#eroded formations

It Looks To Be an Exciting Day in Bryce Canyon National Park! by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the east-northeast while taking in views across hoodoos and other eroded formations present in Bryce Canyon National Park. This view is located at Sunset Point and just around sunrise. My thought on composing the image was to time an image captured around the point of sunrise, but some low clouds were present to minimize that look. I chose to work with HDR Efex Pro 2 to better bring that complete color setting in the image. I later exported a TIFF image to DxO PhotoLab 5 where I did some final adjustments with contrast, saturation and brightness for the final image.

Guest Viewings at Bryce Canyon National Park (Black & White) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While walking the Rim Trail with a view looking to the northwest across the hoodoos and eroded formations present in the Bryce Amphitheater. This is in Bryce Canyon National Park. I wanted to create a sweeping view across this national park landscape and use the high ground I was on and angled my Nikon SLR camera slightly downward to create that effect. There would still be some blue skies and clouds above for the captured image. I later converted to black & white using Silver Efex Pro 3 where I made some adjustments to color filters to bring out a much richer tonal contrast for the final image.

Rock Formation with a Variety of Shapes for the Mind to Imagine (Joshua Tree National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While walking the Arch Rock Nature Trail with a view looking to the southeast to a varied collections of rock formations. This is in Joshua Tree National Park. As with clouds, the mind can imagine many different ideas on what is perceived. Here was a collection with the one in the center almost looking like a whale coming up out of the ocean waters. I kept that in the image center and pulled back on the focal length to include some others to add variety and imagination.

Silence is the Way Some Feel Grief (Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: Silence is the Way Some Feel Grief An empty quietness that seems so hard to fill Distractions can help to fill in that void It seems for a time, mainly Then I look at these wonders Ages and eons have passed They stoically watch as time moves by Winds and floods have they have witnessed They stand and my troubles seem to naught Another work of short poetry or prose to complement the image captured one afternoon in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument while walking the Devils Garden. The setting is looking to the west across a grassy field to eroded sandstone formations present in this part of the national monument and Utah. My thinking in composing this image was to have a balanced, leveled-on view looking to the horizon. From a high ground perch that I was standing on, I would be able to angle my Nikon SLR camera to create a sweeping view across the grassy field leading up to the formations. I decided to keep them a little off centered as I felt the cliffs off in the distance added a balance the image. The blue skies and clouds would be that color contrast to complement the earth-tones in the lower portion of the image.