Crystal Sunrise

Sunrise on Crystal Beach on the Bolivar Peninsula. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

Flags Over Texas

I decided on a diversion from the typical landscape shot that I've been posting lately. I enjoyed seeing this display and visiting with the owners so much when I saw it that I just had to capture it for posteriety. In Texas you can drive on many of the beaches along the coast. On this day, on Crystal Beach in Port Bolivar, we were treated to a massive flag display that was being run by a French lady. It never ceases to amaze me what you'll see along the beach.

Chisos Sunrise

I woke up to this view when I was in Big Bend in 2013. Hard to beat enjoying a nice cup of joe with sunrise like this. Hope our future is bright and filled with many more great sunrises. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

LilyPad Wonderland

I saw some shots of Caddo Lake in a photo contest I entered last week and they reminded me of our trip there last summer. Pulled this photo out of the archives and wished I was back there. Took this with my iPhone shortly after we had purchased our kayaks and I was still afraid of taking my DSLR on the kayak. I'd love to go back now and see what kind of shots I could get with it.

South Texas Sentinels

Early morning on a county road in southern Medina County in South Texas. For more on the story about this shot, check out my blog at http://www.stevecoylephotography.com/Blog/Exploring-the-World.

Arched Entry

I was taken by this entryway to the Hotel El Capitan in Van Horn, Texas. Just had to capture it for memories sake.

El Capitan

For more on the story of this shot, check out my blog at http://www.stevecoylephotography.com/Blog/Exploring-the-World.

El Capitan

This is one of those images that has laid dormant on my hard drive for a while. If you've ever driven to Guadalupe Mountains National Park from the south, this is the imposing view you are greeted with as you get close to the park. Imagine seeing this same view from a stagecoach like you would have in the 1850s when the Butterfield Overland Mail Co. went through this same area and the drivers used El Capitan to navigate by. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

Open Road

I can only imagine Chris Rea was thinking about a road like this when he wrote the lyric "They've got big long roads out there" for his song Texas. I made this shot on SH 54 as I was headed to Van Horn, Texas from Guadalupe Mountains National Park. I drove a long way before I saw another vehicle on this road. It was early in the morning and the clouds in the sky were really cool. All the lines were leading south, drawing me toward I-10 and the road home. It truly is big sky country out there. Something everyone should experience, if only in a photograph.

Death Watch

Looking out my front window to see the undertaker across the street is not really how I want to enjoy my morning coffee. Captured this scene yesterday as I toured the Manor Ghost Town on a photowalk with ATX Photowalks. If you enjoy photography and want to learn more about the craft, this is a great Google+ group to join up with on their monthly walk. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

CCC Moonset

I was up early enough the first morning I was in Davis Mountains State Park to catch the moon setting. I made this image from the CCC Overlook in the park that overlooks Ft Davis, Texas. The sun wasn't yet coming up behind me, but there was enough glow in the sky to light up the building the CCC built in the 1930s. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

CCC Sunrise

Sunrise at the CCC Overlook in Davis Mountains State Park in west Texas, with a little light painting of the structure with my headlamp. Wish I was back there this morning for this view of the mountains around Ft. Davis, Texas. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

Hike Anyone?

Celebrating the reopening of Texas State Parks for day-use. One of my favorite images from CCC overlook at Davis Mountains State Park in west Texas. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

Davis Sunrise

I shared an iPhone image of this scene and my camera setup while I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago. Although I love my iPhone, it’s no substitute for a good DSLR when trying to capture a low light scene with sunrise. I had done some research on this location before I made the trip to the Davis Mountains with the intention of capturing sunrise if the weather cooperated. A storm had moved through during the night and when I got up to the CCC Overlook in Davis Mountains State Park that morning there was still a storm off to the south. The skies to the east were clearing and the hope for a nice sunrise was good. I considered doing an HDR image of the scene as I wasn’t sure my DSLR could capture all the information in this scene, but after creating an HDR image and editing a single image that I had exposed for the sky with, I went with the edited single image. I am continuously amazed with how far the sensors in today’s cameras have come in allowing you to capture a scene like this with one single image. One of the things I love about the mountains in west Texas is all of the layers when you look out across the landscape and to me, this shot really shows off those layers nicely in the early morning light. Forested mountains are great, but I’ll take these wide open treeless views any day. And the fact that the Davis Mountains were as green as I have ever seen them didn’t hurt either. If you ever find yourself in the Davis Mountains, I highly recommend taking in sunrise from the CCC Overlook in Davis Mountains State Park. Hopefully you'll be treated to a sunrise as glorious as this one was. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

Desert Light

Did a little light painting when I was in Big Bend earlier this week. Just hopting plants, rocks and stars is all I would see after seeing a couple of bears on the Lost Mine trail earlier in the day. The Milky Way was amazingly bright as it rose above the Chisos Basin. The guys I was with were relaxing at our campsite with the lantern on when I told them they really should turn it out and come take a look at the view. Definitely not one you'll ever see in the city. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

Texas Independence

Happy 182nd Birthday Texas! While the Mexicans were laying siege to the Alamo, Texas' forefathers were busy at Independence Hall in Washington on the Brazos signing the Texas Declaration of Independence. My ancestors on my mother's side arrived in Texas a few years later when Texas was still and independent country. I am proud to call myself a Texan and proud of our heritage. It is a land of beaches, forests, deserts, mountains and so many other things in between. It is filled with pride unlike any place I have been. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

Desert Dreams

If you're spending the day indoors I thought you might enjoy a little outdoor respite. It's good for the soul. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

Big Bend in Bloom

My mom would have been 78 the day I took this image. Unfortunately she never got to experience the beauty of Big Bend National Park, but growing up on the border I'm sure she would have enjoyed seeing the purple sage in bloom like this on her birthday. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

Mule Ear Sunrise

Morning in the magical land of Big Bend National Park in west Texas. It's a bit of a drive to get down to the Mule Ears area from the Chisos Basin where we were camped, but so worth it to be greeted with the sunrise we had that morning. All the colors of the desert against the glow of the pre dawn sun was breathtaking. A sight I long to relive when things get back to normal and I am past my fight with cancer. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

Border Sunset

Sunset on the Texas-Mexico border in Big Bend. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

Devils Evening

I hope you're enjoying a nice Memorial Day with a chance to reflect on the things in life that we enjoy because others have fallen for our freedom. I made this on an evening on the Devils River from the seat of my kayak. Sitting there taking in this beauty with only the sounds of the birds and the lapping of water against my kayak was a perfect time to reflect and be thankful. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

Devils Sunrise

Looking at this scene you might think it's from a desert island with crystal clear water, but it's actually from a river in west Texas. The Devils River has by far the clearest water I have ever seen in a river. The travertine in the water gives it a turquoise color in the deeper parts. Getting to this section of the river is not an easy task. This was on the last morning of our 5 day kayak adventure down the river. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

Colorful Life

Who says Texas doesn't have nice fall colors just hasn't looked in the right place. Although many of the fall colors were past their prime in many parts of Martin Dies Jr State Park during our visit, there were still some pockets. I made this in the early afternoon on a cloudy drizzly day. Shot this across the water from where we were camped and narrowed my focus down to just this area. The one stark tree that appears have met it's demise added just the right drama I was looking for and made the scene. Sometimes you just have to know where to look. The big picture can be great, but sometimes a more narrowed focus makes the image. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)

Fallen Dreams

With Autumn comes the end of some life and the beginning of others. The leaves have met their end but the seeds are the beginning of the next generation. One last spotlight on the end of life before it fades into a memory. Catching the light coming through the trees at just the right moment. Photo by Steve Coyle Photography (www.stevecoylephotography.com)