Photographing the Swamp in Black and White
Lake Dauterive Cypress Backlit Mist
Introduction
I've been photographing the swamps here in Louisiana since I moved back in December 2001. I've focused on photographing birds and cypress scenes in color. For several years I've been drawn to rendering swamp scenes in black and white rather than in color. The images begin as color images converted into photoshop or Nik Silver Efex Pro to black and white. With this approach, I apply filters in software to similate the use of color filters on the camera lens to lighten or darken parts of the image. When in the field, I often set my camera to monochrome mode to simulate how the image will appear on the back of the camera's LCD. While the camera still produces a color raw image file, it helps visualize the photograph while in the field.
Early Morning Lake Dauterieve
Composition
Composing a compelling Black and White image in the swamp is challenging. An effective black and white photos are as visually simple as possible. Without care, the tangle of Cypress trees, Spanish moss, and underbrush makes the image too busy. The careful attention to eliminating elements and getting to the essential is the key.
Foggy Morning Henderson Swamp
Without color, elements tend to merge. Careful attention to the tones of the foreground and background is essential to make the subject of the image stand out.
Cypress in Bright Morning Mist
The best Cypress Tree images are of the trees in the water. I often like to photograph so that the reflection in the water is nearly are prominant as the tree itself.
Ghost Tree in the Fog–Lake Dauterieve
Fog and Mist
Weather conditions in late November and December in Louisiana is conducive to thick fog. Fog obscures the background and makes high contrast scenes with darker tress against a bright background.
Foggy Swamp Scene–Lake Dauterieve
Mist also frequently occurs in the swamps and lakes during the winter in Louisiana. Typically this happens on frigid days where the air temperature is much colder than the water temperature. For color photography, this is excellent since the sun shining through the mist makes a golden glow. It is also great for black and white as it lends visual interest.
Cyprss Knees and Trunk–Misty Morning–Lake Dauterieve
Manmade Structures in the Swamp
In addition to the Cypress Scenes, there are many buildings and structures to photograph in black and white.
I-10 Atchafalaya Bridge at the Butte La Rose Boat Landing
St Eloi Church–Theriot, Louisiana
Clicking the images will link to a webpage where you may purchase them. Or click here for my print webpage. Additionally, I created most of these images on one of my fall photo tours. Click here for more details and to sign up for one of the tours.