I am looking forward to my next trip to Big Bend National Park. The park is full of great experiences, especially during the spring. The Texas Wildflowers should be in full bloom and the colorful desert should yield great sunrise and sunset photography opportunities. The sunrise photograph below was captured last December at the end of Grapevine Hills Trail where the Balanced Rock formation resides. I posted a photograph titled “Balanced Sunrise” last December. It was my favorite photograph from the trip. This one was taken a few minutes before that one. The sun had not yet peaked above the horizon but the color hues were very similar.
The national park covers over 800,000 acres. A variety of fossil organisms exist in abundance, and the park has artifacts estimated to be 9,000 years old. Historic buildings and landscapes offer graphic illustration of life along the international border in the 19th century. For more than 1,000 miles, the Rio Grande forms the international boundary between Mexico and the United States, and Big Bend National Park administers approximately 118 miles along that boundary. The park was named after the area, which is bounded by a large bend in the river and Texas-Mexico border. I highly recommend visiting this wonderful park. The best time to visit is between October and April. The summer months are very hot and special skills and equipment are required to hike in the area.
This image was taken with my Canon EOS 5D Mark III using my Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 Lens set on 24 mm. The camera was set on Manual mode with the aperture set at f/8, shutter speed at 1/3 and the ISO set at ISO 100. This panorama includes 5 images which were stitched together using Photoshop and final processing was done in Lightroom.
This image is best when viewed large. Click on the image to enlarge it. Also, you can access the portfolio for all my Big Bend photographs by clicking here. Please use the section below to post your comments, questions or suggestions.
PS: Please don’t respond to this message as it will not reach me. Either post a comment or forward your response to my email address (terry@tkahler.com)
Richard Capozza
March 19, 2016
I like this Balanced Rock image a lot. Most photographers focus only on the balanced rock but by standing back, it gives scale to the scene. The many sunrise hues also add to the image.
TK
March 19, 2016
Thanks Rick. It was one of the highlights of the trip for me. The views were spectacular.
Linda Avitt
March 19, 2016
Very nice.
TK
March 19, 2016
Thanks Linda! BBNP is a great place.