Tour

Cypress Swamps of Louisiana and Texas 2023

Starts	Nov 7th 2023
Ends	Nov 13th 2023
Leader	Steve Gettle & Nicole Sudduth
Price	$4,575
Deposit	$1,000
Participants	6 (FULL- but 2024 is Open!)

We are pleased to offer this unique trip to the Cypress Swamps of Louisiana and Texas, bringing you the best of the Bayou! Imagine mist rising off the water as you drift through the centuries-old flooded Cypress forest with trees draped in gossamer veils of Spanish moss. We will travel by kayak and flat-bottom boats which will serve as photography platforms, you’ll explore this enchanted realm and see inspiring, ethereal images around every bend. Traveling to all the best of the many locations we scouted, the stage will be set for you to play in this visual playground. We have timed this trip for both the best chance for fog and the peak of the fall season which throws gorgeous color into this already mystical scene. [Note: we are planning this trip to be 1 week later than our scouting trip for even better color and more fog!!!]

10 images

See the participants' gallery

Logistics

The Cypress Swamps of Louisiana and Texas are unique unto themselves, and we want you to really get the most out of this trip. So, we have selected places to stay that not only provide all the comforts that you would expect but also great proximity to our shooting locations so we can maximize our time in the field. Everyone will have their own room at each of the locations that we stay so you can enjoy your privacy.

Meals come with some logistical challenges given the remoteness of some locations, but we have factored all of that in and created great solutions. While in Louisiana we will have breakfasts at our hotel. Lunches will be on your own although we will go to some wonderful places together so you can taste the delicious fare. And dinners will be on us as we go to local restaurants that we have hand-picked. While in Texas, we will be staying in cabins that have full kitchens. So, enroute to the accommodations, we will stop at a grocery store so you can buy whatever food you want for breakfasts and lunches. Dinners will be on us as we have some meals catered and others at local restaurants.

You will need to rent a car for this trip but we are happy to try to connect you with others on the trip who may be interested in sharing the cost. We don’t do any shooting from the vehicle so it’s fine to share cars or have a smaller vehicle.

Itinerary

Day 1

Tuesday, November 7 – Travel day
Arrive in Lafayette, LA. Check into our hotel. Meet at 6:30pm for dinner at a well-known local restaurant together.

Day 2

Wednesday, November 8 – Louisiana Cypress Swamps
We will be up and out early this morning to meet our guide with the kayaks at a wonderful area that will serve as your introduction into the unique habitat of the cypress swamp. After we wrap up our morning shoot, we will return to our hotel to download and check images and have lunch. In the late afternoon, we will go to another location that provides nice opportunities for sunsets and silhouettes. We will shoot until sunset and then enjoy a nice dinner together.

Day 3

Thursday, November 9
We will start the day with another morning shoot in this magical Louisiana cypress swamp area. After we wrap up, we will drive to Texas to our next location. We will have an afternoon photo shoot through sunset.

Day 4

Friday, November 10
Today we will be taking the flat-bottom boats through the maze of cypress trees. We will be up early for the morning shoot, return to shore for the mid-day and then go back out again for the afternoon and evening shoot.

Day 5

Saturday, November 11
Today will be another full day with both morning and afternoon shoots at special locations located within this bayou.

Day 6

Sunday, November 12
This morning we will start the day with a photo shoot from shore, giving you the chance to make some more unique images. After we wrap up, we will drive back to Louisiana to check conditions on a particular lake there. If conditions are good, we will wrap up the day on a flat bottom boat photographing the cypress trees at sunset.

Day 7

Monday, November 13
Today we depart for flights home out of Lafayette.

Booking

Price

$4,575

Deposit

$1,000

Payment schedule

Deposit of $1000 due with registration
Payment #2 of $2500 due March 15, 2023
Final Payment of $1,075 due August 15, 2023

* Pricing based on double occupancy

Included
– All lodging – all private bedrooms, no single supplement
– All dinners in both Louisiana and Texas
– All kayak rentals
– All motorized boat cruises and Driver/Guide

Not included

– Air travel to and from Lafayette, LA
– Breakfasts and lunches
– Gratuities
– Rental car
– Travel Insurance
– Any alcoholic beverages

*As always, we are happy to help coordinate rental car for anyone interested.

Description

We are really proud of the trip we have put together here. The logistics and planning were monumental tasks so we hope you will join us as we share with you the “Best of the Bayou” – the Cypress Swamps of Louisiana and Texas. After exhaustive research and a thorough scouting of the area, we have narrowed it down to the locations that we have found to be the best in the area.

Imagine floating through misty waters surrounded by an enchanted forest filled with centuries old cypress trees draped in veils of Spanish moss that hangs from every limb and accented by colors of the fall season. This is where you will find yourself during this unique trip. It’s is an incredibly “target-rich” enviornment! During our time together, we will have five mornings and five evenings and will visit seven unique locations providing a range of photographic settings that show off the different moods and looks that the cypress swamps offer which will allow you to come away with as much diverse imagery as possible. In both Louisiana and Texas, we have teamed up with local experts who know these cypress swamps and the mazes that they are, allowing us to visit many little-known and beautiful locations within the bayou.

During the Louisiana portion of the trip, we will be working from canoe/kayak hybrids that provide the stability of a kayak and the working room of a canoe. You can even set up a tripod in them if you are so inclined. We found these boats to be perfect for this situation. They allow you to get into the exact positions you like as you compose your images and enable you to freely explore the area and all of the multitude of possible compositions available. It’s amazing how the patterns and images can change just as you move around a single tree. Because some portions of the waterways can be a maze, we will have a local guide with us to keep us heading the right directions while still finding our own unique visions of the scene. Our lodging during this part of the trip will be from a central location as we work a number of different locations.

From Louisiana, we will travel a few hours North to Texas. On the Texas portion of this trip, we will work from flat-bottom boats that easily navigate the shallow waters that flow through flooded maze that is the cypress forest. These boats provide us with a nice stable platform to photograph from and will be driven by professional local guides that not only know photography and what we look for in terms of light but also are able to lock the boats firmly in place us to slow down our shutter speeds. While in Texas, we will be staying right in the heart of it, in cabins right on the banks of the Bayou. You will be completely immersed in this enchanting setting.