Hand in the swamp
I made this image while out in the swamps here in Florida. I love the cypress tree and it's intriguing root system. I often find myself resting under the shade of the trees during the mid day heat. The song of the Mockingbird over my head and the cry of the osprey circling high above is the music in nature.
I live near Blue Cypress Lake in Florida and spend many days photographing on the lake. The lake is in a remote area and have as numerous old cypress trees growing in the lake. I started photographing the trees from my kayak and quickly learned that the mornings are the best time to photograph to avoid wind that usually starts blowing by 10 o’clock.. To successfully photography from a moving kayak it is important not to forget where you are and the expensive equipment you have with you. It is easy to get distracted with your photography and trying position the moving kayak and you could flip over and have a disastrous day. I use a couple of water tight float bags that are tied off to the kayak. My equipment is divided into groups. One bag will have things like my vehicle keys, cellphone, extra camera batteries, and filters. The other bag will have the one or two of the extra lenses I bring along. I pad the bags with foam rubber to protect the equipment when moving around in the kayak. The bags remained closed and water tight other than accessing them for equipment. When photographing from a kayak it is best to work slow and not get overly excited of being in a new location. I used a Sony A7Rlv and keep the camera setting on steady shot with a shutter speed no less than 1/30. I used manual exposure most of the time but on occasion I might use a custom setting to set a minimum shutter speed with auto ISO setting. If you decide to photograph on Blue Cypress Lake you can put in at Middleton’s Fish Camp, the only lanch site on the lake. The lake has plenty of large alligator and a good variety of birds to photograph. The lake is uninhabited other than a small community near the fish camp. Once on the lake you will pretty much have the place to your self. It is important to follow all the boating safety regulations and let someone know where you if you go alone.
https://www.middletonsfishcamp.com
Quiet Afternoon
I enjoy the days I can get out in my small boat on a lake nearby. Often times I am the only one on the water, and the quiet time is a nice break from the negative noise most of us have to endure with during these times. The winter months in Florida can have some great skies with the occational cold front that moves down from the North.
The sights and sounds of Havana Cuba offers a photographer plenty of opportunities to make a few good images. Havana is full of bustle with the daily activity of people coming and going trying to make a living in a very sparse economy. The country as a whole lives at a poverty level that many of us have never experienced. Everywhere you see the harden faces the people worn down by years of struggling to aquire their basic needs. Despite their poverty the people are very freindly and helpful with strangers, but with some people it is an attempt to ask for money. Cuba was once the richest Island in the Caribbean. When you walk the streets of Havana and see the disrepair and crumbling of what was once grand buildings of Spanish architecture, it is evident the communist government is a failure and the people suffer because of it. It is the desire and yearning of every human to live free and pursue happyness .
Morning glow
I had the chance to get out on the Santa Fe River in my kayak this fall to make some photographs. I like to start out early just as the first light is coming on in the morning. The kayak let me get into shadow water and access some areas that a larger boat couldn’t get in. When I find an interesting location, I park the kayak and wade around in the swampy areas looking for a nice grouping of cypress trees. The early morning stillness and the cypress trees create a special moment and being there is always a satisfying experience.
Woif Creek
Simplicity is a quality I strive for in my photography. The simplest statement is the strongest statement when revealing the mood of a place. I was in the Georgia Mountains walking in a small stream when I made this image. It was early morning and the soft light created a mood of quiet and calm along the small stream. The location offered many possible compositions with the moss cover rocks and fallen trees. Of all the images I produced that day I was feel this one best represents that mood of that particular morning.
https://www.exploregeorgia.org/region/northeast-georgia-mountains