Maria Markell: The Beauty of North Louisiana
What was the time frame of these photos? Were they all shot in one day or over a span of days (or longer)?
These photos were captured within one weekend in September 2019.
How did you know what you wanted the shot to look like? Did you go back to certain spots to look again?
I wanted to capture exactly what I saw. All the photos were taken from a boat, all over Caddo Lake. I really had one shot. Going back to the exact spot was not always easy or possible.
What was the editing process like for this collection?
In post-production, I had to cull the images down from the hundreds that were taken. That is the most difficult process. I shoot in .RAW format, so all I really did was add the proper highlights and shadows to the images. The beauty was already present.
Visually, Misty Morning is different compared to the other photos. How did this shot happen?
It was just a particularly cool morning with a little fog present. The natural lighting and the fog reacted together in my lens to create the purple tones.
Did you have a difficult time narrowing down what photos to use in this collection? Why or why not?
Culling the images down is always the most difficult part of the photography process for me. There were so many great shots. You have to be really picky and choose the best of the best! You may have to look at 3 almost identical images and look very closely for the slightest flaw.
The Beauty of North Louisiana is on display at the Meadows Museum from October 5 - October 30, 2021. See more of Maria’s work here.