but the “Mirror, mirror on the wall” scene with the witch really frightened me; I was afraid I’d see that witch everytime I looked in the mirror.  What was my Mom thinking?!   Taking a five year old to see a Disney cartoon for cryin’ out loud, she should be arrested for child endangerment. 

 

This picture, taken at the Japenese Gardens in Portland, Oregon ( a photographer’s dream world), reminded me of my second scariest scene; i.e. the headless horseman chasing Ichabod Crane through the dark forest.   When I took this picture I couldn’t help but think how creepy this place would be at night.  Geez, in the daytime it hardly saw the light of day.

 

When I took the shot, I framed the only sunlit leaves with the gnarly-looking tree branches; to me, it looked like the branches were reaching for the sunlight.  In post processing this photo, I wanted to emphasize the tree branches, brighten the sunlit leaves and increase the shadows in the foreground to add contrast to the overall scene.  Now, the branches appear to be attacking the bright spot, the classic struggle between darkness and light, good and evil.

 

The headless horseman is surely lurking close by.

 

Thought for the Day:   How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?