Rio Grande at Sunset

This photograph could have been so much better… I went down to La Cuesta, located in the Big Bend Ranch State Park, to photograph the Rio Grande at Sunset using long exposure photography. I waited for the sunset to be at, what I thought was its most colorful point, before taking this shot. A swarm of mosquitoes came by and I decided to pack up and head out. That’s when the most amazing sunset took place. Imagine a bright, red and orange sky on this photo… Oh well, maybe next time.

Rio Grande at Sunset

This image was taken with my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV using my Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 Lens set on 20 mm. The camera was set on Manual mode with the aperture set at f/11, shutter speed at 3.3 seconds and the ISO set at 100. I used a tripod for stability and my Lee Filters to extend the exposure time. This is a single image processed using Lightroom and completed in Photoshop using Nik Color Efex Pro. You can see my gallery for the West Texas area including Big Bend by clicking here. Please use the section below to post your comments, questions or suggestions.

4 Comments:

Rick Capozza

April 24, 2019

I like the way you got low and made the rocks have a nice foreground presence along with the milky water.. I like your sky as it is hard to capture La Cuesta’s sky. Of all the times I have been there, I was able to get an interesting sky only once. Most people shoot from above but when I found this location, it is one of my favorite places to photograph minus the rattlers.
- TK
  
  April 24, 2019
  
  Thanks Rick. It’s by far my best sky in this location.
Steve Gingold

April 24, 2019

I suppose an even more colorful and brilliant sky would have been nice, but this is a fine image, Terry. And…given my recent experience with mosquitoes, I’d say discretion was indeed the better part of wisdom.
- TK
  
  April 24, 2019
  
  Thanks Steve. I really enjoy the long exposures near the water.