Atchafalaya Basin, Louisiana

Skiffing amidst Floating Trees

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By Martyn Lucas | May 28, 2017

Martyn Lucas

I am drawn to the Polar Regions whose magnificence stands as a monument to nature in all its grandeur of light, space, texture and form. As a lover of music, I find amidst the ice and water, a never-ending array of melodies, harmonies and overtones: music captured in ice.

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Cajun crawfisherman Roy Blanchard is accustomed to zipping along at 35 miles per hour in his workaday skiff through the Atchafalaya Basin, threading bald cypress trees and startling the white pelicans. I was not.

This was a new and emotional experience. I’d spent the past several years travelling to the Polar Regions to photograph icebergs, drawn to the grandeur of their light, space, texture and form. The cypress trees of the Atchafalaya in Southwest Louisiana are the major stars in a scene about as different as I could have chosen to photograph next, but every bit as elegant, and as humbling. With an iceberg, 80 percent of its mass is hidden beneath the water; with a bald cypress, even some of the roots are above water.

These majestic giants -- those few left after clear-cutting in the late 1800’s -- seem to float on the tranquil waters, their smooth reflections doubling the visual pleasure. It is nature’s haiku.

These majestic giants -- those few left after clear-cutting in the late 1800’s -- seem to float on the tranquil waters, their smooth reflections doubling the visual pleasure. It is nature’s haiku.This watery landscape is all the more moving because of the simplicity in colour and contrast.

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