#glass-like reflections

[thorsenmark]

Vermillion Lake Reflections (Banff National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While taking in views along the shores of Vermillion Lakes with a view looking to the southeast to the ridges and peaks of Mount Rundle. This is in Banff National Park.

[just-wanna-travel]

Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska, USA

[thorsenmark]

Things Seen, From Near to Far (Lassen Volcanic National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: At lakeside location in Lassen Volcanic National Park with a view looking to the south-southeast while taking in the setting of Manzanita Lake and Lassen Peak. I chose to use a portrait orientation for the image captured as I wanted to capture the entirety of the setting, from near to far, with the nearby grassy marsh, to the lake waters with the lone kayaker, and finally the forest of trees on the far side of the lake with Lassen Peak as a backdrop. Given the large dynamic range I felt present in this setting, one thing I did have to pay attention to was a proper exposure. I chose to meter the brighter area with the evergreen trees, knowing that I could later use control points in post production in DxO PhotoLab 8 to bring out the more shadowed areas without a color cast.

[thorsenmark]

A Lone Kayaker and Lassen Peak (Lassen Volcanic National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the south-southeast while taking in views of Lassen Peak beyond a nearby shoreline. This was while walking along the Manzanita Lake Loop in Lassen Volcanic National Park. My thought in composing this image had been to lineup the view with the lone kayaker and mountain peak as a backdrop

[thorsenmark]

An Afternoon Walk in Lassen Volcanic National Park (Black & White) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While walking along the shoreline of Manzanita Lake with a view looking to the south-southeast. This is located in Lassen Volcanic National Park and along the namesake lake loop trail. What drew me into the setting was first the opening in the trees and amazing view! But then I started to look around and noticed the reflections in the waters. That led me to attempt to find a balance between the forest and mountain peaks with their reflections, while including some foreground interest with the nearby shoreline. I later performed a conversion to black & white using DxO PhotoLab 8 where I made some adjustments to color filters to bring out a much richer tonal contrast for the final image.

[thorsenmark]

Banff National Park Has a Beauty to Stir a Thirst for Adventure by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the south while taking in views across the still waters of Bow Lake and then more distant ridges and peaks of Center and North Crowfoot Mountain. This is at a roadside at Bow Lake Viewpoint along the Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park.

[thorsenmark]

Finding My Next Adventure in Banff National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While at an overlook to Two Jack Lake and view to the south to the ridges and peaks of Mount Rundle off in the distance. This location is along the Lake Minnewanka Scenic Drive in Banff National Park. In composing this image, I walked around until I could find an opening in the trees that helped to frame the view with the lake waters and reflection as well as centering Mount Rundle in the upper portion of the image center. I felt this helped to create a layered look and add interests, from near to far.

[thorsenmark]

My Walking Day Dreams (Lassen Volcanic National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While walking along the shores of Manzanita Lake and the namesake loop trail. The view is looking to the south-southeast across the lake waters with Lassen Peak as a distant backdrop. This is located in Lassen Volcanic National Park. In composing this image, I took advantage of the opening of trees along this section of the trail. I decided to angle my Nikon Z8 Mirrorless Camera slightly downward and bring the horizon a little higher into the image. I wanted to have Lassen Peak brought higher into the image, as I felt it would add a sense of grandeur, as well as minimizing what I felt was more of the negative space with the blue skies in the upper portion of the image. I did some initial post-processing work making adjustments to contrast, brightness and saturation in DxO PhotoLab 8. 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.