Bob Crum

The Headless Horseman is a short story of speculative fiction by American author Washington Irving. Fiction? Read on!

As the story goes, Ichabod Crane landed in a little town called Sleepy Hollow. Being a teacher and choirmaster he was considered an important person.

Ichabod soon realizes that the daughter of the richest guy in town is gorgeous. He decides to woo her such that to resist falling in love with him is futile. There's just one problem. A handsome hunk named Brom Bones fumes over Ichabod's moving in on his lady.

Getting word that Brom is extremely angry over recent events, Ichabod decides best to become less conspicuous. Then one day Ichabod receives an invitation to a party at the lady's home. Jubilant he duns his finest duds and heads off on a borrowed old steed.

The party is jiving when Brom accidentally discovers Ichabod is extremely superstitious. Aha! Just the spark angry Brom needed to ignite his scary tale of the Headless Horseman.

Party over, Ichabod hops upon his trusty old ride now worried about what might be lurking in the dark glen. At the far end, a covered bridge spans a creek. If he can get to the bridge, he's safe. The Headless Horseman's curse ends at the bridge.

Almost there, a mysterious black headless silhouette on a big black horse appears from out of the woods. Fright overwhelms Ichabod. To get to the bridge he begs the tired old horse to run faster. The Headless Horseman was gaining on Ichabod. Ichabod is almost at the bridge when the night suddenly turns totally black. A long terrifying scream is heard throughout the glen. Then dead silence.

Daylight does not reveal any secrets. Townsfolk find fresh horse tracks, Ichabod's hat and a smashed pumpkin. No sign of Ichabod.

Back in Sleepy Hollow, Brom Bones laughs suspiciously anytime anyone talks about the disappearance of Ichabod. It was no secret that Brom was exceedingly jealous of Ichabod to the point of rage. Also noted was that the pumpkin on Brom's porch... gone! Coincidence? The mystery continues. The Horseman in black still rides every Halloween dying for the perfect head. I know!

One dark Halloween night, with camera in hand, I courageously ventured out hoping to encounter the feared Headless Horseman. A hooting owl's eyes twinkled from the light of the full harvest moon. In the spooky dim light, imagination stimulates goose bumps.

Then from the woods a blood-curdling scream accompanied with the pounding of horse hoofs. Just as the Headless Horseman came into view, I promptly raised my camera. Momentarily surprised, the headless fiend abruptly stopped just long enough for me to make the photo. In a blink it turned and as it quickly disappeared back into the darkness I heard... “next time get my good side”! Cranky horse!

Capturing the photo was no small feat. I didn't know where the Horseman would appear from or when. A lens can't focus in the dark so I set the focal point to infinity, also opened the lens aperture to f/4.5... the max. I reduced the shutter speed to 1/45 seconds which is risky when shooting handheld but necessary for a respectable exposure. I relied on the lens IS (image stabilization) for help eliminating blur. A much higher ISO would allow a faster shutter speed. But high ISOs produce a lot of digital noise that has to be dealt with in post processing. Through it all, the process of creating such images is gratifying which explains my passion for photography. But I quit pursuing photos of the mysterious rider on a black horse. I like my head!

Halloween is replete with hundreds of photo ops. Seize the opportunity. Record awesome memories with photos!!!

Happy photoing.

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