Cheyenne Bottoms

I always struggle to find a comp of the large pools of water at Cheyenne Bottoms because CB is basically a large depression in the ground with lots of houses, towers etc on the hills around the wetlands. I took this this week under a bright but cloudy sky, which allowed me to shoot to the west and backlight the sunflower. Lots of compression to fit the size limit.

Interesting looking place. Where is it located? There were a lot birds wading in the shallows. Any idea of the species?

I like the way the clouds reflect in the water. Did you, per chance, take any shots from a lower angle? The grassy islets leading off to the horizon might make an interesting image.

Daniel, in my experience CB is good for birding, but hard on photographers, especially someone looking for a grand landscape shot. I couldn't go any lower due to the tall weeds that lead to the mudflats, plus the sky is just out of the shot. Cheyenne Bottoms is in central Kansas and along with nearby Quivira NWR is considered a wetlands of great importance. Migration is getting started here now, so birding gets interesting for a while. Species were small sandpipers and dowitchers for the most part.

Rob,

I like the clouds reflected in the water and the splash of color added by the flowers in the foreground. I've only been to CB a couple of times, but ran into just the issues you mentioned when trying to get a "grand landscape" type of shot. Very frustrating.

Rob I think the version you have on the M&N forum here is much closer to a grand landscape than this one even if you did have to include some distant buildings and other man made objects. I like being able to see the horizon and the clouds are also very interesting. I think one can also see the Bottoms more in context in that version. Nice job.

Rob I agree I prefer the M&N image also. Much grander!!