Aurora and I have been exploring the Georgia/Florida border; looking for inspiration. We stopped in the Okefenokee NWR - but with a dog in tow weren't in a good way to go into the swamp. (You have to canoe and even though Finn is a big dog, he is "munchable" by Gator standards.)

Nonetheless, there are opportunities to see flowers and 'gators outside of the deep swamp.

It wouldn't be the Okefenokee without one of these. 

A few technical details

I'm somewhat proud of these photographs. One of my favorite tricks is to use a long lens (600mm) to get the image. You'd think a "normal" lens of 50mm or so would be the way to go, but that will distort the image. Basically, if you get close enough for the flower to be large, then you're so close that the perspective is warped. And unlike star trek, warping isn't a good thing, unless you're doing it for a reason.

I processed the image in photoshop by dividing into layers and adjusting each layer individually. For these images, I used three layers: the flower, the black water, and the rest. 

Not bad if I say so myself.