Fall ushers in the end of our year capping it off in warmth and color. There is very much a sense of calm and delight in the midst of its show of reds, oranges and yellows. In the south it take on a whole new look while still draped in those colors. The Bald Cypress needles disappear for winter, reappearing in spring draped in green. Before they go they turn an intense orange and when it’s against those texture rich gray trunks, well it’s a show you gotta see! We spent a week doing just that in the very capable hands of Captain Rich (only one I sail with on Caddo!). We greeted the sun amongst a different grove each day, no two ever being the same. Shooting from a pontoon boat handheld the whole time, the Z24-70f2.8 & Z600f4 TC being the only lenses I used. I love the special memories I’m taking home with me and can’t wait to come back and again experience fall, bayou style! (below is a gallery of images :-)

Much of the ancient Cypress of Caddo Lake is in spectacular fall color right now. You normally see Caddo’s cypress as either silhouette in a dramatic sunrise or, in splendid fall color. But there is another side that you see here. There is an evasive worm that shows up in September. This worm is veracious and eats all the leaves off the trees. It doesn’t harm the trees, they leaf out all green next spring but right now they look like this. No leaves but gads of moss that is basically the same color as the trunks. The pattern just sucks me in! To bring it to you, I go tight which means shooting with the Z600f4 TC (handholding and shooting from the boat). As the boat floats by, I look for the patterns and once I find what I like, I shoot as we continue to float by as the slight change in angle can really make a difference. It means seeing the trees from the forest.

A simply walk up the road (well at this altitude a slow walk for some) put is in the heart of one grove. I took up just the Z14-24f2.8 cause I wanted to take it all in. I closed the lens down to f/22 and then swayed a tad to pinch the sun a little more around a trunk to create that star burst. Once that shot was made, walked ten feet and repeated the process. Just simply a gorgeous morning cause fall at Philmont – yummy!