Swamps

Morning Migration

A flock of birds takes flight just as a few clouds caught the first rays of light at sunrise.

Balding Heron

After kayaking through a bayou just outside of New Orleans, as part of a day-time vacation excursion, I knew I wanted to come back to the swamps of the Southern United States. Of course it helped that we walked into a ton of galleries in downtown New Orleans with photos that blew me away ... and then David Thompson came back with his own set of photos ... I knew I had to go back. Willie and I flew into New Orleans and met up with Carolyn and drove to the swamps. We had planned to rent some kayaks for the week so we could get out on the water but David hadn't quite arrived yet and there wasn't any way to get kayaks in time for our first sunrise. We made our way to this lake to see what we could photograph from the shoreline. When we arrived a large photo-tour had also pulled up and started setting all their tripods up to photograph a particular line of trees with a still reflection in the lake. Trying to avoid them I turned around and saw this heron standing in the water. I immediately grabbed the "Bigma" (my very long, and quite large telephoto lens) and knew that the heron, combined with these 3 trees, would make a great foreground! Nikon D800 w/Sigma 150-600mm: 370mm, f/11, 1/8 sec, ISO 200

Swamp Thing

One of the neat things about the "Bald Cypress" is that it loses its leaves in the winter. Perhaps more importantly for me, as a photographer, is the fact that its leaves *change colors* during autumn. The normally green leaves turn to orange, and red, and then eventually die, creating a sorta ghost-like creature of a tree. Now that I think of it, I sorta lied. The coolest part is that they live in swamps! Yes, *in* swamps. Willie, Carolyn and I arrived a day ahead of David and visited this particular lake on our own (thanks for the help David!). A group of photographers had arrived and were hopping in kayaks but we mostly just took photos from shore. As the sun started to come up it began to illuminate the trees on one side of the lake and the water started picking up some of that reflected light. I couldn't help but enjoy this tree, and all of the "knees" that stuck up out of the water (which are part of its root structure). Nikon D800 w/Sigma 150-600mm: 420mm, f/13, 1/25 sec, ISO 160

Frozen V Formation

A couple years ago I went down to New Orleans for a little fun vacation and took a guided kayak tour into the bayou. The tour company mentioned they did photo tours but I had no idea anyone would want to do a photo trip until I got out onto the bayou and went "holy crap, this is gorgeous!" A few months later I saw a few photos of a similar (but different) bayou from David Thompson and I was blown away. I had to go back. While you can explore the bayou by land or by sea, exploring it out on the water is by far the better option. And of course there's multiple ways to get out on the water: there's motor boats, air boats, stand-up paddleboards, or my favorite, kayaks. And that was our plan! David arrived a day after us, but being the awesome friend and guide that he is, had pointed out this area for us to explore. We got here just as the light was dipping down, watched as the top of the trees lit up, then turned off, and eventually bathed the entire scene in even light. I loved the way the trees lined up in "V" formation -- just like in The Mighty Ducks, except frozen in place. The light at the top of the trees was a nice added touch! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 135mm, f/11, 1/30 sec, ISO 400

Creeping In

Willie, David, Carolyn and I visited this particular swamp because we knew it would be further along in its fall colors. In fact, most of the trees here had already lost all of its leaves, turning it into a somewhat "ghost village". This patch of trees, though, still had a few trees with some red leaves. I liked how there was a combination of things going on in this photo. It was a calm evening and the water was still, turning into a mirror, reflecting the tree trunks. Meanwhile a patch of green algae started creeping into the trees. And the trees themselves are a mixture of red leaves and no leaves. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 145mm, f/14, 1/6 sec, ISO 200

Last to Fall

My photography is inspired by a lot of things: locations that blow me away, adventures I want to take, and most often, from seeing photos from other people that just make me say "I need to go there!" That's exactly the reaction I had when I saw David Thompsons photos from the bayou's of the southern United States. I had taken a short kayaking trip into the bayou swamps when I visited New Orleans a few years ago and David's photos were just the inspiration I needed to get back. Fortunately for me, David was kind enough to provide Willie and I with some guidance on getting back to the swamps. The thing that makes these swamps special, at least for me, was the amazing Cypress trees that line the swamps. These "Bald Cypress" trees are the only type of Cypress that loses its leaves, and it's why we visited the trees in the fall, when their leaves changed from green, to red, before falling off. This photo was taken on our second night, a few hours before David joined us. We were exploring a little lake that was filled with what we started calling "Ghost Trees". The leaves here had pretty much all died off and left the trees and the moss very white, or ghostly. However, while looking around, we spotted this one tree that still had some of its fall colors left. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 145mm, f/13, 1/6 sec, ISO 200

Mister Moostash

The Bald Cypress trees that live in the bayou swamps of the south are pretty awesome. I got my first taste of them when Sammi and I went kayaking through a few of them during a weekend trip to New Orleans. I knew I wanted to come back and photograph them during the right light. The best way to see these trees is by kayak. You don't want to be a in fast moving boat and you don't want to be in a boat with other people. Rent a single kayak, and explore! That's exactly what we did. We had arranged for kayaks to be waiting for us at the launch when we arrived very early in the morning and we were shocked to find a workshop had beat us to the swamp! Knowing we'd have to share the bayou with ~15 other photographers, we quickly hopped into our boats and took off at breakneck speed to get ahead of everyone else. As we got to the lake, David turned to us and pointed out an area that Willie and I should go explore. It was still pretty dark out and we were still using our headlamps to navigate, so we pulled onto shore and waited for the sun to come up enough for us to see. Willie and I both happened to look over and spot this one tree with its beautiful orange red leaves still intact on its lowest branch. The shape of these leaves forms a perfect mustache, and I couldn't help hear my friend Lacey talking about her cat "Moostash" in the back of my head. So the name of this photo is dedicated to her -- Mister Moostash! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 92mm, f/8, 1.3 sec, ISO 400

Twisted

One of the things that attracted me to the swamps in the south were the Bald Cypress trees, which are the only tree of its kind that loses its leaves. The green leaves / moss go from green to red and then eventually everything just looks white. Kind of ghostly and mysterious, which is a perfect mood to match the fact that you're witnessing them in a swamp. Willie, David, Carolyn and I arrived at this particular swamp very very early in the morning (I guess that's natural for us photographers). We assumed we'd have the place to ourselves but found that we weren't the first to arrive ... in fact a group of 12 workshop students had beat us and was starting to hop in their kayaks. So naturally we raced into ours and being the competitive creatures we are, raced to paddle ahead of them! David sent us off to explore one side of the lake and Willie and I would paddle a little, run the kayak ashore, hop out and grab our camera/tripod and take some photos. At one point I saw all these trees lined up in a row, except one tree had a twisted branch. That one anomaly caught my eye and I knew I had to snap it. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 80mm, f/11, 1/8 sec, ISO 400

Tangled Up

One of the things that makes the Bald Cypress swamps so neat is that they're covered in Spanish moss. The moss hangs down down off the tree limbs and in the fall, when they lose their color it creates this very ghostly scene. When the Bald Cypress trees themselves start changing colors it creates a neat dichotomy of red on white. Willie, Carolyn, David and I shared this lake with a group of workshop students but for the most part never interfered with each other. We started early, while the morning was still pitch black, and arrived at the grove just as light was starting to seep in. With such little light we would paddle the kayaks to the shore, hop out, secure the kayak, and then mount the cameras onto a tripod. Eventually it got light enough that we could hand-hold our photos from in the kayak. It certainly made it much easier to take photos -- and quicker to explore and photograph a number of scenes. This photo, however, was my last photo that I took with the tripod. I spotted it just as the rest of the crew switched to hand-holding, and I loved the way these trees lined up their trunks but their big branches seemed to disappear into a tangle of moss heaven. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 100mm, f/11, 1/25 sec, ISO 400

The Giving Tree

The Bald Cypress tree is one of the few trees in its family in which it loses all of its leaves in the winter. Here in the swamps of the Southern United States, the trees are filled with stringing moss, creating an entirely misty mood ... especially in the fall when the leaves of the Cypress start changing color and then eventually fall off. Our plan had initially been to head to the swamps and stay near a particular bayou -- however, David got news that this particular swamp still had mostly green leaves but a different one might have more reddish leaves. After a quick alteration to the plan, we were set to visit both bayous! Our first stop was to the swamp with more red leaves and we met up with an amazing couple who rented us kayaks and sent us into the lake to see what we could find. David gave great directions and Willie and I spent the morning driving our kayaks to shore, grabbing the tripods, taking pictures, getting back in the kayak, and repeating. Once the sun came up enough we were able to photograph handheld from inside the boat. Thanks to cloud cover we took photos for hours. I remember after a while I started to take less and less photos and just soak up the amazingness of the lake. We're surrounded by these amazing trees, on a calm morning, with no city-sounds. Eventually I drifted over to this tree, called for the others, and we all photographed it for quite some time! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 86mm, f/8, 1/200 sec, ISO 640

Shot through the Swamp

The Bald Cypress tree is one of the few trees in its family in which it loses all of its leaves in the winter. Here in the swamps of the Southern United States, the trees are filled with stringing moss, creating an entirely misty mood ... especially in the fall when the leaves of the Cypress start changing color and then eventually fall off. After a slight last minute alteration to our plan, David, Willie, Carolyn and I found ourselves at the first of a few swamps that we were going to visit. We arrived just after a large workshop had started to drop into the same lake we were visiting! Argh! Luckily we had arranged for kayaks to be waiting for us, we raced into them, and paddled to get ahead of the workshop. David, now the swamp master at this point, recommended Willie and I check out a particular side of the bayou, while he and Carolyn went to the other. We would paddle the kayak towards shore, get out of the kayak, setup the tripod, take pictures, get back in, and repeat. Eventually the light got bright enough that we could handhold the photos from within the kayak, without the constant get-in-and-get-out of the kayak. While paddling around I came across this tree and I loved the way the branch shot through the scene, as if by an arrow. I also kept hearing in my head: "Shot through the heart, and you're ok...." Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 125mm, f/8, 1/160 sec, ISO 640

Swamp Monster

One of the more "neat" things that I've done was to kayak down the bayou in Louisiana. My first time was during a trip to New Orleans where we took a short excursion to paddle down the swamp, see some alligators and stare at the big trees. Sammi came home with a huge sun-burn that lasted for months! Willie did a similar trip a year later and Sarah came home with huge sun-burns (ironic)! David Thompson convinced Willie and I that we should go back. So we flew in, rented a massive SUV (not on purpose), got ourselves some kayaks and hit the swamps. None of the trip wouldn't have been possible without David's help. Growing up I played the game "Number Munchers" on an old Apple IIgs. Back then the graphics were ... minimal ... and the second I saw this tree (on the right) I thought "TREE MONSTER!" It's mouth (a combination of the dark trees behind and the red branches overhead) is wide open as it's about to chomp down on the unsuspecting little green ball of leaves. I knew I had to snap a photo of it! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 120mm, f/8, 1/200 sec, ISO 640

Orange Dipped

After exploring a particular lake for a few hours we decided to visit one more spot before calling it a wrap and grabbing breakfast. When we turned the corner in our kayaks we were greeted by some of the most beautiful trees and fall colors yet! This other lake quickly became our favorite spot!

A Ghost Amongst Ginger

I love the Bald Cypress trees in the swamps of the south because they have this mysterious mood to them. Spanish moss hangs down, creating these creepy but yet awe inspiring scene. Add on that these trees lose their leaves and have fall colors, and it's a good reason to go hop in a kayak and paddle down the bayou. We arrived, rented a bug SUV and drove down to the swamps ... only to decide we wanted to go someplace else to visit a different swamp. The leaves at this other area had gone more through their fall colors, were redder, or had fallen off completely (and we wanted to photograph those). We arrived while it was still dark, raced in the boats to one lake, photographed it for hours, and then started to head back. Willie was absolutely starving and wanted to head back to breakfast. But we had heard about another lake nearby that was supposed to also be great. David and I decided to let Willie go hungry and we paddled to the other lake. Boy was it a good decision, because this quickly became our favorite spot! In this scene, I especially loved 2 elements: first one the 4 splotches of yellow and green leaves at the bottom of the trees, and second, how the one ghost tree sat amongst the leaves of red. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 112mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO 640

Pots of Gold

I love the Bald Cypress trees in the swamps of the south because they have this mysterious mood to them. Spanish moss hangs down, creating these creepy but yet awe inspiring scene. Add on that these trees lose their leaves and have fall colors, and it's a good reason to go hop in a kayak and paddle down the bayou. We arrived, rented a bug SUV and drove down to the swamps ... only to decide we wanted to go someplace else to visit a different swamp. The leaves at this other area had gone more through their fall colors, were redder, or had fallen off completely (and we wanted to photograph those). We arrived while it was still dark, raced in the boats to one lake, photographed it for hours, and then started to head back. Willie was absolutely starving and wanted to head back to breakfast. But we had heard about another lake nearby that was supposed to also be great. David and I decided to let Willie go hungry and we paddled to the other lake. Boy was it a good decision, because this quickly became our favorite spot! In this scene, I especially loved 2 elements: first one the 4 splotches of yellow and green leaves at the bottom of the trees, and second, how the one ghost tree sat amongst the leaves of red. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 112mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO 640

Threes of Trees

Photography is always a learning skill. There's always room to get better and building upon your past experiences is essential to be able to create the photo that we have in our minds. Personally, I've always found it helpful to have multiple chances to visit a scene. There's always something better about having an idea of what the scene looks like, how the light moves through it, how the compositions fit together, that make the second, third, fourth time more successful. When photographing trees, for example, I've learned to look for scenes in which the trees have 2 things: first, separation between each trunk and the next, and second, separation from the foreground elements from the background elements (in this case: tree's in front of other trees) Carolyn, Willie and I had visited this lake on our first night but we rushed as we tried to catch the last glimpse of the sun hitting the trees. We had not expected the sun to dip down so early (it was still an hour before sunset). We came home with a number of great photos. I saw this group of trees on my first visit but didn't quite capture it how my eye was seeing it. Fortunately by the time we went back a second time, I had gotten a better feel for how to setup the photo, what to look for, and was able to stay stress-free and find the composition I wanted to capture. Nikon D800 w/Sigma 150-600mm: 260mm, f/13, 0.6 sec, ISO 100

Serene Baldness

Kayaking around a serene bayou in the South is actually pretty cool. The giant Bald Cypress trees with the Spanish Moss hanging off it makes for quite the scene. It's insanely mysterious, a bit creepy, yet also super peaceful and relaxing. The previous morning we woke up while it was still dark out, hopped into our rented kayaks, and spent the morning using flashlights to navigate to a particular lake with giant trees. After spending hours on that lake we made our way back, stopped at a second late to explore it, and then decided to finally feed our starving bellies. We came back again the following morning, though we opted to sleep in a few minutes and arrive once the sun had come up a little higher. This particular lake required more hand-holding of the camera while the other lake allowed us to hop on shore and bring out our tripods. When we arrived I immediately came over to this spot -- I had seen these trees the day before and knew I could line them up in a pleasing way. The water was extremely still and I made sure not to disturb the water too much with my boat. I loved how the darker trees in front are contrasted by the lighter trees in the back, combined with the mostly red leaves except for a patch or two of green/yellow ones. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 80mm, f/11, 1/4 sec, ISO 200

Bayou Bowling

Down south live the "Bald Cypress" trees. They're one of the only tree of its kind that actually loses its leaves. That means in the fall they go from green, to orange, to red, to dead. While most people choose to go see the beautiful aspen, maple, and other more popular colorful trees, we decided to go play in the swamps. Willie, David, Carolyn, and I met up in the swamps. After a brief change of plans, we found ourselves in kayaks floating down the bayou checking out some amazing lakes. We shared one of the swamps with a photography workshop but the lady who had rented us the kayaks had suggested we explore somewhere else. Willie was getting pretty hungry by this point and wanted to go back to eat. David and I wanted to explore. I reached into my bag, grabbed a granola bar and tossed it to Willie ... or should I say, I tossed it into the water in front of Willie! Ooops! After successfully getting him an extra that I had, we made it to this spot and came upon this patch of trees. I Loved the way they lined up, almost like a bowling alley! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 100mm, f/11, 1/5 sec, ISO 200

Set Alone

The bayou's of the south are lined with Bald Cypress trees that lose their leaves in the fall. Covered in Spanish Moss, they create an enchanted feel. You can paddle up the bayou "rivers" and see the banks lined with trees, or you can explore the lakes, which are dotted all over with trees. Willie, Carolyn, David and I explored one lake earlier in the day that had trees randomly strewn through it. We paddled all over the lake, getting out, taking pictures ... or eventually when there was enough light, taking tens of photos from inside our kayaks. When we got to this lake though, things were different. This lake might have been our favorite lake -- I think we all just sat there in silence taking it in when we came around the bend and saw it. Instead of trees all over the lake, it was mostly open, with trees only on the outside edges. The colors and shapes were just amazing. But what caught our eye the most, was how a tree here and a tree there would pop out from the background and be the perfect subject for a photo. Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 80mm, f/8, 1/200 sec, ISO 800

Great Grandma

One of the reasons why I was so excited to go to the swamps of Louisiana was to hang out with the old Bald Cypress trees covered with Spanish moss. The Cypress trees lose their leaves in the fall and the moss starts to really shine and stand out in the bayous. Willie, David, Carolyn and I explored a number of different lakes and each of them had something different. Bigger or smaller trees, different amounts of color change on the leaves, or changing amounts of moss. On this particular lake the leaves were still green when we first arrived but changed colors just after a few days here. We arrived for sunset and set out in the kayaks not sure what we'd find. Some clouds were rolling in and we secretly hoped for a nice sunset. Just before the sun dipped below the horizon it cast all of the trees in this beautiful glow. I came upon this tree, which reminded me of my grandparents: old, wise and beautiful (and beautifully white). Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 145mm, f/2.8, 1/500 sec, ISO 500

Tenting the Bayou

When people think of New Orleans they don't often think of the swamps and giant trees that line all the bayous outside of the city. When I first visited the city we took a kayak tour out to the swamps and were blown away by the scenes. One of the cool things about the Bald Cypress trees that live in these swamps is that they change colors and lose their leaves. Willie, Carolyn, David and I explored a few of these swamps during the fall changing of the leaves. We hopped into the kayaks for sunset and started exploring a portion of the lake covered in trees. The one thing we noticed was how close together the trees were -- they didn't create the separation we were looking for. We kept paddling further and further away from the boat launch, until eventually I came across these trees. I loved how the shape of the branch canopy created a tent. I could imagine just sitting under here for hours enjoying the view! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 135mm, f/9, 1/100 sec, ISO 500

The Staircase

The best way to explore the Bald Cypress forests in the bayous of the south is by kayak. You can see some things from shore, you can rent motor boats, you can paddle board, you could swim ... but kayaking allows you to take it in at your own pace, go where you want, and to just enjoy it on a personal level. David had arranged for us to rent kayaks and we got out on the water on 5 different occasions. This was one of the few sunset outings we had (others were from shore, due to timing with the kayak rentals or because it was too windy to get out in the boats). We had picked this lake because it had some of the bigger trees. Willie and I went off to explore a particular part of the lake just as the sun was starting to drop down and become "golden". At this point the shadows start to lessen and the beautiful warm colors creep out. I saw the drooping trees and branches and immediately thought it looked like they were making a staircase up to the canopy of the trees! Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 145mm, f/9, 1/80 sec, ISO 500

Bayou Lurker

Willie, David, Carolyn and I planned to spend most of our time in the south hanging around a couple different bayou's. This particular lake was known to have some of the bigger trees and although we rented kayak's to explore the lake, we only paddled around here on one evening. These trees are awesome to see. As we paddled around we kept thinking "damn! that's impressive!" Photographing them turned out to be a little more challenging than we had originally expected. Finding a group of trees that separates themselves with gaps between them proved to be more difficult. We kept paddling further and further out into the lake to see if we could find a better grove. As the sun started to set we got excited that the light might "blow up" and give us beautiful colors. We had wanted to photograph a particular set of trees if that happened, but just before Willie turned back and ditched me, I noticed the heron hiding amongst this particular tree. I stopped long enough to snap a few photos of the tree and the heron before turning back. (Sunset turned out to be mostly a dud). Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8: 200mm, f/8, 1/100 sec, ISO 500