Blue Cypress Lake is the most beautiful lake that I’ve ever been to in Florida. What makes Blue Cypress Lake so amazing is the Cypress Trees and Spanish Moss. My first time there seemed almost surreal, like one of those places that you see from National Geographic magazine.
As beautiful as it was, I felt I wasn’t able to capture the moment the way I wanted, mainly because I didn’t have my wide angle lens with me. I went to this lake looking to shoot wildlife with my telephoto. When I head back to Blue Cypress, I’ll be sure to have my wide angle ready to capture the lakes natural beauty.
In this photo I added a texture to the image to give it a more artistic look. I had a hard time representing how I felt while I was there so I added some textures to make up for it ;-)
I used Photomatix to process the single exposure RAW file. Tone mapping RAW files using Photomatix allows me to get more detail than I would with a RAW application. I then blended in the original exposure in Photoshop Elements to maintain the natural lighting.
Learn Captain Kimo’s HDR techniques with his e-book…
“Secrets to Mastering HDR Photography”
Software I use for processing my photos:
Photomatix – Used for creating high dynamic range.
Topaz Adjust – Photoshop plugin used to enhance details.
Topaz DeNoise – Photoshop plugin used to eliminate noise.
Topaz Clean – Photoshop plugin used to smooth pixels.
Topaz Simplify – Photoshop plugin used for artistic affect.
Photography Style: Single Exposure HDR with Texture
Digital Camera Used: Canon Rebel XT
Lens Used: Sigma 18-200mm
Photo Location: Blue Cypress Lake, Fellsmere, Florida