Into the Swamp

The same old places were getting a bit stale, and I felt I needed some fresh air in the creative and subject matter sense, and after some life changing events I decided on a new direction … into the swamp.  I was aware of the potential offered by Caddo Lake, especially in early November when fall color came to the cypress trees.

Planning a trip to a new area takes time and foreknowledge that is not always available. After scratching about and doing some wheel spinning, I was given Ben Pierce’s name by my good friend Jerry Greer (@jerrygreerphoto). Ben (@benpiercephotography) has been photographing the swamp for some years from a kayak, which was a totally new idea for me. So we worked out a deal for guide services for me and my friend Guy Maestre.

My many years of whitewater kayaking made the idea attractive so I pressed on. I tried Jerry’s Native Ultimate but found it was not the boat for me, and after a demo at my local dealer, River Sports in Knoxville I decided on the Bonafide SS127 which is a sit-on-top rather than sit inside boat. Its primarily a fishing kayak but is perfectly suited for photography. The seat perches you at about the level of a kitchen chair so is quite comfortable, and the boat is stable enough to stand up in, although I feel a little shaky doing so.

There are multiple options for making images. The easiest is handholding and recent advances with image stabilization for lenses and bodies makes that a viable solution. If the water is shallow enough you can set up a tripod alongside the boat, generally requiring working off the LCD rather than eye piece. It is also possible to get out of the boat in shallow water and next to cypress trunks and work off the tripod in standard fashion. Most tripods are surpassingly resistant to the effects of water and mud — my old Gitzo 2 series hasn’t gummed up yet after several days in the swamp as well as several also in the surf in Iceland.

Everyone I talk to stresses about alligators, but I have not had an encounter. In warm weather there could be snakes in low branches, so be aware. Bugs can be an issue, but in 10 days on the water, only an issue once and easily dealt with using a bit of DEET.

After Thanksgiving the weather forecast in South Louisiana looked favorable for fog, so I packed up the gear for another long drive back to my old hometown, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Once again met up with Ben for a morning at Henderson swamp in the Atchafalaya Basin, though the fog lifted quickly. The following morning on Lake Martin was the motherlode, however. The fog took over 3 hours to lift and gave up many delightful images. Lake Martin is too deep to set up a tripod except in a few places along the fringe, so it was an IS morning. Position is everything for composition, and standing is usually only possible in places that don’t work.

What follows is a selection of images from those trips, with a few random comments.

Henderson Swamp

Lake Martin

Caddo Lake