Light and Landscapes

John Caplis Photography

Recent Posts

Home » Manassas Train Station. Old Town Manassas

Winter Comes to Old Town Manassas

by

Throughout January 6th, 2025, Winter Storm Blair blanketed the Manassas area with 8 inches of beautiful snow.   I have always wanted to capture an image of the Manassas Train Station covered in pristine, new fallen snow.  As the storm was winding down that night, I decided to brave the howling winds and cold to take a walk-about around Old Town Manassas and photograph some of its landmarks and street scenes.  The town was still regaled in its holiday lights, banners, and decorations which added to the beauty of these winter cityscapes.  

 

Manassas Train Station blanketed with new fallen snow

 

I took a time-lapse video to capture the winter vibe:  

 

 

Harris Pavilion turned into a winter skating rink.

  

 

 

Center Street

 

Old Town Manassas Post Office on Church Street

 

Battle Street Restaurants

 

Manassas Museum at the end of Battle Street

 

The Things I Love Gift Shop on Center Street

 

Holiday Windows On Center Street

 

Main Street

 

Historic Harry Parrish Town Hall

 

Old Town Hall and the Newly Renovated City Hall

 

 

Street Seating at Philadelphia Tavern on Main Street

 

Street Seating at Crossroads Tavern on Main Street

 

Flag at half-mast for the late former-President Jimmy Carter, train locomotive with lights on at the end of the track.

 

Related Images:

Methane Bubbles Frozen in Abraham Lake, Canadian Rockies Methane Bubbles Frozen in Abraham Lake illuminated by Moonlight, Canadian Rockies Manassas Train Station, Winter Storm Blair, January 2025. 2F7A0449 copy bw web 2F7A7229-234-185-blend-Lumenzia IMG_9173-copy-v2 Winter light in Hamnoy

Seeing the Unseen: Fireworks Over the Historic Manassas Train Station

by

Cameras allow us to see things differently, or in some cases, see things we normally could not see at all.   This can be especially true for long exposures.   In the case of fireworks, adjusting your aperture and shutter speed enables you to turn burning embers, bursting and then falling in the sky, into colorful streaks of light.   Generally speaking, your aperture affects the thickness of those streaks, while your shutter speed affects their length and number in a single image.  I used a very small aperture of f22 to create very thin streaks from multiple bursts.  Exposures ranged from 3 to 12 seconds, with longest ones having the most intense concentration of streaks in a single image.  A second technique used here is the blending of two exposures to make each image.  A 20 second exposure with no fireworks, taken at the end of the show, resulted in a well lit train station for the foreground, while shorter exposures were used to capture the fireworks overhead.  The foreground was blended with each of the fireworks images using luminosity masks or the “lighten” blend mode in Photoshop.   Each resultant image captures a unique combination of shapes, colors and patterns in their unique moment in time.   I intentionally put the images into a slideshow that mimics the constantly changing fireworks you would see in the night sky.   Only now, you can see the unseen.  Enjoy!

Related Images:

EG5A8617_1200x800_U_100_Fixed-Height Ice Melt Pools on Frozen Wellington Pond, Manassas, VA 2F7A7320-print-3 2F7A7229-234-185-blend-Lumenzia 2F7A0010-011-blend-v2 129A6872-copy-2 Consecutive bursts of color! (f13, 9 and 11 sec, ISO 100)