This past fall, three of my photography friends and I traveled to the Ozarks for a couple of weeks of photography. We have been getting together for these types of trips for approximately fourteen years now. Sarge does all the planning, reservations, and car rental, and we sort of travel along, although we all agree on our destination. The Ozarks are an interesting part of the U.S., a region I had not visited before. It turned out to be a landscape of gently rolling hills, none higher than around 2,400 feet. While at Hochatown, Beavers Bend State Park in southern Oklahoma, we discovered that Long Lake was a great place for bald cypress. Checking the maps, we located several good spots that might work, and the next morning, we headed out early to arrive before sunrise.
For those who are unfamiliar with bald cypress, it is a tree found in the swamps of the Southwest United States. It is a slow-growing, long-lived tree, reaching approximately 120 feet at maturity. The bald cypress has needle-like leaves that turn from yellow to copper red in the fall and drop their needles, thus its baldness, making it a deciduous tree.
When we arrived at Long Lake, we were blown away. There was no wind, and the lake was perfectly flat, with morning fog just above the water. This was the third time we had ventured to capture images of bald cypress, and this was the crowning achievement. The colors were rich, and the trees were perfectly positioned—not too dense, but nicely spaced. Our visit there was one of those rare occasions when everything seemed just right, with the images coming from the camera not really needing any adjustment, perhaps just a little tweak. This image is a predawn shot with less contrast and one of my favorites of the group. We ended up visiting the spot two more times: once in the evening and again the following morning. This image is my photo of the year.
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Love this shot. Nice work, Earl!