#azimuth 100

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Badlands and the Blue Mesas (Petrified Forest National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A view looking to the east to badlands hillsides while hiking the Blue Forest Trail in this part of Petrified Forest National Park.

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The Only Vacation That Can Hold Your Dreams is Right in Front of You! by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: And image captured looking to the east while at a roadside stop along the Parks highway not far from Cantwell, AK. I'd stopped at this point a few days prior on the drive up to Fairbanks, but there of been quite a bit of haze from the wildfires as well as some low clouds that kind of obstructed the views to the distant ridgelines and peaks off in the distance. On this day, I could see a little further, but the haze still remained, especially as the sun attempted to cut through some of the clouds above. I did some initial post-processing work making adjustments to contrast, brightness and saturation while playing around as I learned how to work with DxO PhotoLab 3 that I’d recently purchased after moving away from Capture NX2. One of the things I did find quite helpful with an image like this was the ClearView tool. And what a tool it is to bring out some clarity on a day filled with a lot of haze and sunlight! I then exported a TIFF image to Nik Color Efex Pro 4 where I added a Polarization and Pro Contrast filter for that last effect on the image captured.

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Sea Caves Carved by Relentless Ocean Waves (Channel Islands National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: I captured this picture from a high vantage point to Scorpion Rock in Channel Islands National Park. The view stretches east, giving you a peek down and then across to some cliffs with caves below on Santa Cruz Island.

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Premium Outdoor Experiences at Channel Islands National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: I snapped this picture while hiking to Scorpion Rock Overlook, where one can see the rock formations with a view to the east. One can also spot the many caves on Santa Cruz Island in this area of Channel Islands National Park. Since the day was cloudy and overcast, I decided to keep the clouds out of the way and angled my Nikon Z8 Mirrorless Camera down the cliff edge to get a sweeping shot that goes down and across.

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My Every Journey Today in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: At the roadside pullout and parking location along the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park with a view looking to the east while taking in a setting of the Roaring Fork flowing by.

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Finding My Next Adventure in the Bisti Badlands by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the east while taking in views across eroded and adobe formations present in this part of the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area.

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Reflections of Tall Buildings in Austin by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A view extending to the east-southeast while walking along the Congress Ave Bridge in Austin. I had several thoughts as I worked to compose this image. One was to attempt a balance the image with the buildings themselves and the reflections caught on Lady Bird Lake. Another was to close down on the aperture so I could bring more of a starburst look with the sun. I also wanted to use the now tallest building in Austin to have the sun seemingly right above on the top of that building. The rest was just aligning the image to bring out the best view of the buildings to my front.

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In Flight Above the Clouds by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: An airplane window view extending to the east while taking in a setting of the horizon and skies over Iowa based on a GPS location with my iPhone. This was while on a flight from Austin to Minneapolis (MSP).