THIS UNNAMED GEOLOGICAL formation is the likely result of wind, rain and time eroading away surface material to expose what at one time would have lava (magma) that had cooled and solidified. Copyright © 2010 by DL Tolleson. All Rights Reserved.
COMING INTO OR out of the Chisos Mountains, this is the northwest view and is several miles south of Panther Junction and the headquarters for Big Bend National Park. Copyright © 2010 by DL Tolleson. All Rights Reserved.
THE CLARET CUP is covered in barbed spines and blooms a reddish, cup-shaped flower from about April to June or July in Big Bend National Park. Copyright © 2010 by DL Tolleson. All Rights Reserved.
THIS VIEW FROM a formation called, “The Window,” looks out from the westside of the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park. Copyright © 2010 by DL Tolleson. All Rights Reserved.
INDIAN HEAD MOUNTAIN and its southern region offers this “leaning” wall of geology at the western boundary of Big Bend National Park. The rocks of the foreground are boulders ranging from man-sized on up. Copyright © 2010 by DL Tolleson. All Rights Reserved.
MASSIVE AND TOWERING, this wall of the geology is at least a couple of hundrend feet high and situated in the Indian Head area of Big Bend National Park. Copyright © 2010 by DL Tolleson. All Rights Reserved.
WIDE-OPEN PANORAMAS and mountainous terrain such as this are routine along roadside in Big Bend National Park. Copyright © 2010 by DL Tolleson. All Rights Reserved.
THE SOUTHWEST SIDE of the Chisos Mountains, also known as the Chisos Mountain Basin and home to the lodge in Big Bend National Park. Copyright © 2011 by DL Tolleson. All Rights Reserved.
A FALLEN TREE is an impassable barrier in an otherwise debris-free dry riverbed in Big Bend National Park. Copyright © 2010 by DL Tolleson. All Rights Reserved.
INDIGENOUS TO TEXAS, New Mexico and Arizona, Javelinas in Big Bend National Park genetically differ from swine. Copyright © 2010 by DL Tolleson. All Rights Reserved.
LOST MINE TRAIL in Big Bend National Park, looking southward over Juniper Canyon, the Chisos Mountain’s Northeast Rim and into Mexico. Copyright © 2010 by DL Tolleson. All Rights Reserved.
A TREE SILHOUETTED against the night sky as seen from Chisos Basin in Big Bend National Park. Copyright © 2010 by DL Tolleson. All Rights Reserved.
THIS VIEW EAST of a volcano is an illusion of the setting sun streaming through the Chisos Basin area behind Casa Grande Peak in Big Bend National Park. Copyright © 2010 by DL Tolleson. All Rights Reserved.
WRIGHT MOUNTAIN in background at Big Bend National Park. Copyright © 2010 by DL Tolleson. All Rights Reserved.
A VIEW WESTWARD after sundown from the Indian Head area of Big Bend National Park. Copyright © 2010 by DL Tolleson. All Rights Reserved.
A CAMERA COMPENSATION for the limited light after sundown provides this view westward from the Indian Head area of Big Bend National Park. Copyright © 2010 by DL Tolleson/Camera One. All Rights Reserved.
SANTA ELENA CANYON after sunset, as seen from the Chimneys in Big Bend National Park. Copyright © 2010 by DL Tolleson/Camera One. All Rights Reserved.

DL Tolleson.com

Author, Photographer, Researcher, Artist, Adventurer and Buccaneer Extraordinaire

“Or at least that’s the plan each morning after coffee.”


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Bear Image

Copyright © 2012, 2016 by DL Tolleson/Camera One. All Rights Reserved. This image may not be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the author/photographer.

Bear Image

Copyright © 2012, 2016 by DL Tolleson/Camera One. All Rights Reserved. This image may not be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the author/photographer.

Bearly Seen, No. 2B

The photograph above is of an animal that was barely seen—or Bearly Seen as I have titled the image. By the time I reached the area where this bear was meandering, a Park employee was tossing rocks to shoo him (or her) away from the visitor center. I arrived in time to capture only the retreat.

And when bears run, they move fast. I ran like crazy to catch up, but only managed to come across a couple of hikers who had seen the bear passing (they had moved off the trail). I retraced my path, rushed to my car and made like Jack Reacher (from the movies) down to the Basin camp grounds. I then rushed up the trail in hopes of catching the bear coming down. The meeting never happened. I suppose he/she took an off-path route.

During my attempts to photograph a bear, I have strayed into an area reserved for Park employees. (I had received an “inside” tip that a couple of bears frequented that specific area.) All I found were droppings—recent and “fresh”—but no bears.

Another attempt was prompted by my seeing a bear lumber across the Basin camps while I was talking to a woman. I grabbed my equipment and pursued into the underbrush (with the aforementioned woman given me hand signals from atop an elevated rock). We both lost sight of the bear and I came out of the underbrush behind a deer. And During yet another brief glimpse, I was driving on the west side of the park and witnessed a bear climbing a steep grade of terrain in a region that bears don’t usually visit (so I was told when reporting the bear).

But thus far the above image is the best that I have managed to capture.

If you do visit the park and come across a bear, don’t run. Toss rocks, wave your hands or even crack a whip if you have one. They tend to avoid confrontation, but you have to stand your ground to ensure this. Merely seeing one is pretty intimidating and just a little nerve–racking.

—DL Tolleson


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Camera Data

CAMERA
Nikon D300S

LENS
VR 18-200mm, F/3.5 - 5.6G

FOCAL LENGTH
200mm

FOCUS MODE
AF-S

AF-AREA MODE
Auto

VR
On

Exposure Data

APERTURE
F/16

SHUTTER SPEED
1/160s

EXPOSURE MODE
Manual

EXPOSURE COMP
0EV

METERING
Spot

ISO
400

Image Data

ORIG IMAGE QUALITY
Tiff-RGB (8-bit)

ORIG IMAGE SIZE
4288 x 2848

ORIG DATA SIZE
35 MB

CAPTURE DATE
11/30/2012

Flash Data

FLASH SYNC MODE
N/A

FLASH MODE
N/A

FLASH EXPOSURE COMP
N/A
Original and Web-based Image

The original image is a Tagged Image Format File (TIFF) with a file data size of 35 megabytes (MB).

For display on this web site the TIFF was duplicated and the duplicate re-formatted as a Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPG/JPEG) image with a file data size of 19.9 MB. To approximate detail visible at the time of capture the image was sharpened as necessary and resampled via the Photoshop Bicubic Sharpen algorithm. The re-sampling increases the image resolution from 300 Dots Per Square Inch (DPI) to 360 DPI.

Unless otherwise noted the image was corrected to offset color shift and balance. This restores black (shadows), white (highlights) and neutral gray (neutral mid-tones).

Image Naming Convention

• An unnumbered image is the only one of the subject matter.

• A number corresponds to the sequential order in a subject-matter-related sequence.

• The letter “B” indicates color correction to approximate what was visible when the image was captured.

• The letter “C” indicates enhancement beyond an approximation of what was visible at the time of capture.

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