#azimuth 331

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Seeing the Sights of Shenandoah National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the northwest while taking in views a Blue Ridge Mountain landscape at the Stony Man Summit in Shenandoah National Park. The setting is looking to the northwest with Shenandoah Valley and Masanutten Mountain off in the distance.

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Heading off to Walk the Hidden Valley Nature Trail on a Snowy Day (Joshua Tree National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the northwest while taking in views along the main trail heading into Hidden Valley part of Joshua Tree National Park. This was not the typical look I've come across in exploring national parks, but the snowy feel added to the excitement for exploration!

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Elbow Room in the Mountains (Guadalupe Mountains National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: At the El Capitan Viewpoint with a view looking to the north-northwest at El Capitan and Guadalupe Peak in the nearby national park. With this image, I decided to zoom in with the focal length and have the mountainside with the ridges and peaks fill up much of the image. There would be some blue skies and clouds above as more or less a backdrop for them.

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Standing in Awe of the Golden Throne (Capitol Reef National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the north-northwest while taking in views across sandstone cliff walls and other more distant eroded formations along the Capitol Gorge Road in Capitol Reef National Park. The more distant formation framed between the cliff walls is the Golden Throne.

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Taking a Timeout to Explore the Waters of Everglades National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: I captured this image during a Backcountry Boat Tour along the Tarpon Creek in Everglades National Park. This picturesque setting is to the north-northwest looking upstream with mangrove lining the waters. Whitewater Bay is beyond the opening in the mangroves with blue skies and clouds above as a distant backdrop for this national park setting.

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Views of El Capitan and Guadalupe Peak (Guadalupe Mountains National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While at the El Capitan Viewpoint just outside of Guadalupe Mountains National Park with a view looking to the north-northwest into the national park. My thought on composing this image was the zoom in to center the peaks of El Capitan and Guadalupe Peak with the image. That in turn would allow me to have the mountainside take up the lower portion of the image and use the blue skies with those clouds as a backdrop in the upper portion. I later worked with control points in DxO PhotoLab 6 and then made some adjustments to bring out the contrast, saturation and brightness I wanted for the final image.

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It Isn’t Hard to Find Beautiful Places in Biscayne National Park! by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While walking along a hiking trail with an opening amongst some nearby mangrove trees to the blue waters of Biscayne Bay. The setting is to the north-northwest on Boca Chita Key in Biscayne National Park. My thought in composing this image had been to take advantage of this opening in the mangrove trees and use it to frame a setting with a look beyond. I wanted to keep the horizon more or less centered in the image and create a balance with the blue skies and clouds and that of the blue waters of Biscayne Bay. I later worked with control points in DxO PhotoLab 8 and then made some adjustments to bring out the contrast, saturation and brightness I wanted for the final image.

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I Am My Biggest Fan (Shenandoah National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: I Am My Biggest Fan Not so much because I'm better than anyone else But because I have made the effort to be my best Travel to places that fill my soul Share time with friends who make the other smile I won't belittle myself, even though anyone has their problems No dwelling on past mistakes, but rather focusing on the next step forward There's potential, and I will let it shine So I will be thankful for the talents, gifts and favor As I travel forward in life Another work of short poetry or prose to complement the image captured one afternoon in at Stony Man Mountain Summit in Shenandoah National Park. The view is looking to the northwest across the Shenandoah Valley with ridges of the Masanutten Mountain off in the distance. My thought on composing this image was to create a layered look with a look beyond some nearby boulders as part of the overlook. In order to have more of the image and focus, I decided to close down on the aperture. 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 7 where I added a Polarization, Foliage, and Pro Contrast filter for that last effect on the image captured.