#azimuth 80

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The Cassidy Arch and the Grand Wash (Capitol Reef National Park) by Mark Stevens

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Overcast Skies Over Sawgrass Prairie (Everglades National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: I captured this image from an overlook along a boarded walkway on the Pinelands Trail in Everglades National Park. The view is to the east-northeast and across the sawgrass prairie that stretches off to a distance horizon with a few hammocks and their forested landscape. I angled my Nikon Z8 Mirrorless Camera slightly downward to raise the horizon and create a sweeping view. I wanted to make the most of the beautiful sawgrass prairie and minimize the negative space of the overcast skies.

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Exploring Birds Along the Anhinga Trail in Everglades National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the east-northeast while taking in views of some nearby Double-Crested Cormorants perched on a walkway railing. This was along the Anhinga Trail in Everglades National Park. My thought on composing this image was merely to center the birds in the image, metering and focusing to bring out later in post-production all the details present with the feathers, especially along the wings and as well as other features around the beak, mouth, and eyes. I did use the Photoshop generative tool to remove some people present in the backdrop of the image. I found it very helpful to use that tool rather than typical cloning or healing that most post-production software applies.

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A View to the High Peaks Along the Prewett Point Trail (Pinnacles National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the east while taking in views across rolling hillside leading up to eroded formations and volcanic leftovers on the High Peaks in this part of Pinnacles National Park. In composing this image, I zoomed in with the focal length, so that much of that landscape would fill the image with a little bit of blue skies above to contrast the earth-tones in the lower portion of the image.

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Wide Open Skies Above Devils Garden in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the east while taking in views across eroded formations present at Devils Garden in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. What I wanted to do with this image was to center this one grouping in the image center, using the overcast skies as a backdrop. I later worked with control points in DxO PhotoLab 5 and then made some adjustments to bring out the contrast, saturation and brightness I wanted for the final image.

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My Every Journey Today in the Everglades National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the east-northeast while taking in views across the sawgrass prairie to my front. This was from an overlook along a boarded walkway with the Pinelands Trail in Everglades National Park. In composing this image, I chose to angle my Nikon Z8 Mirrorless Camera slightly downward, so that I could raise the horizon. I felt that would bring out a sweeping view looking across the sawgrass prairie and minimize what I felt was the more negative space of the overcast skies.

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It’s Beginning to Look Like a Snow Day in Joshua Tree National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: From a roadside pullout along the main park road with a view looking to the east to some nearby Joshua Trees and then more distant peaks and ridges. This location is not far from the Maze Loop Trailhead in Joshua Tree National Park. My thought on composing this image was to capture the recently fallen snow that had started to coat the landscape in the national park. Taking advantage of some nearby Joshua Trees to include in the foreground, I decided to angle my Nikon SLR camera slightly downward to create more of a sweeping view leading up to the ridges and peaks. I wanted to keep some of the blue skies and clouds that were present before the storm front moved in to balance the earth-tones in the lower portion of the image.

[thorsenmark]

A View to the High Peaks Along the Prewett Point Trail (Pinnacles National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the east while taking in views across rolling hillside leading up to eroded formations and volcanic leftovers on the High Peaks in this part of Pinnacles National Park. In composing this image, I zoomed in with the focal length, so that much of that landscape would fill the image with a little bit of blue skies above to contrast the earth-tones in the lower portion of the image.