#azimuth 184

[thorsenmark]

My Stories of Colorado in Photos by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the south while taking in views from the San Juan Overlook at viewpoint along the continental divide. This is in San Juan National Forest. The setting is looking down the valley between ridges and peaks of the East-Central San Juan Mountains. The rest in composing this images was attempting to find an alignment with the lakes, nearby U.S. Route 160, and patchworks of forests and grassy meadows. I later worked with control points in DxO PhotoLab 7 and then made some adjustments to bring out the contrast, saturation and brightness I wanted for the final image.

[thorsenmark]

A Sense of Awe in the Mountains (Blue Ridge Parkway) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the south while taking in a view of a Flowering Dogwood and a backdrop of mountains and blues skies. This is at the Humpback Rocks Visitors Center along the Blue Ridge Parkway. My thought in composing this image was to center the dogwood tree and then adjust the focal length to have the tree fill most of the image, while including some nearby trees and grassy meadow to add to the setting. I felt the whites of the tree blooms would be a good contrast to the earth-tones in the nearby setting. It was as I began working on the image in post production that I then decided to once again try out the sky replacement setting in Photoshop with this image. The blue skies with the clouds definitely seemed appropriate for this national park service setting. So the skies are from an image I captured in west Texas, but all else is captured with my Nikon Z8 Mirrorless Camera. I later worked with control points in DxO PhotoLab 7 and then made some adjustments to bring out the contrast, saturation and brightness I wanted for the final image.

[thorsenmark]

Outside Performance in Finding Things Magical by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While at the Wolf Creek Valley Overlook along the continental divide in southeastern Colorado. The setting is looking to the south down a valley with ridges and peaks of the East-Central San Juan Mountains. In composing this image, I angled myself and Nikon SLR camera, so that I could balance the valley in the image center as it led off into the horizon. I decided to keep a balanced view with the horizon as the height I was at allowed me to capture a sweeping view, looking off into the distance. I did some initial post-processing work making adjustments to contrast, brightness and saturation in DxO PhotoLab 7. I then exported a TIFF image to Nik Color Efex Pro 6 where I added a Polarization, Foliage and Pro Contrast filter for that last effect on the image captured.

[thorsenmark]

Taking Stock of Beautiful Places Along the Blue Ridge Parkway by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While taking in views of Otter Creek at a roadside pullout along the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is at the Lower Otter Creek Overlook and looking downstream and to the south. My thought on composing this image was to capture a look as the water flowed by while using the forest of trees and blue skies as a backdrop for this national park service site setting.

[thorsenmark]

Let Me Find a Little Piece of Heaven (Blue Ridge Parkway) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: Let Me Find a Little Piece of Heaven Under skies of blue Watching trees and plants under the light of an afternoon sun Include some mountains And a grassy meadow to walk A fresh spring time breeze would be nice too I’m sure you could find a place like this Anywhere in this world But I found mine on a Tuesday around noon In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia Another work of short poetry or prose to complement the image captured around noon while walking and taking in views around the Humpback Rocks Visitors Center. This is a stop along the Blue Ridge Parkway not far from the northern entrance near Shenandoah National Park. What drew me into this setting was the Flowering Dogwood and the mountain backdrop (Humpback Rocks and Humpback Mountain) with blue skies above. The rest was walking around until I could find that alignment I wanted for the image captured. It was as I began working on the image in post production that I then decided to once again try out the sky replacement setting in Photoshop with this image. The blue skies with the clouds definitely seemed appropriate for this national park site setting in what I had wanted to experience in person. So the skies are from an image I captured in west Texas but all else is captured with my Nikon Z8 Mirrorless Camera. I later worked with control points in DxO PhotoLab 7 and then made some adjustments to bring out the contrast, saturation and brightness I wanted for the final image.

[thorsenmark]

Peaks, Spires and a Ridgeline Covered with Snow (Black & White) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: When I captured this this image, I was drawn to the color contrasts of the different areas of this mountain setting. Later when I converted to black & white using Silver Efex Pro 2, I found that it brought out a very different look and feel with a tonal contrasts. I then did some minor adjustments with color filters to bring out a darker sky. This was captured looking to the South at Washington Pass in Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.

[thorsenmark]

There is a Rapture on the Lonely Shore (North Cascades National Park Complex) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: Having come across this poem from Lord Byron on another photography site (There Is Pleasure In The Pathless Woods), I've come to really love and appreciate the words he wrote to describe the beauty of nature...well, him, John Muir and many others! This view looking to the south across Lake Chelan seemed to best capture that look and feel of what he wrote. Nearby is a grassy meadow, stretching from side to side. On the shoreline are some very lucky people who have this amazing view to soak in every day. Far off in the distance and stretching far off into the distance are mountains and peaks of the Bonanza Massif on the right and Sawtooth Ridge on the left. For this image, I used some CEP filters (Low Key, Polarization and Graduated Neutral Density) which seemed to best bring out this late afternoon stop on a bike ride in the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area and North Cascades National Park Complex.

[thorsenmark]

A Minimalist Look to Badlands and Their Formations at White River Valley Overlook (Black & White, Badlands National Park) by Mark Stevens