Cattail Twilight Sunrise

On my way into the park on my Cowhorn Orchid Trip I took the time to stop and shoot a sunrise at a lake I had not been to in quite some time.  I found some interesting cattails at the lake and decided to try and use them as my foreground subject.  As a bonus, there was fog moving across the lake due to the cold air interacting with the warmer water.  I had some difficulty capturing the shot due to the wind causing the cattails to sway back and forth.  As a result, I had to try and time my shots carefully to get as little movement as possible.  The shot below was taken just before the sun rose over the horizon.

Cattail Twilight Sunrise

Everglades National Park Cowhorn Orchid

For some time now, I have been trying to find a large Cowhorn Orchid I had been told existed somewhere in Everglades National Park.  I have found many Cowhorn Orchids before during my hikes throughout Everglades and Big Cypress National Parks, however, I wanted to find this particular Cowhorn Orchid due to its extraordinary size.

I finally had some time this past week to make a trip to the location I thought the orchid could be found.  I went with a photographer friend of mine, Robert Chaplin, on this trip.  After a good bit of hiking and a lot of exploring we successfully found the orchid.  Not only did we find it, but we also were rewarded as it was already in full bloom.  I took some documentary pictures of it and hope to go back soon to try and do something more creative with it before the blooms begin to die.