Scratching Post – Caprock Canyons State Park, Texas

“Over 12,000 years ago these lands supported now-extinct mammoth and giant bison, as well as camel and horses in a damper, cooler climate. More recently, black bears and grey wolves made their home in the region, but by the 1950s, they were forced out due to predator control by humans. Now mule and white-tailed deer, coyotes and bobcats are common with a few prong­horn antelope roaming these canyonlands. The park is also home to the Texas State Bison Herd (the largest herd of buffalo in the state park system).

In September 2011, 80 descendants of the great southern plains bison herd were released to a larger habitat of 700 acres of grasslands in the park. Visitors can view these indigenous animals in their native habitat. Small mammals such as grey fox, raccoon and jackrabbits make their home here. There is also a great diversity of reptiles with 14 species of lizards including collared lizards and over 30 species of snakes including prairie rattlesnakes. The area hosts some 175 species of birds including roadrunners, red-tailed hawks and the rarely seen Golden Eagle.”

Scratching Post – Caprock Canyons State Park, Texas
Copyright © 2013 Jeff Lynch Photography

Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with GP-E2 unit attached, set on aperture (Av) priority using an EF 300mm f/4L IS USM lens. The exposure was taken at 300mm, f/8 for 1/80th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 4.

Click on the image above for a larger version.

Follow @jefflynchphoto

Hiking the CCC Ridge Trail at Palo Duro Canyon State Park

“The rugged Palo Duro Canyon, the nation’s second largest such gorge, located in the High Plains of the Texas Panhandle, is home to one of the Lone Star State’s largest state parks (some 28,978 acres). In the 1930s, seven different CCC outfits, four composed solely of veterans and two solely of young African Americans, were assigned the task of transforming a daunting geographical area–though clearly one of the state’s most important scenic and natural areas–into an inviting park for guests.

Among the CCC’s prime tasks was developing over eleven miles of road to gain access to the canyon floor, which they accomplished while also establishing strategically located lookout points, picnic areas, steps, and trails that accentuated the Lighthouse, Castle, and Capitol peaks. Throughout the park Palo Duro’s team of architects and planners took full advantage of the spectrum of picturesque scenes the landscape had to offer. Four Cow Camp cabins invite close-up views of the canyon floor; and Coronado Lodge, the large rubble stone concession building situated on the rim of the canyon, offers a spectacular view of the canyon stretching off into the horizon. Meanwhile, in one of the CCC’s most inspired moves, three of the park’s stone-constructed overnight cabins were set directly into the canyon’s rim.”

CCC Ridge Trail – Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas
Copyright © 2013 Jeff Lynch Photography

Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with GP-E2 unit attached, set on aperture (Av) priority using an EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens and tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 17mm, f/16 for 1/13th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 4.

Click on the image above for a larger version.

Follow @jefflynchphoto

South Prong Canyon

“The rugged beauty of Caprock Canyons State Park has been created over millions of years, shaped by wind and water. The park is located along the Caprock Escarpment, a long, narrow rocky formation as high as 1,000 feet that forms a natural tran­sition between the flat, high plains of the Llano Estacado to the west and the lower Rolling Plains to the east.

Streams flowing east from the Llano Estacado flow onto the lower plains through the Caprock Escarpment, then into the Red, Brazos and Colorado rivers. With a downcutting action, tributary drainages of the Little Red River have exposed geologic layers in the park down to the Permian age Quartermaster formation, formed approximately 280-250 million years ago. These layers are commonly referred to as “red beds” because of the red coloration of their constituent shales, sandstones, siltstones and mudstones.

Each of the geologic ages exposed by this headwater drainage erosion is characterized by different colorations including shades of red, orange and white. The park’s steep and colorful canyons and bluffs are the breathtaking result of this powerful natural process.”

South Prong Canyon – Caprock Canyons State Park, Texas
Copyright © 2013 Jeff Lynch Photography

Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with GP-E2 unit attached, set on aperture (Av) priority using an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens and tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 28mm, f/14 for 1/40th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 4.

Click on the image above for a larger version.

Follow @jefflynchphoto

The Spanish Skirts of Palo Duro Canyon

“Palo Duro Canyon is approximately 120 miles long and 600 to 800 feet deep and is the second largest canyon in the United States. The canyon was formed less than 1 million years ago when the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River first carved its way through the Southern High Plains. The rocks expose a geo- logic story which began approximately 250 million years ago, layer by layer revealing a panoramic view of magnificent color. The canyon’s archeological and ethnological treasures suggest about twelve thousand years of human habitation, rising and waning as climate varied among periods of abundant moisture, aridity, and sometimes fearfully severe drought.”

Spanish Skirts – Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas
Copyright © 2013 Jeff Lynch Photography

Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with GP-E2 unit attached, set on aperture (Av) priority using an EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens and tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 26mm, f/16 for 1/10th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 4.

Click on the image above for a larger version.

Follow @jefflynchphoto

Desert Ride

Landscape photography in Texas is an endurance sport, especially for your vehicle. The best locations are far from any major cities and in many cases, far from civilization itself. Having a dependable ride like the Subaru Forester is essential to your success and your survival.

My 2010 Forester has a little over 103,000 miles on it and still runs like a champ. I’ve taken it all across Texas from Houston to Amarillo, Dallas to El Paso and Harlingen to Nacogdoches with not a single breakdown to its credit. We’ve traveled the dirt roads of Big Bend National Park, the two track trails of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, the back roads of twenty different Texas State Parks and the dirt roads of over 150 Texas counties.

Man, what a ride!

Desert Ride – Salt Flat, Texas
Copyright © 2013 Jeff Lynch Photography

Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with GP-E2 unit attached, set on aperture (Av) priority using an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens and tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 24mm, f/16 for 1/20th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter and 2-stop, soft, graduated neutral density filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 4.

Click on the image above for a larger version.

Follow @jefflynchphoto

Straight & Narrow

The drive from Canyon, Texas to Palo Duro Canyon State Park is a gorgeous ten miles of straight and narrow county road. Oh, what a view on a quiet, moonlit night!

Straight & Narrow – Canyon, Texas
Copyright © 2013 Jeff Lynch Photography

Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with GP-E2 unit attached, set on aperture (Av) priority using an EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens and tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 27mm, f/16 for 1/15th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter and 2-stop, soft, graduated neutral density filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 4.

Click on the image above for a larger version.

Follow @jefflynchphoto

Workshop Preparation Post #6: Shoot What You Love

The Spring 2013 Texas Landscape Safari is less than a week away and I know the folks that plan to attend are anxious to get out with their cameras after a long and cold winter. So for the next few days I’ll be posting tips to help folks get the most out of their workshop experience.

The first rule of photography that I was taught thirty five years ago was to “shoot what you love”. There is no better piece of advice I can give to an enthusiastic amateur than that. When you truly “love” the subject that you’re photographing, that “feeling” is reflected in the images you capture. Monet painted many different scenes during his career but none stand out nearly as much as those of his beloved garden’s water lilies.

Folks attending photographic workshops are often searching to discover what subjects they connect with the best. For some it’s big game wildlife in Africa, while for others it’s the unique water fowl found in southern Florida. For many younger landscape enthusiasts it’s the majesty of Yosemite or Yellowstone while for others (like myself) it’s the simple, rugged beauty found in the rural areas of Texas.

The key to getting the most out of any workshop (or your own photography in general) is to discover what you love to shoot and make it your goal to learn how to shoot that subject as creatively as possible. Don’t worry about what others in the group are concentrating on. Take a good look around you at each stop and see what catches your eye. If it’s water, shoot the water. If it’s wildflowers, shoot the flowers. If it’s rocks and trees, then explore the rocks and trees with your camera. Approach each new location during the workshop with an open mind, a curious demeanor and a courageous attitude and I promise you’ll soon learn what you “love” to shoot just as I have.

And remember to enjoy yourself out there. We’re all here to learn and have some fun exploring the Texas panhandle together. Learn to shoot what you love and to love what you shoot and I promise you’ll walk away with some great images and some wonderful new friends. But don’t take my word for it; just ask Angel, Darrell or Ralph when you meet them in Canyon, Texas in a few days.

Caprock Canyon in Summer – Quitaque, Texas
Copyright © 2010 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II set on aperture (Av) priority using an EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 40mm, f/16 for 1/40th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer and two-stop, soft graduated neutral density filter. Post capture processing was done entirely in Adobe’s Lightroom 3.

Click on the image above for a larger version.

Follow @jefflynchphoto

Cathedral – Silverton, Texas

Cathedral – Silverton, Texas
Copyright © 2010 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II set on aperture (Av) priority using an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 32mm, f/16 for 1/30th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5.
Click on the image above for a larger version.