Sunset Storm Over Myrick Marsh

Myrick Marsh is one of my favorite subjects for landscape photography. It is a beautiful oasis of calm, wonder and natural beauty smack in the middle of our fair city. This particular image of Myrick Marsh is an example of how many of my favorite elements of creating an aerial panoramic landscape photograph came together in a very nice way on a very amazing day.

Anticipation and Preparation: Storms had been rolling through La Crosse for the better part of this particular day. I was hoping for a break in the rain that would coincide with some interesting cloud formations and lighting. I had secured LAANC authorization for drone operations in this portion of Class D airspace up to 400 feet AGL for a time slot that would include the blue hour. Near sunset the rain let up and the light began to change dramatically. I popped up a drone and was quite excited by what I saw.

Acquisition: I had time before the next bands of rain came through to methodically capture a series of 180 exposure-bracketed images that covered a 220 degree field of view in three rows. Multiple raw exposures were required in order to capture the full dynamic range of the scene.

Image Processing: Individual images from the outing were downloaded and catalogued. 75 were selected and processed for noise reduction where needed. They were then combined into a single panorama of about 160 degrees. Additional processing of that panoramic image included addressing dynamic range issues and performing some AI-assisted sharpening.

Image Creation and Presentation: Using a color-managed workflow, I created multiple versions of the image for various devices and target materials.

Digital: The image you see here is designed to be high-resolution and fast-loading on a monitor or handheld device. Other digital versions were optimized for larger targets like the Samsung Frame art TV.

Print: Print versions of this image are on display at Gallery 1802 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The largest is a photographer studio-created print measuring 15.5 x 35.5 inches, professionally framed in maple, using a conservation-quality mat and museum-quality glass. I printed this using an Epson commercial printer and inks on Canson Baryta Photographique II paper.

This image is available in additional sizes and can be ordered on metal, acrylic, canvas and wood substrates. Please reach out using my contact image below if you have any interest in this image!