A day at Big Bend National Park

stirinthesaucestirinthesauce Registered Users Posts: 293 Major grins
edited November 23, 2012 in Landscapes
Visited Big Bend National Park this summer (braved the intense heat) and camped up in the Chisos Mtn's. I posted a few 35mm film shots a few months back here http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=226714

Thought I would share a few digital images I took while there. I look forward to January as I return for a full week.

1 Sunrise at the Window. Sun rose behind me and caught the first light upon the rocks and the soft pastels in the sky.

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2. A couple sunset shots.

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3 Sun went behind the clouds and was not left with the drama I was hoping for.

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4 Down at Santa Elena Canyon on the Rio Grande. First is of the entrance to the Canyon

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5 In the canyon

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6 another looking up the canyon

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7 looking out of the canyon towards the Chisos in the background

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8 Mule ears

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9 desert view pano, looking down off the high desert towards the Rio Grande and Mexico. The notch in the far canyon is Santa Elena Canyon. This is along the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive.

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10 Milky Way. This is my first attempt at shooting it. I live in TN and unfortunately have too much light pollution and trees/mountains blocking full views of the night time sky. Look forward to spending a little more time and prep in January shooting the night sky.

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I must say, coming to this Park was a pleasant surprise. So beautiful, diverse and desolate. My visit prompted my wife and I to plan our vacation here in the new year for a more involved exploration. On a tech note for those wanting to know, most of the shots of the canyon and the sunset were 3 shot exposure's blended in LREnfuse. I find it much more natural looking the HDR and the files much easier to get to the final result than HDR. At least for me that is.

-Jon
My Website

Comments

  • CornflakeCornflake Registered Users Posts: 3,346 Major grins
    edited November 14, 2012
    Wow. I can't offer objective feedback because these trigger too many memories. I grew up in Texas and first visited Big Bend when I was seven. I resolved on that visit to live near mountains as an adult, which I've done. I backpacked the Chisos with the Explorer Scouts when I was a teen. I backpacked them again with two old friends when I was in college, a long way away. My brother and I rafted through Santa Elena Canyon in the mid-90s to commemorate our grandfather's having done so many years before. There were many other visits.

    Forgive me for just enjoying these and providing no useful feedback, but I think they're quite good.
    Don
    Gallery: http://cornflakeaz.smugmug.com/
  • stirinthesaucestirinthesauce Registered Users Posts: 293 Major grins
    edited November 14, 2012
    Cornflake wrote: »
    Wow. I can't offer objective feedback because these trigger too many memories. I grew up in Texas and first visited Big Bend when I was seven. I resolved on that visit to live near mountains as an adult, which I've done. I backpacked the Chisos with the Explorer Scouts when I was a teen. I backpacked them again with two old friends when I was in college, a long way away. My brother and I rafted through Santa Elena Canyon in the mid-90s to commemorate our grandfather's having done so many years before. There were many other visits.

    Forgive me for just enjoying these and providing no useful feedback, but I think they're quite good.

    You are quite privileged to have so extensively enjoyed this great park. This one has not been on my radar other than knowing I was to be in Texas (San Antonio) this summer visiting family and knew I wanted to get away to some mountains for a couple days. Looking at some maps, the locale and remoteness of Big Bend intrigued me. I look forward to my return trip and have a feeling that with family in Texas now, I will be returning more often.
    My Website
  • kdogkdog Administrators Posts: 11,681 moderator
    edited November 19, 2012
    Some great compositions from a land seldom seen. Number 2 is my favorite. A few of these shots in the middle, #5 for example, are a bit compressed into the midtones most likely from the multiple exposure blending software. Adding a curve to them would give them more pop. But that may be a personal choice thing. These are all good the way they are as well.
    Moderator of Landscapes forum
    Link to my Smugmug site
  • stirinthesaucestirinthesauce Registered Users Posts: 293 Major grins
    edited November 19, 2012
    kdog wrote: »
    Some great compositions from a land seldom seen. Number 2 is my favorite. A few of these shots in the middle, #5 for example, are a bit compressed into the midtones most likely from the multiple exposure blending software. Adding a curve to them would give them more pop. But that may be a personal choice thing. These are all good the way they are as well.

    Thank you kdog for the feedback and kind words.

    I have been going through a "flat" phase lately, or rather a low contrast phase if you will. I may re-visit these in the future and add curves to them.
    My Website
  • joe-bobjoe-bob Registered Users Posts: 368 Major grins
    edited November 21, 2012
    Nice set. The Milky Way shot is fabulous.
  • Art MorganArt Morgan Registered Users Posts: 107 Major grins
    edited November 22, 2012
    Very nice series, thanks for sharing. I love the comp on #5, makes me feel like I am standing there in the scene. I agree it could use a curves adjustment for a little more pop, but the hard part is done!

    Art :)
    Art :)

    www.ArtMorganFineArt.com
  • stirinthesaucestirinthesauce Registered Users Posts: 293 Major grins
    edited November 23, 2012
    Thank you Joe-Bob and Art.
    -Jon
    My Website
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