I captured this photograph of a moonset over Terlingua during my last trip to Big Bend National Park. We hiked up a small hill near the main road to get a good vantage point of the setting moon. The moon was spectacular, the foreground, not so much. But, it was a great experience nonetheless.
If you’ve never heard of Terlingua, TX then you’ve probably never been to west Texas. Located between the Big Bend National Park and the Big Bend Ranch State Park, the town of Terlingua is one of the most interesting towns in the entire state. Often referred to as a “ghost town”, it has some of the most unique characters in the region. The name derives from two Spanish words, “tres” and “linguas”, meaning “three tongues”. There are many debates on what the name means. Some say it’s because there were three languages spoken (Spanish, English and Native American), others say it’s because of the three forks of Terlingua Creek. I favor the former.
The first settlement in the area was a Mexican village located on Terlingua Creek about three miles above its confluence with the Rio Grande River. In the mid-1880’s, cinnabar, from which mercury is extracted, was discovered. It would slowly change the region from a single sleepy village into a mining district. Remnants of its mining history can be seen throughout the region. I highly recommend a trip to Terlingua if you happen to be in west Texas.
This image was taken with my Canon EOS 5DS using my Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 II Lens set on 400mm. The camera was set on Manual mode with the aperture set at f/8, shutter speed at 1/4th of a second and the ISO set at 100. I used a tripod for stability. This is a single image processed in Lightroom. I then finalized the image in Photoshop using Nik Color Efex Pro.
You can access my Big Bend collection by clicking here. Please use the section below to post your comments, questions or suggestions.
T. Kahler Photography
© 2016 T. Kahler Photography
You can also follow my work on Google+ or Facebook.
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).
