I said in a previous post it’s been a busy past couple of weeks. The assignment work sort of let up a little, and I was able to do a little driving to catch up on some stock imagery. Knowing that I really needed to strengthen my fall colors stock, I headed to the mountains. Guadalupe Mountains National Park to be exact. OK, OK, so this isn’t the Rockies, but it is a beautiful part of Texas. In fact, Guadalupe peak is the highest point in the state, topping off at a whopping 8,749 feet above sea level…and it’s a windy son-of-a-gun up there.

Crazily enough, Guadalupe peak (don’t make fun, I thought this was a fun photograph) is actually not the easiest peak to see from floor level. While it does rise some 3,000 feet above the base of the arid/desert plains below, you can’t actually see the peak in all its glory unless you hike some of the surrounding trails that land you high enough in elevation for you to see it. That’s why you see many more photos of the more prominent southwest edge of the mountain range, El Capitan.

We’ll get to El Capitan in a minute. Guadalupe National Park, and those that are familiar with the location will agree, offers a whole slew of natural opportunities to take in, including one of the most popular fall hikes in the state found in McKittrick Canyon, a historic ranch locale that is found along one of the oldest stagecoach routes, the Butterfield Stage, and a significant amount of dunes. Wait…dunes?

Yep! There is a large area of living dunes just west of the mountain range, near an extremely fertile land in the lower plains of the mountain range. The dunes are one of the most photographed areas of the national park, especially among those willing to drive the hour-long trip to get there. It’s a beautiful drive by the way, and if you go at the right time of year, which is in the fall, you will see one of the largest crops of chile peppers in the nation in Dell City.

For some odd reason, this area just southwest of the range is a heckuva farming locale! While I didn’t have much time to stop and photograph in the town, that is a location I want to hit in the future!

As I mentioned earlier, the national park is host to one of the most colorful, popular fall hiking trails in the state. Fall color in Texas is a bit different than the northeast. The denseness of color in McKittrick Canyon is not as thick, but that really is one of the beauties of the region.

While it wasn’t as vibrant this year, or at least at the time I went, as it has been in the past, it was nice to concentrate on the finer details of the color. This trail is a beautiful hike, much like the numerous other hikes in the park. If you are a backpacker, or just like to hike along a variety of trails, this is the place for you!

Back to El Capitan.

The last morning I was in the park, it was almost overcast. So close that I nearly called the show and started to pack up. But, to give the mountain the benefit of the doubt, I drove along the highway that runs to El Paso. To my luck, the light broke.

OK, to take a break here, I’d like to address how profoundly awesome it is to have clouds in the sky when photographing landscapes. With the earlier photographs, you notice (of those with sky in them) that clouds were nonexistent. If there is one thing that my friend and mentor, Wyman Meinzer, has taught me (and there’s a lot he’s schooled me on), it’s that a sky can make or break a photograph! There is a huge difference between a shot of this mountain range with no clouds and the same image with an outstanding set of clouds rolling off of the mountains as if they were steam boiling down the ridges!

These were some clouds! I had three cameras going to make sure I got much of what I was seeing under the same lighting conditions with as many perspectives as possible. For you techheads, most images were shot with this particular combination: a Canon EOS 5D with 70-200mm f/2.8 L, a Canon EOS 1D Mk III with a 28-70mm f/2.8 L or 24-105mm f/4 L, and a Canon EOS 1N (yes, a film camera) with a 17-35mm f/2.8 L.

And there is something to say for just being 10 minutes more patient to move…watch how those clouds move in to position!

It was all about where the light was and its contrast with the beautiful sky structure and deep, rich color! I finally settled while the light was right on a familiar boulder field in the far lower slopes of the range. While this is a great spot seen in several images, it was really the perspective and lighting conditions AND clouds that make the images pop! That’s another nice thing about photography: everyone sees the shot a little differently.

The location was also a nice place to transition to the other side of the range into another smaller set of “hills.” These even offer a sign of the times in the display of the windmills that provide electricity to surrounding users. It’s no surprise these are needed in this part of the country. It is kind of in that beautiful solitude of the “middle of nowhere!”