#azimuth 249

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Mount Temple and the Bow River from Morant’s Curve (Banff National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the southwest while taking in views from Morant’s Curve along the Bow Valley Parkway in Banff National Park. My thought on composing this image was to pull back on the focal length and include foreground interest with the Bow River and some nearby forest. Mount Temple and other ridges and peaks of the Bow Range would be a backdrop for this setting in the Canadian Rockies.

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Looking to Travel My Own Path (Voyageurs National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting extending to the west-southwest while taking in views along a hiking path I was walking to Sullivan Bay in Voyageurs National Park. With this image, I had turned around to take in the setting with the evergreen-lined trail. The rest of the image composition was getting down low and then a aligning myself with the trail while having the trees extend beyond the upper image frame to make it feel like the forest were all encompassing around me. I did some initial post-processing work making adjustments to contrast, brightness and saturation in DxO PhotoLab 9. I then exported a TIFF image to Nik Color Efex Pro 7 where I added a Polarization, Foliage, and Pro Contrast filter for that last effect on the image captured.

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Keys View on a Morning with a Mountain Setting by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: in Joshua Tree National Park while at Keys View with a view looking to the southwest across the mountain desert landscape present.

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Premium Outdoor Experiences in Monument Valley by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the southwest while taking in views across eroded formations and sandstone buttes in this southern Utah high desert landscape. This is at a roadside pullout along U.S. Highway 163 with a view looking to Setting Hen and Eagle Mesa.

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The Views Along the Juniper Canyon Loop Do Not Disappoint (Pinnacles National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While hiking the Juniper Canyon Loop with a view looking to the southwest at eroded volcanic formations. This is looking to a ridge coming off the High Peaks as well as Resurrection Wall and The Fingers and is in Pinnacles National Park.

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I Can See So Much of the World From Up Here! (Pinnacles National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the west-southwest while taking in views of eroded pinnacle formations present along the High Peaks Trail in Pinnacles National Park. My thought on composing this image was to take advantage of some of the nearby rock formations and create a framed view of a look beyond to the more distant formation of Resurrection Wall and The Fingers. In someways, it also had a layered look with nearby formations, and then more distant ones with even more distant ridges and mountains.

[thorsenmark]

A Lone Oak Tree on a Walk Along the Jawbone Trail (Pinnacles National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the southwest while taking in views across the wild grasses and sagebrushes in Pinnacles National Park. This was while walking the Jawbone Trail. My focus on composing this image was to have this one prominent oak tree in the image center, more or less. I did include some foreground leading up to the tree, but my focus was on the more distant ridges and hillsides and having the blue skies as a backdrop. I felt the blue skies helped a better highlight that tree.

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Getting Down on All Fours to Walk the High Peaks Trail! (Pinnacles National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the south while taking in views on a slender crawlway along the High Peaks Trail in Pinnacles National Park. One finds a need to get down on all fours and crawl over the walkway with the overhang and drop off on the left side. So my thought on composing this image was to capture a setting of a trail to be “hiked” and lots of fun!