Sunrise - Cypress Bottom

Gallery: LandscapePosted May 27, 201691 views8 comments

This photo was taken in a cypress filled bottom adjacent to the Pascagoula River in South Mississippi in the PRWMA from a kayak using a Canon 6d, 24-105, and taking three shots at varying apertures combined in LR to create a HDR. Additional corrections were completed with LR.
This place is "spiritual" in the words of my companion and truly was peaceful and so quiet all you could hear were the sounds of nature. Several hundreds yards further I accomplished a long held goal of capturing a wild owl picture. The fauna were mostly unfazed by our presence I presume because we did not have the shape of, nor make the movements of what they fear. Wonderful experience! More shots at Facebook/salt and see images if you are interested.

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on May 28, 2016 at 1:27 PM

A very peaceful and serene image. It's a little dark, so I'd suggest lighting up the darker areas.
A program like Nik's Viveza (now free - the whole NIK suite is now free and EVERYONE should explore using it) will allow you to lighten select areas, while blending them perfectly with the nearby areas. No need for selecting, lighting, blending, healing, etc).
Lovely scene.
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Lowe on May 28, 2016 at 4:12 PM

This is a very lovely scene, Anthony. The larger version is a must to really enjoy that dappled lighting in the trees and the reflection helps anchor the scene. My only suggestion would be to open up the darker areas a bit more. Nice work.

Ed

Registered on February 7, 2004, 414 Posts, 7115 Comments

Comment posted by Anthony Pollard on May 28, 2016 at 5:59 PM

Thanks so much for your comments! I too felt it was too dark especially on the tree trunks but I eventually defaulted to what I remember seeing at the time. And what attracted me so much to the scene was the dramatically bright shafts of sunlight filtering through the leaves in the upper center tempered somehow by the dark surrounding areas. It had been dark in the cypress bottom until I entered this area with all the light, so I too felt it looked dark but left it that way over and over as I worked through my adjustments. I will repost another version that I cropped differently to remove the excessively large cypress on the right and see if that helps it sufficiently. Thanks again!

Registered on April 20, 2015, 20 Posts, 37 Comments

Comment posted by Raoul Breaux Jr on May 28, 2016 at 11:40 PM

Nice to meet you Anthony! I like this--especially the reworked version. It conveys the peaceful beauty of the swamp. Opening up the shadows made a lot of difference. Like you, I love being out in areas like this.

Just out of curiosity, what is the cylindrical object in the top of the tree left of center? At first I thought it was a large Owl, but I'm not sure.

Registered on April 27, 2016, 20 Posts, 142 Comments

Comment posted by Anthony Pollard on May 29, 2016 at 8:06 AM

Rauol, I too wonder what this round object is. My first thought was a large bee nest but, my best guess is that is the way the cypress grew at that point. It seems to be part of a very large cypress in the distance, and some that are that large are hollow up to near the top. I zoomed in on the original shot but it did not reveal anything helpful. Interesting though, isn't it?

Registered on April 20, 2015, 20 Posts, 37 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on May 29, 2016 at 10:33 AM

Nice scene and very peaceful. The second image works the best with more detail in the tree trunks.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on May 30, 2016 at 9:28 PM

Very nice scene, Anthony. I know how challenging lighting and comp is, as I've tried it many times by canoe. I Like your choice with the repost.

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on May 31, 2016 at 1:50 AM

You've captured the lush greenery and peace very well. The second edit is a significant improvement IMO.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments