This is a tree perched on the riverbank along Bull Run. Here the flow gets greater as it is joined by other tributaries on its way to join the Occoquan. In this area, Bull Run is also the county line.

While this old tree was once set well back onto the riverbank, time, flooding, and the interference of developers has caused the path of the water to change. The riverbank has been scoured away and the roots of the tree have been exposed, giving sort of an x-ray look at what once was underground. This is a common sight around here, and many trees survive for years in this condition. (There certainly is no shortage of water for them.) But if the scouring continues, the tree will eventually succumb and fall into the water.

The tree, with its exposed roots, seemed a likely subject, but more suited to black and white than color. Luckily, I was shooting with a digital camera that has an electronic viewfinder. Unlike conventional single lens reflex cameras, where you see the world in color on a groundglass, the electronic viewfinder can be set to show what the picture will look like in black and white before you click the shutter.