BIG CYPRESS GALLERY 2 © 1992

Big Cypress Gallery

When I stopped at “Orchid Isle” to photograph this pond a wild man came running out of the house shooting his gun in the air, yelling for me to get off his property! Needless to say, I didn’t take the picture! It wasn’t until many years later when I purchased “Orchid Isles” and built our gallery, Big Cypress Gallery, that I was able to take this picture. This is the pond in front of our gallery. Bald Cypress The bald cypress of these endangered wetlands stands as a monument to endurance and fortitude. This lumber, prized in the mid-twentieth century for rot-resistant wood, was harvested by loggers who removed almost all of the old-growth bald cypress trees. With a loss of its protective canopy, swamp regions struggled to support the once-abundant variety of tropical ferns, orchids, and bromeliads. Under today’s protections of state and national preserves, the cypress giants are making a comeback. Their positive effect on the Everglades’ environment is evident by the returning wildlife and plants drawn to the refuge the trees offer. Big Cypress Gallery 2 was taken with a Deardorff 8×10 camera on Tri-X film.  This photograph is hand-printed in Clyde’s darkroom on fiber-based paper, selenium toned, then mounted and matted to current archival standards. The photograph is a limited edition and signed by Clyde. Camera settings f/32 | 150mm Schneider Super-Symmar XL lens | 1/4 second Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click here.