The weekend before last I set out for Cedarville State Forest in southern Maryland. A short drive from Washington, D.C., Cedarville is where the headwaters of the Zekiah Swamp are located.

The last time I visited Cedarville was in late April and it had rained all night and the morning before I arrived. I loved the flowers and lush vegetation that I found in the swamp. Having grown up in the desert-like conditions of the Sanjuaquin Valley in California, I find swamps foreign and fascinating. (I absolutely love the work of Ronnie Gaubert.)

This visit to Cedarville was in early April and it seems that spring hadn't yet arrived. There were no flowers to be found and the ferns were only just beginning to peek out from underneath a floor of leaves.


Despite the lack of greenery, there were some interesting photographic opportunities to be had. This stream made for some interesting photos. I tried to make things more dynamic with a low wide-angle shot and framing the image with tree leaning out into the water. The color of the water is particularly striking because I used a polarizer to eliminate the glare, making it possible to see straight through to the bottom.