Sep 15, 2020
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Prairie Grasslands Beyond the Badlands of Panorama Point (Badlands National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: An idea I got from another photographer with a view across some eroded landscape of badlands and prairie grasses that seemed to stretch out to a distant horizon. This is a view looking to the southeast from the main overlook.
palaeoart Next up for some prep is this near complete Mesohippus bairdi skull from the Brule Formation of Wyoming. Most Mesohippus fossils I’ve prepped previously have lost their snout but this one is near perfect. Mesohippus (from the Greek ‘Middle Horse’) was an extinct early ancestor to modern horses 🐎 which still had a three-toed foot. It’s teeth are low-crowned suggesting it fed more on low foliage and fruit rather than grass like modern horses. This should be a fun prep job!
Morning Sunlight Casting Shadows Across the Badlands at Panorama Point (Badlands National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: An idea I got from another photographer while planing a trip to Badlands National Park and the nearby Dakotas area. For this image, I used a tripod to mount my Nikon SLR camera and then used a CamRanger so that I could meter and compose the image captured. I found that and then making manual adjustments to the shutter speed gave me better feedback for an image captured. I later used some CEP filters in Capture NX2 (Low Key, Polarization and Graduated Neutral Density) which seemed to best bring colors. shadows and tones even with the bright sunlight as I faced that morning at this overlook point.
Early Morning Light Across the Door Trail (Badlands National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: An idea I got from another photographer with a view across some eroded landscape with the morning sunlight adding a nice glow while other area were still in shadows. One can still see some of the drying from the past few days of rain. Just wish I'd had more time to explore this part of the national park under those blue skies, but time was short as I'd be leaving shortly to head up to North Dakota.
My Travel Paintings - Badlands National Park and Bison by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: Badlands National Park and a Bison. When I captured the original image I posted here on Flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/14723335@N05/28503748057/in/album-7...), it was an overcast day with off and on drizzle that made for very slick trails to walk. So even though I was limited on places I could walk, given those conditions, I made the most of it and took in some amazing views. This is one are in Badlands National Park where I really enjoyed the views that seemed to stretch on to a distant horizon while walking the area around the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail. It was later while walking the shop at the Ben Reifel Visitor Center that I came across a water color painted image that inspired me to digitally paint something from that location. While there were no bison that day, the water color painting did...and I was going to paint one with mine! So to the digital painting…I’d been reading and practicing painting lessons in a book I was reading (The Photoshop and Painter Artist Tablet Book by Cher Threinen-Pendarvis) One lessons/chapter had me practice sketching and then painting with water color brushes for different images. That gave me an idea on something to try out with the many water color type brushes Kyle had to offer with Adobe Sketch on my iPad Pro. I would sketch out the image I captured with my Nikon D800E and then make changes like including a bison grazing on the prairie grasses and change the overcast skies to one with blue skies and clouds. So after sketching the image I wanted, I then tried out a few of Kyle’s brushes until I got something of what I wanted to paint on top of what I’d sketched out. I could then work with different colors and shades to produce relief in the terrain. Mind you, I was not trying to paint that as accurate as possible; my thinking was to use broader brush strokes where possible to create the appearance in this famous national park in South Dakota. So while not the perfect water color look I wanted, it was a good first try and something to work on with other images! Two other things I did was to use a background I painted out that makes a postcard I’d seen at the Visitor Center and would bring out a warmer color as I painted. The other was more practice on the skies that I’d read from this article (www.creativebloq.com/advice/5-simple-tips-for-painting-be...). In the left center foreground of the painting, you'll find that stick figure image of me "hiking" with my Cubbies hat, loving my time exploring the badlands and South Dakota :-)
A Minimalist Look to Badlands and Their Formations at White River Valley Overlook (Black & White, Badlands National Park) by Mark Stevens
An Unnamed Creek Flowing through Prairie Grass and Badlands (Badlands National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A stop not far from the Fossil Exhibit Trail and Castle area. With this image, I wanted to capture that sweeping view across the prairie grasses and nearby creek and let those lead the eyes to the more distant badlands and formations. Given the overcast skies and intermittent rain that day, I decided to angle my SLR camera slightly downward capturing the grassland and smaller formations to my front. I could then work an angle to include the upper portions of the butte and pinnacles off in the distance. I later used a Pro Contrast and Skylight CEP filter in Capture NX2 for the final image to address what I felt was the more muted colors from the overcast skies above.