Cattail Explosion (Theme

This is the time of year when cattail seed heads change from neat "cigars" to big fluffy bunches of fuzz. The fuzz of course, is hundreds of thousands of seeds per head, each attached to filaments that carry it on the slightest breeze. The heads rapidly pop open in the right dry conditions. If the seed explosion occurs when the wetlands and waters are still ice-covered, the winds carry the seeds even farther.

This is about half of a landscape I did a couple of years ago, cropped to emphasize the plants instead of the sky. I think it highlights the cattails better than other shots I made recently to illustrate the seed heads. I did set this shot up with the idea of setting some of the backlit cattail heads against the dark hills. In post-processing, I lightened the snow and reduced its blue saturation, since the snow was a pretty deep blue in the original exposure.

Canon 50D
Sigma 18 200 @ 40 mm.; Circ. Pola.
1/20 sec. @ f/16; ISO 100
Tripod; Mirror Up; Release