Ghost Mountains Sunrise

After a a couple of clear mornings where I had photographed the sunrise on Santa Elena Canyon, I awoke to another clear morning.  Light and cloud cover are the big variables for the landscape photographer and, as it often is, I had to adapt my morning plan for the light.

Luckily there is an overlook close to my campsite with good views east, west and south.  I knew the stacked ridges of the Chisos Mountains could make an interesting image so I set up for a view east.

I went to the longer lens to exclude excess sky and really narrow down the view.  The view started very blue but as the sun rose it took on an intense brightness and yellow-gold color.  I was making wider and longer views with what the 70-200 lens could do.  After much comparison here at home this became on of my favorites.  Ocotillo, stacked mountains, golden light, and even a touch of flare just added a touch of flare.