Everglades in Monochrome

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Everglades in Black and White by Chip Bunnell Photography

The Everglades is truly a wonder of nature. Often, when the name is heard, alligators and some interesting characters that drive air boats come to mind. In reality, there are several very different parts of this giant National Park, each as equally distinctive as the others.

This image depicts the largest portion of the 2 million acre wetland ecosystem, the sawgrass marshes.  Dubbed the “River of Grass”, a shallow, slow moving river meanders through the tall grass as it makes its way south to Florida Bay and the Florida Keys.  Numerous species of birds call this area home.  Native palm trees can be seen in the distance.  Massive spring clouds add interest as they seem to glide just above the tree line. As this is the end of our annual dry season, the grass is brown, just waiting for the summer rains to return them to their lush green appearance.

Deep in the Everglades, along the historic Tamiami Trail, Clyde Butcher, one of my favorite photographers has his gallery and former home.  After enjoying his truly spectacular monochromatic work, I was inspired to process this frame as a black and white.

For the last week I have been working exclusively with a Fuji X-T1 system.  I do love my full Canon system, but I am enjoying the lighter weight of the mirrorless design.  More details on this to follow….

Photo Stuff:  Single image with a Fuji X-T1, Processed in LR and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2

www.ChipBunnell.com
©2015 All Rights Reserved

 

Sunrise Flame

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Sunrise Flame by Chip Bunnell Photography

Warmth on a cold day. Light to show us the way. The transformation of raw ingredients into a life giving meal.  Our ancestors, several millennium ago, discovered how a simple fire had almost magical properties.

Fast forwarding to modern days, do we not have a special feeling as we gather around a campfire on a chilly night? Do we not feel security in a well lit path through dark woods? Do we not love the taste of a warm meal after a long day? Even with our modern understanding, fire still has these same magical properties in our lives.

Several hundred years ago, people far smart that most discovered yet another use for fire. By heating air within a lightweight container, it became lighter than the surrounding air. Through the properties of physics, that container of hot air would rise into the sky. Not only did fire help save our human ancestors on the ground, but it also allowed yet others to take flight!

Today, many of our friends and neighbors still use this very same principle, with a few more modern twists, to fill a balloon full of hot air and rise into the sky for a nearly silent flight. Carried only by the wind and powered by heat, entire festivals across our nations celebrate what simple humans discovered more than a few years ago.

This image is a single moment in time showing the flight-giving fire preparing to launch this simple, silent aircraft into the heavens.

Photo Stuff: Single frame, Processed in LR, Topaz Clarity and Topaz Adjust 5

www.ChipBunnell.com
©2015 All Rights Reserved