thorsenmark

[thorsenmark]

I’m Always in a Good Place When I See Mountains! (Mesa Verde National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While at the Mancos Valley Overlook with view looking to the northeast. This is in Mesa Verde National Park. Far off in the distance beyond the Mancos Valley are ridges and peaks of the San Miguel Mountains (PeakVisor app on my iPhone identified them as Belmear Mountain, Lone Cone, Groundhog Mountain, Black Mesa, Delores Peak, and Mount Wilson).

[thorsenmark]

It’s Always a Good Time to Be Found in the Mountains (Death Valley National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the northwest while taking in views down and then across a mountainside and then to Death Valley while at Dantes View in Death Valley National Park.

[thorsenmark]

I Like Mountain Backdrops! by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While in a parking area around the Jasper Station with a view looking to the southeast to Mount Tekarra and other peaks and ridges of the Maligne Range.

[thorsenmark]

Ridges and Peaks of Mount Timpanogos by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While at a roadside pullout along the Alpine Loop Drive with a view looking to the west to some distant ridges and peaks coming off Mount Timpanogos as part of the Central Wasatch Range.

[thorsenmark]

Let There Be Light As I Capture Images of the World Around Me (Shenandoah National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the west while taking in views across a grassy meadow and then to the more distant ridges and peaks present in this part of the Blue Ridge Mountains area. This is in Shenandoah National Park at Spitler Knoll Overlook. In composing this image, I decided to keep the sun setting off in the distance more or less in the image center. I did though want to include some foreground interest with grassy meadow and the nearby forest of trees leading up to the valley and the Masanutten Mountain. The rest was working the exposure to not blow any highlights while still being able to pull the more shattered areas later on and post-production and also working to minimize the artifacts from sunlight across the lens.

[thorsenmark]

Remembering a Friday in Lassen Volcanic National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the south while taking in views across an open landscape with volcanic sand and rocks. Beyond that were hillsides with ridges and peaks and more volcanic rock debris. This was while hiking along the namesake trail in Lassen Volcanic National Park. In composing this image, I angled my Nikon Z8 Mirrorless Camera slightly downward, so that I could bring out more of a sweeping view across this national park landscape.

[thorsenmark]

Taking in Views While Hiking Along the Petroglyph Point Trail by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the northwest while taking in views across Wickiup Canyon and Spruce Canyon and then to cliff walls on the other side. This was while hiking the Petroglyph Point Trail in Mesa Verde National Park.

[thorsenmark]

I Spy a Turkey in Great Basin National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the south across an open grassy meadow present along the Baker Creek Loop in Great Basin National Park. The focus of this image is on a rafter of wild turkeys a friend and I came across that afternoon.

[thorsenmark]

There’s Mountains Beyond the Trees (Jasper National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While taking in views at Athabasca Pass Lookout and a setting to the southwest across a nearby forest and mountainside in Jasper National Park.Mount Fryatt, Whirlpool Mountain, and Mount Geraldine were peaks I was able to identity using the PeakVisor app on my iPhone.

[thorsenmark]

Plan Your Next Adventure Along the Blue Ridge Parkway by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: An image captured from a slight rise on a nearby pond with a view looking to the north-northwest to the watermill present at this location (Mabry Mill) along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

[thorsenmark]

Renewing My Outside Membership as Often as I Can (Lassen Volcanic National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While walking along the Reflection Lake Trail with a view looking to the west across a nearby grassy meadow and lake waters. This is in Lassen Volcanic National Park. What I had wanted to do in composing this image was to get down low and capture a look across the grasses and waters with the backdrop of evergreens and blue skies. I liked the color contrast that the blues in the image had to the earth-tones in the lower portion of the image. I chose to work with HDR Efex Pro 7 to better bring that complete color setting in the image. I later exported a TIFF image to DxO PhotoLab 8 where I did some final adjustments with contrast, saturation and brightness for the final image.

[thorsenmark]

Dune Ridges and Mountains (Death Valley National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While walking along the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes area of Death Valley National Park. The setting is looking to the northeast and across the many dunes ridges to my front with the scattered bushes and plant-life.

[thorsenmark]

Things That Make Me Happy Walking in Great Basin National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the west while taking in views across a field of sunflower I saw while hiking the Baker Creek Loop in Great Basin National Park.

[thorsenmark]

Memories Shared of Views from the Shenandoah Valley Overlook (Shenandoah National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the northwest while taking in views down the ridge that the Skyline Drive was on and then across the Shenandoah Valley. Far off in the distance are the ridges with the Masanutten Mountain and George Washington National Forest.

[thorsenmark]

A Grassy Meadow and Forest Backdrop (Jasper National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While at a roadside pullout along Alberta Highway 93A near Leach Lake. This is in Jasper National Park. My thought on composing this image was to get down low, but capture a view above the grassy meadow to my front. I wanted to have that look through the tall grasses and then beyond to the forest of evergreen trees on the other side of the meadow. The rest was just aligning my Nikon SLR camera to capture that image and find a focus point with a closed down aperture to bring most of this setting into focus.

[thorsenmark]

Things That I Dream Of by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A view looking across snowcapped mountain peaks of the Yukon area while flying over Canada on a flight from Anchorage to Minneapolis. I decided to zoom into this one portion and use a technique I came across a few years ago from a DPS article on the “impact of less.” The idea is to focus on a portion of an area and then let the mind imagine more beyond the image.

[thorsenmark]

My Stories of Mesa Verde National Park in Photos by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While hiking the Petroglyph Point Trail with a view looking to the northeast at cliff dwellings present. This is in Mesa Verde National Park.