Duck Creek Pool One at Dawn
Duck Creek at Dawn. This is a conservation area dedicated to the preservation of birds, eagles, waterfowl and animals as well as native plants and trees. It is ...
Read more
Duck Creek at Dawn. This is a conservation area dedicated to the preservation of birds, eagles, waterfowl and animals as well as native plants and trees. It is part of an ancient swamp.
One of the only natural and untouched cypress and tupelo swamp areas left in southeastern Missouri.
Read less
One of the only natural and untouched cypress and tupelo swamp areas left in southeastern Missouri.
Read less
Mar, 2015Views
2052
Likes
Awards
Chatter Award
2020 Choice Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
All Star
Magnificent Capture
Top Ranks
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 2Top 20 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 2
Categories
DanushiaDee
March 08, 2015
Hi Brenda. Beautiful lighting, wonderful reflection. Looking forward to many moe photos. Welcome to the viewbug family!
BrendaCrawford
March 10, 2015
Thank you so much. You do beautiful and colorful work that is so warm and inviting. Thank you for sharing.
BrendaCrawford
March 16, 2015
Thank you so much. I looked at your gallery. You are brilliantly talented. Beautiful work.
tharonmayberry
April 04, 2015
Beautiful mirror image. Mskes you Thankful for the beauty captured in a photo
BrendaCrawford
May 31, 2015
Thank you Robert. I always say "God does all the work, I just show up with a camera"
Platinum
nina050
June 02, 2015
I'm about to sell all my expensive Nikon equipment and resort to a less expensive point and shoot! You are well on your way to being more than just an amateur photographer!! If you buy a DSLR you will be a formidable photo artist! Well done!
BrendaCrawford
June 02, 2015
That is a compliment Nina. You are a gifted artist and photographer. I am not sure what kind of DSLR to even look at.
Platinum
mcampi
September 24, 2015
Had to come back and look at this beauty one more time. This is an amazing shot. It is a real inspiration to get out and and shoot... thank you again for posting this. Amazing Amazing Amazing
PRO+
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This photograph was taken at Pool One in Duck Creek Conservation Area just off of HWY 51 near Puxico Missouri. It is an 1800 acre lake that was once part of an ancient swamp. The whole area is now a managed wetland environment dedicated to the preservation of migratory waterfowl and other wildlife. The whole area is 6,300 acres. It is home to Bald Eagles, species of Hawks, Geese, Ducks, Herons, Egrets and a multitude of other birds and wildlife as well as rare and protected wildflowers and plant life. It is serene and intensely beautiful.Time
I took this photo just after the sun had risen over the tree line and was burning the mist off of the water.Lighting
Daylight or sunrise is in my opinion one of the most beautiful times of natural lighting to occur. Especially in this wetland environment. You never know what it will be like because it depends so much upon the temperature, the humidity, the wind and weather fronts. It could be misty or foggy or dry and filled with a burning glow from the sunrise. Like the swamp here the sunrise and sunset are always mysterious, unpredictable and incredibly beautiful.Equipment
I used my Fuji Finepix S1. It is a bridge camera and has no additional lens. I did not use a tripod, special lens or flashes. I shot it from the bank of the lake. I am an amateur and still learning. Someday I hope to have a DSLR and other equipment to shoot more incredible wildlife and landscape scenes.Inspiration
This area, Duck Creek and adjoining Mingo National Wildlife Refuge are sort of in my blood. Both of my parents were born within miles of it when it was an unprotected area as were some of their parents as settlers when it was a wilderness area. It gave them life through hunting, fishing, grazing and collecting of plants, food and a source of pure spring water. I am immensely proud of my heritage and feel privileged to have come from such humble and pioneering people. So I often go to sleep and wake up framing shots in my mind and my heart of the things I want to express about my people and the beautiful land they come from. But mostly I think my inspiration comes from God of all creation. I do not talk much but maybe my photo's will say something about me that will honor God and the beauty He has created in some way.Editing
I do not have Photoshop or anything and do not know how to use them. I have the simple editing program that came with my camera. I use it to crop and level if needed and to tweek the sharpness, etc. I did not do very much at all to this photo. I took it on Jan 28th 2015 and if I remember I may have tweeked the sharpness a bit but that is about all.In my camera bag
I do not have a bag per say, but an old backpack and I always have the lens cleaning kit that came with my camera. Being outside most of the time I constantly deal with dust and moisture. I have an extra card in case mine goes haywire and my old camera which is a Canon pocket camera that cost me about $100.00 (I dropped it in a creek once and it doesn't work right now, but it will get a shot if you mess with it a little), but I don't want to ever take a chance on a beautiful thing happening in front of me and not having a camera to capture it with.Feedback
I am only an amateur, so I can only say what works for me. First, be very patient. I spend a thousand times more of my photography waiting, walking, watching and driving than I do shooting. For every 100 shots I take, maybe one of them is worth having. Second, anticipate. Be prepared and always have your camera. Life happens, even if you don't have a camera with you. Learn to anticipate your subject, be it wildlife, nature, people. Study them, learn about them and know them. Third, respect. Respect your subject no matter what or whom it is. If you are taking the shots for your own glory or your own gain or gratification you are going to miss the most beautiful thing of all, and that is the experience of moving through this life with them. So, just get your camera and get out there and have fun.
