Whether or not and how you PP depends on whether you view yourself as an artist or a reporter. Both can use a camera but have significantly different goals.

I suspect that if your eye is behind the viewfinder, very little light will pass into the viewfinder unless you have a particularly bright eye.

I use Manual, Aperture Priority, or Shutter Priority depending on conditions and what I want the photograph to show. I'll be photographing an event tomorrow night where I'll be taking some candid photos of people socializing at a reception and, later in the evening, dancing. I expect changing light conditions and my subjects to be moving so I won't have much time to make exposure adjustments when an opportunity presents itself. I will want to isolate my subject so I'll be shooting a 70-200 mm f2.8 lens at probably close to f2.8, aperture priority. I don't want to miss a photo because the subject moved into or out of the light when I have an opening in the crowd or they have a good expression. Control of DoF will make the difference between a good portrait and a poor one. Why have fast glass if you can't control it and use it?

St Mary Lake?

I like the angle of the light and the dark clouds. They give the rocks shape and set them off nicely. Good job!

What a fun group of photos!

Welcome! We all have a lot to learn. I studied photography in the film days at the art school that was part of my university and have worked as a professional and semiprofessional for four decades and still have much to learn. The only photographers who think they 'know it all' just haven't yet learned what they don't know.

This site has many truly gifted photographers that produce inspiring work and happily share their knowledge and vision.

. That's what the geologists tell us.

It's similar to the color of the formations in Garden Of The Gods a bit further south in El Paso County.

Thank you Carol. It's an interesting place, especially early an late with lower angle lighting.

Roborough State Park in western Douglas County, Colorado. It's an amazing place.

Nice capture, but I hope you are fast on your feet, or as Marsdad said, have a long tele. ;-)

I've been using a Sun Sniper and have been satisfied with it for carrying a D3 with a Nikon 200-400mm, f4, and, at other times, a D500 with a 200-500mm f5.6. I use a RRS clamp to connect with the tripod foot on the lens. I just added a Magtech sling for lighter lenses that seems to be working well but it isn't padded.

These are a few photographs of the Fountain formation in RSP from yesterday afternoon. The formation is sandstone that was tilted to about 60 degrees and gradually exposed as the rock around it eroded over the last 300 million years.

Nikon D500, 28-300mm f3.5-5.6, 1/400 to 1/250, f8.0, @ ISO 100.

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All three are great, but the third one is a WOW! Thanks for sharing.