El Cap and the Guads

El Capitan rises from the deserts of west Texas in dramatic fashion.  The sheer end of the Guadalupe Mountains is a sight to see and a frequent subject of my cameras.  I find the views varied and all of them superb   I often wonder why other photographers do not make the trek to photograph this park.  Then I remember, its here in Texas and for some reason people think all the good parks are in California or Utah.

Too bad for them.  Great for me.

On a fine fall afternoon, I arrived south of El Cap by one of my favorite roadside views of the mountains to find that fall rains had brought on some wildflowers and I instantly knew I had my image for the day.

Set up low.  Go wide to take it all in.  Use a grad filter to hold back the sky.  Stop down to f/45. Wait for the wind to slow enough to hopefully get the flowers sharp.  Then wait four weeks to see if you got the image.  You gotta love large format.

I mostly got the shot.  Trying not to blow out the yellow in the flowers it does get kinda dark in the shadows, but as Galen Rowell always said-expose for the most important highlight.