Nightscape Deep in Santa Elena Canyon

Another image I had envisioned with Santa Elena Canyon was of a spot I knew on the edge of the river looking out the canyon.  I had hoped I could get enough of the Milky Way above the canyon to make it a good shot.

I walked down to the spot in the dark.  I find I often do that at night as most trails tend to be easily visible in the dark to me.

I set up on a rock right on the edge of the Rio Grande and made a couple of images of the night sky.  Then I decided to work on some light painting to see if I could add some light to the canyon walls.  I had brought both a flash unit and a flashlight.  I was worried the flashlight would be too weak and actually was planning on working more with the flash but I found the flashlight to be a better tool and liked the results I was getting.  The fact I was able to paint the entire 1500' tall canyon wall was impressive and far more than I thought the flashlight would be able to do.

With a few images here under my belt.  I decided to move back out of the canyon and wait for the dawn.

On a completely different note, later that day I heard from the park rangers of a bear sighting in Santa Elena Canyon.  Bears have been in the Chisos for several years but this was a first if bears had taken up residence in the canyon.  Then I saw video posted of the bear climbing the cliff walls of Santa Elena Canyon.  This went viral and even made the national news.  Most people were amazed the bears could climb rocks like this, I was more impressed they were living in Santa Elena Canyon.  It is not near as cool as the higher elevation of the Chisos, but I guess it is cooler here than the desert and the river gives great access to water.

Glad to see the bear thriving in Big Bend!