The Chisos from Desert Mountain Overlook

My most visited viewpoint in Big Bend is the Desert Mountain Overlook.  I stop here every day as this is the closest view to where I camp at Cottonwood.  It also has a several possible compositions in different directions.  It has a great view east to the Chisos that is good for sunrise as well as sunset.  Across the road are a couple of views west and south along the Rio Grande and the Sierra Ponce.  Those varied possibilities make it always a place worth checking out.  

It also has a good view of the entire sky.  Meaning when I leave the campground every morning, I always drive here in the dark.  With a clear view of the sky I can judge what the clouds are and use that to help me decide my morning location.

There are several great possibilities within a 15 minute drive so by stopping here I can judge the light and then pick the best of several possible locations.  Sometimes that means driving a little, other times it means staying put.

This was an afternoon and it was a chance to photograph clouds over the Chisos in the afternoon light.  Again, that afternoon light offers a view with the Chisos front lit.  Add in some big sky clouds and you have a great shot.

This is very different from the morning view here with the back lit peaks that truly earn the name "Ghost Mountains". 

With the clouds like they were I went with both color and b+w, figuring each might be good.  The color was ok, but honestly the wider view I was able to make with my DSLR at 17mm was better.  However the b+w image had something the digital did not.

Here is that shot on Efke 25 with DR-5 processing.

Tule Mountain

One of the unique mountains on the west side of Big Bend National Park is Tule Mountain. It is a solitary flat topped peak near the west entrance to the park at Maverick.  Geologists will tell you that it is related to the Burro Mesa which is just east of it and that faulting and blocking caused the space between the two to fall.

The result is a peak that stands alone and makes a great subject for the camera.

After spending the middle part of the day west of the national park along the river in Big Bend Ranch State Park, I stopped near Tule in the afternoon to try an image.

Being the afternoon and having another location for sunset, I decided to just do a black and white image of Tule.

The view is looking south, so I put on a polarizer to see if it would help the clouds pop slightly.  I also used the orange filter to see if that might help darken the sky a little.

Otherwise, it was simply metering and adjusting the exposure for the two filters.

Here is the result on Efke 25 with the DR-5 process for a b+w chrome.

I made two exposures to allow for a little safety in case I was off and then it was pack up and go for a sunset location.

Clear Sky Morning at Santa Elena

I made a second morning stop at Santa Elena Canyon a few days after my first visit.  It was a completely clear sky day.  This morning I decided to photography from a different vantage point to the south and downstream of the canyon and see if I could get the light on the canyon walls.

As soon as the light started to come up I began to make images.  When the pink predawn light of a clear sky is in the west before sunrise I was able to get this image.  Velvia capturing the softness and delicate color in the sky.

I photographed on through the sunrise and I had hoped the orange light of the first rays of the sun would be stunning, the final results on film lacked the qualities of this image here.

That sometimes unknown is one of those fantastic things about photography, you have to try and then see what works.
 

Santa Elena Canyon

Santa Elena Canyon is my favorite location in Big Bend National Park.  It is a location I visit every trip.  If you follow my WildernessPhotographer blog you have seen many entries about this amazing location.

After witnessing a spectacular sunrise where I did not even try to use the 4x5, I set up my tripod and the Arca-Swiss and decided to work with black and white.

The amazing light show of the sunrise not only ended but the clouds were rapidly fleeing the sky.  Some shadows were still sliding across the canyon and I hoped that monochrome was the way to.

I worked on two compositions.

First thith the canon centered and then with the canyon left and the the bulk of the Mesa de Anguila as the main subject.

Luckily the few clouds were making just the right amount of shadow and light.  I worked with Efke 25 and then had it processed by DR-5.

These are the best two.

The Chisos Mountains

The Chisos Mountains rising out of the desert in Big Bend National Park.  The Chisos are a small compact range of mountains that are in the middle of the park.  From the river elevations of around 2000' they reach heights of 7800'.  

Mountains like this are known as a "sky island".  The desert is hot, gets little rain, and has limited plant/animal life.  The mountains provide cooler temps, gets more rain (the mountain helps generate the rain), and has significantly more plants and animals.  The desert is harsh, the Chisos has pines, aspen, and bears.  It is an island in a desert sea-hence the name "sky island".

I love the view of the Chisos rising out of the desert and usually hope to find some images that can show them for a backdrop of a desert scene.  On an afternoon of exploring on was on western side of the mountains and some clouds were starting to build in the sky.  I thought it would be a good chance to photograph the Chisos in black and white.  I found a location with a good view, however I had limited foreground and since I was west of the park, I was limited by a fence from searching for the right element.

Working with what I had, I set up the tripod and framed the view to take in the clouds with the Chisos anchoring the bottom of the frame.

I used Efke 25 that I had processed in DR-5 to a chrome.

On the Way to the Chisos

Heading into Big Bend National Park, I always make a lot of stops for photographs.  The view here is big and scenic.  I always hope for decent clouds, good light, and a chance to make an image.  

Having a combo of light and clouds it was a great day to take my time and do some large format work as I made my way toward the Chisos.  It was mid morning and I was making it a relaxing drive of frequent stops.  It is roughly 30 miles from the north entrance to the park headquarters at the base of the Chisos.  I think it took me almost 3 hours to make that drive with all the frequent stops I made and especially if I thought there was a good spot for the 4x5.

Here was one of those spots.  I could see this rock pile from the road and carried my gear out with the hopes of making a good image of the desert floor and distant Chisos.

At first I was going to put the pock pile in the image but as I scouted the area with my digital camera it seemed the better image was from the top of the rocks, so it was there I set up the tripod and worked this image.

The shot is on Astia 100 and this box has not aged well.  When I got my film developed, all the Asita looked bad and my Velvia looked great.  This is pretty much what the chrome looks like.  I could probably work it more in Photoshop but decided to leave it as is.

I spent about 30 minutes here and the sun was already warm-and it was early February.  I packed up and headed down the road.

Desert Arroyo

In February of this year, I had the opportunity to head to Big Bend National Park in west Texas.  Big Bend is a park of superlatives that is frankly one of the five best national parks for the landscape photographer.  This is big empty country and the end of the road.  

I arrived at the north entrance to the park one morning and began the long drive to the Chisos.  The light was interesting.  Not great, but it had potential for both photography and for using large format film.  I crossed a dry desert arroyo the was leading toward the Rosillos Mountains and thought it might be worthy of an image.  I snapped a few quick pics and decided to give it a go on color film.

I set up the camera wondering how long it can take for this gully to fill when it flash floods here in the desert.  There was a nearby sign that said the road bridge across this gully had been taken by the flood waters more than once.  That would be some powerful moving water.

I decided to go with the longer 210mm lens to compress the distance to the mountains slightly.  210mm is not very "long" but it is realistically as long a lens as I need.


I framed up the arroyo with the Rosillos Mountains in the upper corner and used Velvia 100.

One image in the bag.  With luck I would have the opportunity to make several more on this trip.

Santa Elena in Black and White

Here is a third posting from my mornings at Santa Elena Canyon.  This is one in monochrome from the overlook.  I finally was able to get my film processed.  This image was done on Efke 25 black and white film that was processed by DR-5 into a black and white chrome.


There is nothing quite like a chrome and a black and white chrome is also something special.  Getting a box of processed images is a bit like being a kid again.


You can compare the color version from the same location from my 5/10 posting.

Santa Elena Canyon and Rio Grande

As the sky remained clear in Big Bend day after day I decided that another morning image to try was to go back to Santa Elena Canyon and photograph from the edge of the Rio Grande.

I made my way down to the river in the dark and walked until I had a decent foreground of water and rocks and not just mud.  The mud was the big concern as I was not keen to be walking back and forth in it.  I found a spot I could bounce across some rocks and hopefully avoid it.

I moved the tripod out into the water and started setting up.

The canyon is so big that the 75mm was the lens to use.  That is as wide as I go and it makes me wish I had the 47XL.

I knew the color would be intense on the rock and decided that classic Velvia50 was the way to go.

I used a soft edge grad filter to tone down the sky a bit and waited.

I set up the camera and worked on focus and then waited.

When the light first hit the top of the wall I got the middle image.  

Then quickly, while I reloaded film the light made its way down the wall and I got the third image.

I added a couple of more images for good measure and bracketed too.  All told I shot 8 sheets that morning.  That was a big day for me.  Luckily I got a couple of nice ones.

If you ever make it to Big Bend be sure to plan for a sunrise from here. You will be glad you did.

Santa Elena Canyon

The showpiece location of Big Bend National Park is Santa Elena Canyon.  If you ever make it here and have just one night, the place you want to see sunrise is here at the canyon.


Calling this location spectacular is an understatement.


Here the Rio Grande flows out of the 1500' deep canyon it has carved in the Sierra Ponce wall.  You can stand at the rivers edge and look up and into it.  This is as awe inspiring of a location as the Grand Canyon and it is a whole lot easier to see and experience as it is just 100 yards from the parking lot.  Not that I am against a long arduous hike to get someplace, but as the large format photographers can tell you, close to the road is sometimes nice.



I had arrived in Big Bend one day last month to some amazing clouds and had one of my best days ever for photography.  I woke up on day two to clear skies and decided to photograph the canyon.  The clear skies should put nice light on the canyon and if I framed it right I could avoid too much empty blue sky.


When I normally photograph the canyon, it is from the mouth of the canyon as I cannot help but be drawn to the rivers edge and that huge wall right in front of you.  Well, I decided to try a different shot and went to the overlook, which is about 1/2 mile away from the canyon.  If you ever saw Ansel Adams image of Santa Elena Canyon, it was taken from the overlook.  The view here is less about the river as it is harder to pick out in the distance and more about the canyon cliff face.


I set up the camera in the dark and chose a longer lens.  Focused.  Decided this is a location all about the orange glow on the wall and went with Velvia 100F.  Waited.  When first light touched the top of the canyon walls I took an image.  When it got all the way to the bottom of the wall I took a second.  Then I switched to black and white.  I am still have yet to get the b+w images developed but the color looked good and is the image here.


What a way and place to watch the sunrise.

The Adventure Continues

Photography is an adventure.  

Large Format photography is even more of an adventure.  It is fun, challenging, difficult, frustrating, surprising, and unpredictable.  It is an art, a science, a skill, and something that just plain dumb luck is the best thing you can have. 

In the end it is ultimately rewarding.

Photography continues to evolve as an discipline and the technology is changing at an ever increasing rate.  As traditional as large format photography is it is not immune to change.  I continue to deal with markets and tools that do not sit still.

It is something that I am still compelled to work with, to try to understand better, and to try to improve in.

As I look forward to working more with the camera and seeing where it takes me next.  

I think of this image as one that has always inspired the photographer in me.  Perched high on a cliff overlooking the Rio Grande, it always makes me ready to grab the gear and head west.

Santa Elena Sunrise

Sunrise at Santa Elena Canyon.

I am really not sure if you need to say more than that. This is a location that speaks for itself.

It is also a very easy picture. A-Get to canyon before sunrise. B-When sun hits canyon wall take picture. C-Go "oooooh" and "aaaaahhhhh".

On the Big Hill

After the sun started to sink past the horizon the bright direct light faded and I repositioned the camera for the view west for what I hoped would be a great west Texas sunset.

I was still right on the edge of the cliff and had a great view straight down into the Rio Grande. All I had to do was wait for the right light.

This image was taken in the time after the sunset but before the light in the clouds really started to glow. You can see the Rio winding away west and you can just see the notch of Colorado Canyon at the top of the frame.

Opening Act

I just returned from a week in Big Bend. It was a very good week. I had a little bit of everything- sun, clouds, wind, calm, full moon, stars, a few flowers, cactus, javelina, bobcats, etc.

My first day in the Bend was a splendid one where I got to visit Marathon, Alpine, Marfa, and Presidio. After an early supper in Presidio I drove down the river road into Big Bend Ranch State Park. Somehow I was just drawn to watching sunset on the Big Hill. I arrived late in the day, grabbed all my gear and scrambled to the top.

I no sooner got my tripod set up on the edge of the drop into the canyon below when the sun popped below the clouds and lit up the scene like you always hope it does. The view from here is big and stretches from the river below to the distant Chisos. The light was incredible. I was practically jumping for joy-note jumping on the edge of the Big Hill is not a good idea :-).

I made a couple of quick images with the 4x5 and then had to stop and get this image. I am not sure if you can tell from this angle but about 1 foot to the right of my tripod is a several hundred foot drop into the Rio Grande. The light was amazing and I was moving back and forth from one camera to the other. 4x5, SLR, 4x5- it was a lot of activity in a short time on a small ledge. But it was a good day and so I photographed with abandon.

It was quite an opening act and it was only day one! Even better was after the great direct light faded the light show would begin in the other direction as the sky would fill with orange and red. By the time the evening was over I made my way down the hill with several sheets of film in the done box and dozens of images on my memory card.

What a way to end the first day, there would be several more to come. I am always amazed at the glory of the Big Bend country. Today was no exception.