Going Deeper Than First Impression

by | Apr 15, 2022 | Stories & Expeditions | 0 comments

Looking forward to the first homeschool convention of year next week! Never been to a THSC Convention before. They say it’s the “biggest and best homeschool convention in Texas.” I guess we’ll find out soon what it’s like!

Thinking about heading to Texas got me thinking about the last time I was in Texas. Turns out it was almost a year ago…hiking around in a place called Palo Duro Canyon State Park. A friend had recommended it as a fun place to stop, so my brother David and spent an afternoon there while driving through the area.

It was the kind of place you knew you should be able come away with some great pictures. But I needed a good main subject. It wasn’t like Arches National Park or something, but I figured I’d keep my eye out for some epic rock formations anyway.

A ways into the hike, I remember walking along and seeing this rock a bit off the trail.

210609_James Staddon_8812 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 70 mm, 1-250 sec at f - 4.0, ISO 100

Doesn’t look like anything special does it?

Well, I went to check it out and noticed it was actually standing alone more than you might think.

210609_James Staddon_8813 W

Comanche Country
Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas
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And then I walked up and realized it really was actually quite a fascinating rock formation.

210609_James Staddon_8819 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16 mm, 1-30 sec at f - 11, ISO 100

It was a great time of day for photos, being early evening in the summer. And now I felt like I had a subject I could work with. Now it was just a matter of finding the most epic angle on it!

There were so many distractions all around, I tried to just use a bank rock in the foreground.

210609_James Staddon_8820 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16 mm, 1-30 sec at f - 11, ISO 100

I didn’t necessarily like that, so I moving up beyond the rock.

210609_James Staddon_8821 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16 mm, 1-30 sec at f - 11, ISO 100

That was definitely better! I then stepped back a little to include more of the surroundings.

210609_James Staddon_8822 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16 mm, 1-30 sec at f - 11, ISO 100

That was ok, but I thought maybe I’d go vertical instead.

210609_James Staddon_8826 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16 mm, 1-80 sec at f - 8.0, ISO 100

And I think that really captures it well!

I took several other photos of it, though. Here’s one that gives perspective on just how massive the thing was.

210609_James Staddon_8835 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16 mm, 1-80 sec at f - 8.0, ISO 100

And then, if you can believe it, this is the exact same formation, just from yet another position.

210609_James Staddon_8846 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16 mm, 1-80 sec at f - 8.0, ISO 100

I suppose it’s not always wise to make judgment calls based on first impression only. Smile

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