January 2025 Newsletter–Charles Bush Photography

Fall Photo Tours

Black and White Swampscene taken at Lake Martin in November 2023

I am excited to announce three new Louisiana Fall Photo Tours for 2025:

• November 2nd – 5th, 2025

• November 16th – 19th, 2025

• December 1st – 4th, 2025

These tours provide a unique opportunity to capture the beauty of old-growth cypress trees, some of the few remaining stands in Louisiana. Scheduled to coincide with peak fall foliage and optimal lighting conditions, you will have the chance to photograph these majestic trees reflected in the still waters of Louisiana’s swamps. These photo sessions will focus on perfecting your compositions and capturing the intricate details of Spanish moss, vibrant cypress leaves, and mirror-like reflections.

Join us to explore the heart of Louisiana's natural beauty and elevate your photography.

Learn more and sign up for the Fall Photo Tours

Spring Photo Tours

Great Egret Courtship Behavior Taken at PJF Farms in April 2024

There is still availability for the 2025 Louisiana Spring Photo Tours:

• April 13th – 16th, 2025

• May 11th – 14th, 2025

• May 25th – 28th, 2025

Springtime in Louisiana offers a photographer’s paradise with nesting wading birds, osprey in flight, and the lush greens of new growth. These tours are designed to get you up close to the action, providing stunning opportunities to capture intimate wildlife moments and dynamic bird behavior. Learn how to frame your shots to highlight the vibrant ecosystem and create images that tell a story.

Reserve your spot today and experience the magic of Louisiana in spring.

My Best Photos of 2024

Look at my curated gallery of the Best Photos of 2024, showcasing some of the most memorable moments captured during last year’s tours. From serene swamp reflections to striking bird portraits, these images demonstrate the kinds of stunning photographs you can create on one of my tours.

View the full gallery here.

Website Update

With the recent update from Squarespace 7.0 to 7.1, my website's look and functionality have changed. While I’ve worked diligently to restore the familiar layout and optimize for search engines, some aspects, like the gallery navigation, differ from the previous version. I’m continuously improving the site’s usability and ensuring the content remains accessible.

Please email me if you notice any errors or have feedback about the site. I greatly appreciate your input.

Announcing Fall Cypress Photo Tours

Lake Martin Fall Swamp Scene

I'm pleased to announce three photo tours scheduled for this fall! For early morning photography, it is difficult to predict the timing of peak fall color and mist and fog on the water. Still, these tours coincide with unique photo opportunities on tours over the past twenty years.

Late fall in Louisiana brings excellent photo opportunities for photo tour participants in the swamps. Featured here are three Louisiana Photo Tours timed to provide the best chance for rust-colored cypress trees and misty or foggy mornings. We visit three locations that offer access to large old-growth Bald Cypress trees growing from within the water. The tours are scheduled for the week before and the week after Thanksgiving. Louisiana boasts forty percent of North America's wetlands, and we'll visit the Atchafalaya Basin, North America's largest River swamp ecosystem. We finalize the itinerary for the tour as late as possible to ensure we are at the right place, depending upon the weather.

The tour is divided between time spent on the boat and photographing from the shore.s us to reach the prime shooting locations, primarily in the morning, weather permitting. When we photograph from the shore, we can use tripods, which allows us to use slower shutter speeds to our advantage.

The tours start at 3 p.m. on the first day and end after the last photo session on the fourth day, giving us three full days of photography.

Charles Bush Photography Newsletter – December 2024

Thinking of Spring

Roseate Spoonbill at Rip’s Rookery Jefferson Island

As the year winds down, it’s the perfect time to start planning for spring! Our Spring Bird Photography Tours are designed to capture the stunning nesting wading birds of Southern Louisiana. You’ll have the opportunity to photograph majestic egrets, herons, ibis, the vibrant Roseate Spoonbills, and Osprey in flight in their natural habitats.

Tour Highlights:

• Locations: Cazan Lake, Miller’s Lake, Jefferson Island, Lake Martin, and Henderson Swamp.

• Structure: Three half days by boat and three half days on land to ensure a diverse range of photographic opportunities.

Learn more and book your spot today—limited availability for this unforgettable experience!

Great Egret Courtship–Cazan Lake

2024 Fall Tours Completed

Lake Martin early morning

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this year’s fall tours! The stunning cypress trees with their fiery autumn hues and the golden-hour reflections made for some incredible images.

Want to see the best shots from this season? Click here to view the gallery.

Looking ahead, the 2025 Fall Tour Dates will be announced soon. Stay tuned for updates in early 2025 and be ready to reserve your spot.

Sunrise at Lake Dauterive

Photo Mechanic / Fast Raw Viewer Update

I’ve put Fast Raw Viewer and Photo Mechanic through their paces this fall during the tours. Here’s a quick update:

• Fast Raw Viewer: A fantastic tool for quickly checking exposure and sharpness, making it an essential part of my workflow. But it won’t replace Photo Mechanic as the import and keywording tools are lacking.

• Photo Mechanic: Still my go-to for downloading and keywording images efficiently.

I’ll publish a detailed comparison soon, including insights from real-world use on the fall tours. Watch out for this on the blog!

Photo Computer Backup Strategies

Backup strategies are a hot topic, especially as we handle ever-larger files. I’ve been working closely with a client to develop a robust backup system tailored to photographers, particularly those using Apple computers.

New options, including improved cloud integrations and hardware setups, are making it easier to protect your images. I’ll be sharing these insights in an upcoming blog post to help you create a backup plan that works for you.

Stay Connected

Thank you for being part of the Charles Bush Photography community. As always, your passion for capturing the beauty of nature inspires everything we do. If you have questions about tours, tools, or techniques, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Happy holidays, and here’s to another year of extraordinary photography!

Warm regards,
Charles Bush