#azimuth 242

[thorsenmark]

Devils Tower (Bear Lodge) is Truly Impressive! by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: As I drove along Wyoming Highway 24, I'd see off and on views of this famous butte. Needless to say, it was hard not to just stop and capture another image, but I wanted to get to the national monument to explore and walk around. Here I stopped next to some farmland and used that and the surrounding hills to add this pedestal or base like setting to it. I finished up post-processing work in Capture NX2 by adding a few CEP filters (Low Key, Polarization and Graduated Neutral Density) and some minimal cloning out of farm equipment for the final image.

[thorsenmark]

A Landscape Swept by the Wind by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A Landscape Swept by the Wind While water has carved out so many shapes Seemingly desolate with its erosion It is called a badlands But I only see one wonder and good Explored in solitude but shared with a friend Words can be described And images imagined But is definitely best seen with the eyes Another work of short poetry or prose to complement the image captured one morning while walking and exploring the Bisti Badlands in the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area. The setting is looking to the southwest to a nearby sandstone rock formations with a backdrop of blue skies and clouds. My thought on composing this image was to center the sandstone formation to my front, while keeping a balance between the earth-tones in the lower portion of the image with what I felt was a color contrast in the skies above.

[thorsenmark]

A Walk Through an Underground Passage Along the Moses Spring Trail (Pinnacles National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While walking the Moses Spring Trail with a view looking to the southwest at a cave like passage. This is in Pinnacles National Park. My thought on composing this image was the pull back a little on the focal length and use the nearby wall and cliff-face to create a channelize view or portal to the far end opening. Metering the image was what I needed to focus on then and not blow any highlights with the nearby and far opening, compared to the more shadowed portions in the walkway.

[thorsenmark]

Watching the Prairies But Looking to the Mountains by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While at a roadside pullout along Alberta Provincial Highway No 22 with a view looking to the southwest across some farmland prairie grass to more distance ridges and peaks of the Livingstone Range (with Mount Burke and Sentinel Peak that I identified on the PeakVisor app on my iPhone). My thought on composing this image was to use the high ground I was located on and capture a sweeping view, looking across these rolling hills sides to the more distant mountains. I also angled my Nikon SLR camera slightly downward to bring out more of that look. I also wanted to keep the horizon more less leveled-on with the mountains just above that. I later worked with the ClearView Plus tool in DxO PhotoLab 6 to bring out more of the skies and clouds present, given the afternoon haze that afternoon.

[thorsenmark]

Ridges and Peaks of the Yolla Bolly Area by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A view looking across a grassy field with scattered volcanic rock debris. This is from a roadside pull off along California State Route 36 looking to the southwest. I was able to identify North Yolla Bolly Mountain and Tomhead Mountain using the PeakVisor app on my iPhone.

[thorsenmark]

Seeing the Sights of the Bisti Badlands by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While walking around and exploring the Bisti Badlands with a view looking to the southwest to some eroded formations present in this part of Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area. What I wanted to capture with this image was to align myself with the hoodoo formation to my front and bring out a pattern or grouping. The rest was finding a balance with the hoodoo formation and using the blue skies and clouds as a backdrop to highlight this formation.

[thorsenmark]

A Landscape Swept by the Wind by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A Landscape Swept by the Wind While water has carved out so many shapes Seemingly desolate with its erosion It is called a badlands But I only see one wonder and good Explored in solitude but shared with a friend Words can be described And images imagined But is definitely best seen with the eyes Another work of short poetry or prose to complement the image captured one morning while walking and exploring the Bisti Badlands in the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area. The setting is looking to the southwest to a nearby sandstone rock formations with a backdrop of blue skies and clouds. My thought on composing this image was to center the sandstone formation to my front, while keeping a balance between the earth-tones in the lower portion of the image with what I felt was a color contrast in the skies above.

[thorsenmark]

A Walk Through an Underground Passage Along the Moses Spring Trail (Pinnacles National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While walking the Moses Spring Trail with a view looking to the southwest at a cave like passage. This is in Pinnacles National Park. My thought on composing this image was the pull back a little on the focal length and use the nearby wall and cliff-face to create a channelize view or portal to the far end opening. Metering the image was what I needed to focus on then and not blow any highlights with the nearby and far opening, compared to the more shadowed portions in the walkway.