#looking sse

[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.

[johnnyslittleanimalblog]

Walking in a Wildlife Wonderland (Katmai National Park & Preserve) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: This was a big brown bear that happened to be wandering about near the end of the boarded walk trail going to Brooks Falls. We had just left the platform area and were walking back...then we saw him! If you look closely, you will notice the bear was looking our way. I captured this with my Nikon D800E SLR camera using a Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 lens.

[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]

I may not have gone where I intended to go (Jasper National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” - douglas adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul While at a roadside pullout along the Icefields Parkway at the Goats and Glacier Lookout in Jasper National Park. The view is looking to the south-southeast to the ridges and peaks of the Hooker Icefield with Mount Christie and Mount Brussels (Brussels Peak). My thought on composing this image was to angle my Nikon SLR, camera, slightly downward, creating a sweeping view across this mountain valley to the more distant ridges and peaks. I wanted to have them higher into the image and create more of a sense of grandeur with them. There would be a little bit of blue skies and clouds in the image, but most of that morning was overcast with just a little bit of blue skies coming out, so I felt I could minimize it and focus on the mountains to my front.

[thorsenmark]

It’s Always a Good Time to Explore Jasper National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the south-southeast while taking in views across this glacier valley with the Athabasca River flowing by and then more distant ridges and peaks of the Hooker Icefield range with Mount Brussels (Brussels Peak) and Mount Christie. This is at the Goats and Glacier Lookout along the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park. As opposed to a wider angle, panoramic view, I decided to zoom in with the focal length and have much of the forest and mountains fill the image from edge to edge with a little bit of the mostly to partly cloudy skies above that had some glow from the rising sun.

[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]

The Athabasca River Flows on By the Mountains (Jasper National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While at Goats and Glacier Lookout along the Icefields Parkway with a view looking to the south-southeast. This is in Jasper National Park.

[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.