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March 10, 2025
Behind The Image Weekly - Caddo Lake
Behind The Image Weekly - Caddo Lake by James Knighten (emi_fiend)
This image was shot at Caddo Lake in Northeast Texas - very near the Louisiana border. This lake is a large cypress swamp and photography is best done from a boat. Having never been to Caddo Lake before, I signed up for s photography workshop which allowed us to be on the water twice a day for three days.
I used a Nikon Z8 camera with the Z 24-120mm f/4 S lens. I also shot a lot with the Z 100-400mm, but not for this image. My shutter speed was 1/125 sec. Aperture was f/8. ISO was 1600. Our leader had recommended a shutter speed of 1/100, but I was concerned about camera motion. All shots were handheld. In addition, at our leader's recommendation, I shot bursts at 3 fps so that one shot may be sharper than the others.
In the swamp, I looked for shapes, patterns and color. This particular shot was of a cypress tree whose lower limb formed an arch over the water. There was mist rising from the water.
For post processing, I processed the raw image in Lightroom Classic with a Camera Neutral picture control so as to avoid the colors becoming too bright. I also used the Nik Tonal Contrast filter to add some contrast, but I only used a partial opacity so as to not overcook the image.
I recommend the Caddo Lake location to landscape photographers. It is an out of the ordinary landscape. You must be on a boat to get good images.
Thanks for looking.
Posted by dm1dave at March 10, 2025 2:00 AM