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Joining Me on My Adventures in Nature Along the Blue Ridge Parkway by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the northeast to ridges and peaks of the Great Craggy Mountains (with Craggy Dome) and then more distant one of the N NC Blue Ridge Crest. This was while walking to the summit area of Craggy Pinnacle along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

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I Only Had to Walk a Short While Before I Was Seeing Beautiful Views! (Lassen Volcanic National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the southeast while taking in views of Lassen Peak beyond some nearby trees. This was while walking along the Manzanita Lake Loop in Lassen Volcanic National Park.

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A Chance to Capture Images of the Wonders in Mesa Verde National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the north while taking in views to nearby cliff dwellings of the Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park. This was while on the 700 Years Tour.

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Forever Mount Rundle (Mount Rundle National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While at a roadside pullout along Trans-Canada Highway 1 with a view looking to the southwest across a nearby forest and lakes to the more distant ridges and peaks of Mount Rundle (Rundle Peaks). This is at the Vermilion Lakes Viewpoint in Banff National Park.

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Hiking the Trails of Biscayne National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the southeast while walking along a hiking trail on taking in Boca Chita Key and taking in views of trees and other plant-life. This was while on the Heritage Of Biscayne Cruise in Biscayne National Park.

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My Time for a Getaway Along the Blue Ridge Parkway by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the south while taking in views across at the Peaks of the Otter Recreation Area. This is at a stop along the Blue Ridge Parkway. What I wanted to capture with this view was the layers present from the nearby grassy meadow and shoreline, then the waters of Abbott Lake, and finally Sharp Top Mountain as a distant backdrop. I decided to keep everything more or less symmetrical across the image, as I felt it helped to create a sense of balance with the look straight ahead.

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Our Time in Exploring the Bisti Badlands by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the southwest while taking in views across eroded and adobe formations present in this part of the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area. My thought on composing this image was to angle my Nikon SLR camera slightly downward and bring out a sweeping view across this landscape. I felt there were layers present with the nearby flatness to my front and bluffs off in the distance. I later worked with control points in DxO PhotoLab 7 and then made some adjustments to bring out the contrast, saturation and brightness I wanted for the final image.

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Undeniably Majestic! (Lassen Volcanic National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: At an overlook while hiking along the Lassen Peak Trail with a view to the north-northwest while taking in a view up this mountainside to the main peak area (and destination of the hike I was on). This is in Lassen Volcanic National Park. While I did want to minimize the blue skies which I kind of felt were more of a negative space, I did like the color contrast it provided, compared to the earth-tones in the lower portion of the image

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It’s Never the End of a Road When You’re at the Beginning! by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While walking and exploring along Whitehead Street in Key West, Florida, near the 0 Mile Marker for US Highway 1 where I took in this scene. The image is looking to the northwest, with the marker sign prominently displayed in the center. The surrounding streets adds to the urban ambiance, creating that blend of nature and city life.

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Hello, Icefields Parkway! (Jasper National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While at a roadside pullout along the Icefields Parkway with a view looking to the south to ridges and peaks around the Columbia Icefield area. This is in Jasper National Park.

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Could We Pull off the Highway About Here? by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: That's the story behind this image and the view I wanted to capture. I'd left Austin earlier that morning where temperatures were...hot! So after a few plane flights on the way up to Calgary, I was heading west on the Trans-Canada Hwy 1 for a trip to stay in the Banff area in Alberta. I asked my friend to pull off the highway at this point because of the view I saw here. To my immediate front was a grassy meadow with different colors wildflowers of whites, purples and greens. Just beyond was a view across a countryside with rolling hillsides and groves of trees. Then far off in the distance were the majestic and beautiful peaks of the Canadian Rockies! That's what I wanted to capture with this image as I felt a cool breeze of early autumn winds coming across the countryside, cooling down my body and blowing my hair all about...but I was so loving it! The only thing I changed later with post-production was to clone out an entrance ramp road just beyond the meadow with Photoshop. While some might feel this takes away from the image, for me it adds to the image by removing it. As Ansel Adams said: this is not what you see, but what I want you to see.

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Exploring Mabry Mill along the Blue Ridge Parkway by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: At an historical attraction along the Blue Ridge Parkway with a view looking to the south-southeast to a nearby wooden waterway or flume. This location is known as Mabry Mill. I liked the way the wooden waterway acted as a leading line into the image with trees on both sides to channelize the view.

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I'm Trail Ready! (Lassen Volcanic National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the south while hiking and taking in views along the Lassen Peak Trail. This is in Lassen Volcanic National Park. The story behind this image is a convenient place to take a break and catch my breath with the altitude and height. It was as I looked down the trail I had hiked that I chose to use it as a leading line with some ridges coming off the mountainside as a backdrop. I also chose to angle my Nikon Z8 Mirrorless Camera slightly downward and raise the horizon higher into the image. I want to bring out more of a sense of grandeur with the setting present.

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Mountain Views Along the Knife Edge Trail (Mesa Verde National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the west while taking in views and hiking the Knife Edge Trail in Mesa Verde National Park. The setting is across the Montezuma Valley with ridges and peaks of the Ute Mountain Area off in the distance (Ute Peak).

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Get Yourself to Waterton Lakes National Park! by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While taking in views to the southwest across farmland and prairies with a backdrop of mountains and peaks in Waterton Lakes National Park. This is located at the Waterton Park Front along Alberta Highway 6. What I wanted to capture with this image was the sweeping view across this farmland and prairies leading to the more distant ridges and peaks in the national park. I decided to center that opening around Waterton Park in the upper portion with the mountains.

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Outings in Biscayne National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: I captured this image while walking and exploring a hiking trail on Boca Chita Key in Biscayne National Park. The view is looking to the north-northeast to a group of pelicans that had flown over and continued away. A few moments prior to seeing them, I had changed the subject detection on my Nikon Z8 Mirrorless Camera to a more automatic one, so I was able to capture a set of images of these pelicans. This image that I liked because of the wings spread out, along with the backdrop of blue skies and clouds.