#azimuth 305

[thorsenmark]

Letting Nature Pamper Me with Snapshots of Chaco Culture National Historical Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While walking around and exploring the Pueblo del Arroyo with a view looking to the northwest across the various plant-life present in the Chaco Wash. In composing this image, I had a number of thoughts. One was to capture and bring out the vibrant colors present in the plant-life in this creek area. I then saw layers present with the nearby plant-life, and then the mesas going off to the horizon. The last thing, but also part of the layers, was the blue skies above with the clouds present. I liked how one led to the other, and how the blue skies acted as a color contrast to complement the earth-tones in the lower portion of the image. I angled my Nikon SLR camera slightly downward to create more of a sweeping view across this landscape. 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 7. I then exported a TIFF image to Nik Color Efex Pro 4 where I added a Polarization, Foliage, and Skylight filter for that last effect on the image captured.

[thorsenmark]

Prairie Grasses and Volcanic Rock Debris by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: At a roadside pullout along California State Route 36 with a view looking to the northwest up a small hillside with prairie grasses and scattered volcanic rock debris. I chose to angle my Nikon Z8 Mirrorless Camera slightly downward to create more of a sweeping view looking up this hillside and minimize what I felt was the more negative space of the blue skies above.

[thorsenmark]

Walking Through the Woods of Coconino National Forest by Mark Stevens

[thorsenmark]

Fresh Ideas for Travel in Biscayne National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: An image captured while docking at Boca Chita Key in Biscayne National Park. The setting is looking across the harbor waters to the northwest with the US Flag and lighthouse as a distant backdrop for this location. I later did some edit removals in Photoshop of the construction equipment performing renovation work on the lighthouse.

[thorsenmark]

It’s Always a Good Time to Be Found in the Mountains (Death Valley National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the northwest while taking in views down and then across a mountainside and then to Death Valley while at Dantes View in Death Valley National Park.

[thorsenmark]

Exploring Death Valley National Park at Dantes View by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While walking along the Dantes View Trail with a view looking to the northwest across the mountainside I was walking and then down to Death Valley Basin with more mountains beyond. This is in Death Valley National Park. My thought on composing this image was to capture a look following the general flow of the basin and valley as the mountains seemed to channelize it. There was still some morning haze present with the more distant views, but I was able to use the DxO PhotoLab 6 ClearView Plus tool to help bring out some of the details for the final image.

[thorsenmark]

Living Free Outside (Jasper National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the northwest while taking in views of the Maligne River flowing by into a nearby forest with more distant mountains as a backdrop. This is in Jasper National Park along the Maligne Lake Road.

[thorsenmark]

Tune Into Experiencing Life in Jasper National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the northwest while taking in views of the Maligne River as it flowed by from the bridge crossing I was on and this nearby forest of evergreen trees. This is in Jasper National Park. I zoomed in with a focal length so that the image setting would mainly be with the river and the forest of evergreen trees.