2020 Fall Cypress Photo Excursions
Dates:
Weekender – November 12-15, 2020
Full Week Excursion – November 12-19, 2020
Group Size: 10 people maximum.
Tour Leaders: Joshua Hermann, Julie Verlinden
Price:
Weekender: $1695 USD
Full Week Excursion: $3000 USD
(Includes food not at hotel/restaurants and all hotel/cabin accommodations)
Transportation: $200 USD per person
(all transportation for the duration of the tour)
Deposit:
Weekender $500 USD
Full Week Excursion $795 USD
Type of Photography: Landscape Photography
Tour Details
Wild Louisiana Tours is excited to offer a 3-day and 7-day intensive Louisiana cypress swamp tour. This breathtaking swamp tree photography excursion explores the virgin cypress forests of Louisiana. Over many years of exploration, we have sought out the most awe-inspiring locations in Louisiana, and we have compiled a list of locations that would make any visitor’s jaw drop upon viewing them. We chose the prime window for weather in South Louisiana, and we are offering multiple small group photo excursions.
The fall’s cool weather makes for some of the most photogenic conditions for Louisiana swamp photography. This is our best chance for misty fall mornings contrasting with beautiful red fall cypress leaves. Our cypress swamp photography tour locations have some of the last virgin cypress forests left in the entire country. We will paddle amongst these ancient giants akin to the Redwoods of the northwest.
What Is Included in the Louisiana Cypress Swamp Tour?
Photo Tour Guide
All Kayaks and on the water equipment
Hotel and Cabin Accommodations
Transportation to and from New Orleans (USD 200 add on)
Daily Transportation to and from lodging and photo locations (if needed)
All food and drinks
(No food or beverages purchased at hotels or restaurants are covered)
Photo critique and class time
On the water photo instruction
What Is Not Included with the Louisiana Cypress Tree Tour?
Food and drinks purchased at restaurants
Airfare
Trip cancelation insurance
Rental cars if you drive yourself
Photography equipment
Waders, clothes, and other personal gear
Gratuity and tips for guides
Weekender Itinerary
Starting on Thursday, November 12, 2020, at 5:00 PM we will have a meet and greet at our home base of the Cypress Hotel. Here we will discuss swamp shooting techniques and share cypress tree photography tips. We’ll also have a general meet and greet and eat dinner. The next morning, we will wake before sunrise and start our first morning of shooting. We will spend Friday, Saturday, and Sunday shooting in the old-growth cypress swamps of the Atchafalaya Basin. During that time, we will have one in-classroom workshop on post-processing and general photography techniques for shooting in the swamps. If you are just along for the weekender, on Sunday morning after our shoot you can depart. The rest of our group will head north for the second part of our excursion.
Heading North For the Full Week Excursion
If you are staying with us for the duration of our week-long cypress excursion, Sunday afternoon will be the day that we pack up and make a four-hour drive to our next location in north Louisiana. Once we arrive in north Louisiana, we will have a group cabin provided for everyone. We will take Sunday evening to relax and regroup from the past three days of shooting. This is a good time to go over photos and ask for assistance in post-processing and in-field techniques. The next few days, Monday -Thursday, we will shoot sunrise and sunset every day. We will depart for New Orleans after our sunrise photoshoot on Thursday the 19th.
What To Bring
One of the most important aspects of photography in the swamp is a good tripod. The taller your tripod is the better, as you will have to set it up in water more often than not. We recommend you bring any and all lenses you have that are feasible to bring. A wide lens in the 16-35mm range is always important. We find that 50-120mm is the sweet spot for many intimate landscape compositions in the swamp. While we will mainly be shooting landscape, many wildlife opportunities may arise, so it is good to have a lens in the 100-400mm range as well.
Getting There
If you purchase transportation, we will have a shuttle leaving New Orleans on Thursday mid-afternoon. If you did not purchase transportation, it is still best to fly into New Orleans as it is the closest major airport to our first stop in the Atchafalaya Basin 2hrs away. New Orleans has many photographic and cultural experiences to offer as well if you would like to stay a few days on either end of the photo excursion. If you drive a rental car for the duration of the photo excursion, you will be looking at about 7-800 miles round trip including our time in North Louisiana. If you have any additional questions, feel free to send us an email at wildlouisianatours@gmail.com
Accommodations
Our accommodations at our hotel in the Atchafalaya basin region are quite nice and you can expect the comfort of a middle to a high-end hotel. Additionally, this hotel is a casino with multiple restaurants. While we will be providing sandwiches, snacks, and other food, during the weekender portion of the trip, you may very well feel like eating at one of the nice restaurants here or hanging out at the hotel accommodations.
The second part of our trip will not have the same level of accommodations as the weekender portion. We will be providing two 6 person cabins for our stay in north Louisiana. These cabins have A/C, heat, and most comforts expected. We will be providing all breakfast, lunch, and dinner during this portion of the trip. This will be camping level meals. If you would like to eat at the restaurants nearby, you are welcome to do so, but the offerings in the area are very small and quaint. This portion of the trip will be more of a remote experience.
Cancellation:
We recommend purchasing trip insurance in case you need to cancel.
The initial deposit is kept if cancellation is made.
We do not cancel for bad weather, we will find places to shoot and get out of the weather.
If our minimum group size is not met 3 months before the trip date, we reserve the right to cancel the trip.
If the trip is canceled a full refund will be issued.
We are not liable for airfare purchases or other expenses incurred if the trip is canceled, this is why we recommend travel insurance.
TravelGaurd and WorldNomads are two reputable travel insurance agencies
Keeping Secrets
As funny as it sounds, it is part of our policy. The places we will be bringing you are very special and delicate environments. Not only do we have a Leave No Trace ideology, but we also believe that we should show some privacy to these wonderful areas. We will discuss positive ways of sharing photos on social outlets and how to avoid causing people to swarm these beautiful places. Not everyone has the same outdoor ideals, so it helps to keep some of these places as secret as possible!
More Details
The virgin cypress forests of south Louisiana are a hidden gem. Most visitors will never see them. Join Joshua Hermann, a local landscape photographer, and outdoor specialist, to get in the right photogenic locations at the right time. Josh has explored the state from top to bottom and will take you to the most secret spots available on our Louisiana cypress swamp tour. These 1,000 + year old trees are a once in a lifetime experience for many. We are not just a photo tour, we are a local outfitter/specialists in the local environment. We accommodate you with all equipment and supplies for this trip, minus your own personal gear and additional expenses. Meet our crew and learn more about why we are the right choice for your landscape photo workshop in Louisiana here.
