I captured this Chihuahuan Desert Sunrise last week when visiting Big Bend National Park. I was photographing the night sky at Dorgan House when I turned around and realized the better photo was going to happen behind me. As a photographer, I have learned to look behind me, especially when photographing sunrises and sunsets.
The Chihuahuan Desert spans from Northern Mexico through portions of the Southwest United States. It covers a total of five hundred thousand square miles, making it the largest desert area in North America. The Rio Grande traverses the desert and serves as the border between the two countries. In geological terms, Having existed for only 8,000 years, it is considered a young desert.
This image was taken with my Sony A7R IV using my Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 Lens set on 16mm. The camera was set on Manual mode with the aperture set at f/5.6, shutter speed at 1/200th of a second, and ISO set at 100. I used a tripod for stability and a nodal rail to capture the panorama. This is photograph is composed of seven images stitched together and processed in Lightroom and completed in Photoshop using Nik Color Efex Pro.
Click here to see other images like this in my Big Bend area gallery. Please post your comments, questions, or suggestions in the section below.
T. Kahler Photography
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Terry, nice shot. I took a similar shot but experimented with getting down on my belly to get bigger/more foreground in the photo with Mt Dinali in the distance and used the widest angle lens in my quiver. Makes for a different composition. I will try to find the photo for you.
Thanks Rick! I like that approach and I’m looking forward to seeing the photo.