Deep Florida

[Judd Patterson]

http://www.juddpatterson.com/BPN/deep_florida.jpg

July 19, 2009 @ Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park
Canon 5D MII
Canon 17-40mm f/4 @ 17mm
8s, f/16, ISO 100

Deep within Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park you know there are more alligators that people. Mosquitoes buzz all about...a constant whining that sticks in your head. Every tree is loaded with ferns, orchids, bromeliads, moss, lichen...life. The dark, tannin rich water slowly creeps by. This is deep Florida.

This image was taken yesterday while on an adventure with Alan, Manuel, Keith and Paul. We started our hike at 7:45AM and returned around 4:00PM. For long periods we made progress through the "jungle" at no more than 0.4 miles per hour!

[Cindy Cone]

Great composition, Judd, with wonderful lighting for so deep in the Fakahatchee. I like the anchor plant in the foreground, and the light/reflections create a nice diagonal. It sounds like it was a wonderful trek in the heat and humidity of southern Florida.

[Katherine Enns]

Oh my! Very nice composition, the water treatment is great here. I am after reading "The Swamp", and "A Land Remebered" so if I actually knew anything about Florida other than what Ive read and the little i have seen, I would say this captures that dark river of grass feeling I get from reading about it beautifully. A very nice photograph. Can almost hear the buzzing!

kat

[Jay Gould]

Hi Judd, this one I am not sure about because of the bright reflections right in the center of the image. If you or someone has the PP skills, I would love to see that center diffused.

The swirl in the LLHC and the line to the left of the swirl direct your eyes to the center bright spot.

The foreground fern on the RHS is a very strong element and that is great and sets the tone for the image.

[Markus Jais]

Beautiful shot. I like the composition and the wonderful green colors.

Markus

[Robert Amoruso]

Unless you get overcast and even then the bright spots on the water are a given so I good with that.

Focusing on the plant on the right was a good choice and I like the water swirl to the left but would have like to seen the camera aimed down to capture that better.

All in all well done in a landscape (i.e. Florida) that is hard to deal with.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Judd,
I thought about this one last night and came to the same conclusion Robert did....just a bit more room for the swirl for my tastes. considering that I find Florida one of the most difficult places to do landscapes......I'd take it! Was Paul in his flip flops?

[Rene Quenneville]

Beautiful colors and sharpness. I also support the point on camera position. Amazing environment to take pictures. I would be scared to go deep in those woods.

[Judd Patterson]

Thanks guys! I also tried to capture more of the swirl, but it never reswirled quite like that. I guess I should have been using one of those Nikon 14-24mm lenses to get it all into the image. :)

Paul has some new gorilla shoes (at least that is what they look like) that he tried on this trip. Wait until you see them! :D I plan to stick with the old tennis shoes.

[Ramesh Adkoli]

I liked the mood, mystery of the swirl and the composition a lot, Judd. A very unique perspective. TFS.

regards,
ramesh

[JB Ellis]

Judd, for my the swirl is just right. Its adds a mystery to the image. Makes we want to go there and see for myself. Too much and then it would become the focal point, leaving out the mystery. My two cents.:)

[Lance Warley]

I'm with JB. The swirl makes it special for me. Good one, Judd.

[Arthur Morris]

Whoa and wow. The red stuff and the swirl are killer. Did you do anything tight with just that?

I am sure about this one, sure that it is a great image.

[Judd Patterson]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the comments! I actually didn't do anything tight on the tanin-stained water or swirl. I really could have used my 70-200mm lens, but I left it behind in exchange for the 17-40 and 300mm f/4. Next time I'll definitely continue the experiments with the great red water. :)

[Connie Mier]

I have to hand it to you for presenting this on the web. IMO, capturing a cypress swamp is one of the most difficult photos in Florida and begs to be seen very enlarged (ala Butcher style). You composed this so well and the significance of the water is balance well with the large fern in the foreground. The water really leads the eyes into the forest, providing some sense of order (not sure if I'm making any sense or not!). Bottomline, absolutely beautiful.

[Greg Basco]

Judd, great image. This looks like it would be just as challenging as Costa Rica's rainforests in terms of finding an orderly, dynamic composition amidst all the chaotic vegetation, and you did very well here. A really striking image!

Cheers,
Greg Basco