#azimuth 191

[thorsenmark]

An Epic Reunion With Myself and Mountains in Waterton Lakes National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While at Red Rock Canyon area in Waterton Lakes National Park with a view looking to the south to ridges and peaks of the Clark Range with Mount Blakiston and Mount Hawkins.

[thorsenmark]

A Wide-Angle, Panoramic View of Cholla Cactus (Pinnacles National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While walking around the Cholla Cactus Garden with a view to the south across an open area filled with the namesake cactus. As the skies were overcast, and I felt didn't really add much to the image, I decided to angle my Nikon SLR camera slightly downward to create more of a sweeping view and minimize those skies. I would use the backdrop of the more distant mountainside as the darker shades seemed to highlight the brighter hues of the cactus plants.

[thorsenmark]

A Small Forest of Evergreen Trees Amongst the Alaskan Tundra of Denali National Park & Preserve by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: During most of the guided hike and tour across some tundra area in Denali National Park, the view and setting had been that of a flat-like plateau filled with the colorful tundra stretching off for quite a distance. It was as we came to this nearby hillside that I noticed a small forest of evergreens. With the hillside as a distant backdrop, I was able to minimize the overcast skies present that day. I then backed up and zoomed in to capture a nearby grouping from the base around the tundra growing to a little above the tips. My feeling was that some might stretch off beyond the image border, but the nearby evergreen trees would have the full height captured in the image.

[thorsenmark]

A Wide-Angle, Panoramic View of Cholla Cactus (Pinnacles National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While walking around the Cholla Cactus Garden with a view to the south across an open area filled with the namesake cactus. As the skies were overcast, and I felt didn't really add much to the image, I decided to angle my Nikon SLR camera slightly downward to create more of a sweeping view and minimize those skies. I would use the backdrop of the more distant mountainside as the darker shades seemed to highlight the brighter hues of the cactus plants.

[thorsenmark]

Feeling Life's Energy While Exploring Waterton Lakes National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the southwest to a nearby creek with some rapids from s set of small waterfalls. This is at a roadside pullout along the Akamina Parkway in Waterton Lakes National Park. My thought on composing this image was to use the creek and the water is flowing by as a leading line into the image and forest. I wanted to balance both sides of the grassy meadow and have the forest just above the waterfalls which I placed more or less centered in the image. For post-processing, I chose to work with Aurora HDR Pro to better bring that complete color setting in the image. I later exported a TIFF image to DxO PhotoLab 6 where I did some final adjustments with contrast, saturation and brightness for the final image.

[thorsenmark]

Waters Flowing in Waterton Lakes National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While at a roadside pullout along the Akamina Parkway in Waterton Lakes National Park. The setting is with a view looking to the southwest to a small waterfall with Cameron Creek.

[thorsenmark]

Taking One Day at a Time in Great Basin National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the south-southwest while taking in views across a grassy meadow to a more distant forest and ridges along the Baker Creek Loop. This is in Great Basin National Park.

[thorsenmark]

Happy Outdoors Holiday in Pinnacles National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While walking the Balconies Cave Loop with a view looking to the south across spurs coming off the main ridge with the High Peaks. This is in Pinnacles National Park. What drew me into the setting was the way the spurs came off the main ridge and created a layered look with one following the other.