NEWS

A love for the beauty of Louisiana

Judy Christie
Special to Gannett Louisiana

North Louisiana is stunning in fall, and nature photographer C.C. Lockwood has captured that unique beauty in a new book.

Shots of such places as a golden Dorcheat Bayou in Webster Parish and candy-apple red trees at Caddo Black Bayou are among those included in “Louisiana Wild, The Protected and Restored Lands of the Nature Conservancy,” Lockwood’s fourteenth book.

“I learned it’s an old wives tale that we have no seasons,” Lockwood said in an interview. “Just check out the beautiful fall colors I photographed in Bayou Dorcheat and Caddo Black Bayou.”

An outdoorsman, Lockwood has become an expert on the regions of Louisiana through his photography. “What a great state, full of important, lovely and diverse habitats,” he said. “There is always something to see, photograph, enjoy and explore… It’s not only the hot summers, the cold winters and the perfect spring and fall, but also the water levels in the river basin swamps. They can look different any time of year.”

Lockwood will sign copies of the book, published by LSU Press, on Nov. 7 at Barnes & Noble in Shreveport. He also will present a slide show about the book at a Nature Conservancy reception at the Marlene Yu Museum in Shreveport on Dec. 2.

He honed his photography skills through experiences in the Atchafalaya Basin. “This great swamp remains my favorite place,” he said. “On the other hand to see the shortleaf pine forest in north Louisiana or a clear spring bubbling out of the ground near Ruston among forest covered hills, I love that too.”

The photograph at Schoolhouse Springs in Jackson Parish ended up being one of his favorites in the new book. “That bubbling spring had a good population of salamanders, some rare caddis flies that are not very photographable and huge trees…to make walking there so enjoyable,” he said.

His photographs are the result of research and planning. “I have learned that light is the most important aspect to a good photograph, so if I plan on shooting in an area, I plan ahead to be there in the right season and the right time of day.”

When he discusses his work, he weaves in his love for the outdoors and his appreciation for Louisiana. He’s learned “that we are a part of nature, and keeping nature healthy and beautiful affects not only our health but also our happiness.”

“Photography is my excuse for venturing into the wild,” he said. “My eyes, my brain, my soul seek the scene more than my camera. I hunt ducks, I fish a little, used to spearfish a lot in the Gulf when I was doing underwater photography, and I love boating, whether in my canoe, my bateau or out west on a whitewater river in my dory.”

His techniques vary. “Early in my career I worked from blinds much more because then I was working on wildlife only. Today I work on all things related to nature.”

Plants, especially rare plants, are important to The Nature Conservancy, so he concentrates on these and landscapes about seventy-five percent of the time and wildlife the rest of his time.

In 1984, Lockwood did a book called “Discovering Louisiana” and went to most of the habitats in the state. “I was exploring and learning about the habitats and landscapes other than the swamps and marshes I worked on previous to that book,” he said.

In the new book, he worked on many similar habitats, but said he not only knew more but benefited from working with The Nature Conservancy on properties they protect. That collaboration helped in finding the photographs and doing the research and writing, he said.

Lockwood’s career has unfolded through the years but it has consistently involved nature. “I love being outdoors, so after four years at LSU, going from architecture to pre-med, to accounting to art and finally graduating in finance, I choose none of above. I went directly to the Rocky Mountains to look for Bighorn Sheep and figured out that I would just take photographs of animals and sell them to magazines.”

It wasn’t easy and it took a while. It was “a year before my first photo was published, two years before I sold one of my images in a gallery, six years before my Atchafalaya film, eight years till my first National Geographic article and 10 year before my first book,” he said. “What the heck. I was not in a hurry . . . that’s why I chose this job.”

As for his next book project? It could be about “water, dogs, sunsets or beaches. Who knows at this point?”

Author Judy Christie writes about books for The Times. E-mail her: judy@judychristie.com.

If You Go

Photographer C.C. Lockwood will sign copies of his new book, “Louisiana Wild, The Protected and Restored Lands of the Nature Conservancy” from 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 7 at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 6646 Youree Drive, Shreveport. For more information, contact B&N: 318-798-6066.

Lockwood also will present a slide show of photographs from the book at a reception hosted by The Nature Conservancy from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Marlene Yu Museum in Shreveport. The museum’s number is 318-717-9111.

For additional information about Lockwood and his work, see CCLockwood.com.