Tag: Sedona

Sedona, Arizona – Part 2

I had a limited time in Sedona and I had never been here previously, so I figured it best to visit the “easy” photographic targets, which were also popular ones.

I had visited the Bell Rock area on my first outing.  Today, I planned an early morning shoot at Cathedral Rock.  “Planned” is used very loosely.  I had not scouted here, other than to drive through the parking lot one day.  So I knew how to find the parking lot, but I had no idea about what was involved in hiking the trail nor did I have a scouted location from which to shoot.

There was only one other vehicle in the Cathedral Rock Trail parking lot, when I arrived in early morning dark.  I could see lights on the slope at the base of the rock feature, so I figured there were early morning hikers out or maybe even one or more early morning photographers.

I had a quick snack, finished the cup of coffee I had brought from the motel, gathered my camera, tripod, headlamp and began walking through the parking lot, looking for the trailhead.  In the dark, I walked past the trailhead, went into an adjacent parking area, where I encountered a small group of young people getting out of their vehicles.  They greeted me in a friendly manner and I asked about the trailhead.  They told me that I had just walked past it and where to find it.  They also said I could follow them as they were headed that way.  But I went ahead, just getting on the trail, when they quickly came in behind me.  Seeing that they were experienced on this trail, had bright headlamps and were likely to be much faster hikers than me, I let them pass and fell in behind.

The trail was well defined, but rugged and a little steep as it headed uphill. After getting out of the forest on the lower slope of the trail,  it became light enough that I did not need the headlamp and the young, energetic hikers rapidly gained ground ahead of me.

It was a warm, humid morning and I worked up a sweat before arriving at an open area beneath the Cathedral Rock feature.  It was well before sunrise and I had a wide open view across the landscape to the east.

Pre-Sunrise Arizona Sky

There were plentiful clouds in the sky and daylight was beginning to show in the distance.  I made a few images of the pre-sunrise sky, then scouted around for a good place from which to shoot Cathedral Rock.  I was disappointed at the views I had, looking up at that feature.  The young hikers were nowhere to be seen and I assumed they had continued along the trail.

Cathedral Rock – My Initial View

I began to work my way up a dry drainage, trying to get to a better vantage point, taking time to check out various locations off to the side of the drainage, up the steep slope, where ever I could safely do so.

Cathedral Rock, Sedona, AZ
Cathedral Rock, Sedona, Arizona

I never succeeded in getting a really good, open view of the most attractive portions of the unique rock features, but being well off of the beaten path, maybe I got views that other have not.  Setting up for these shots was not easy either, at times I had to abandon my tripod and shoot handheld.

Cathedral Rock at Sunrise 1

Golden hour came suddenly and I was not where I wanted to be, but shot anyway and I like this image:

Cathedral Rock at Sunrise 2

As I was shooting from well below these rock features, I kept hearing voices, which I hoped were not just in my head.  Eventually, I realized the voices were coming from those young people I had followed part of the way up the trail and they were rock climbers, not just hikers.  I could occasionally just barely make out one or two up on the rocks.  That is when I realized that in the dim light, I had missed a junction in the trail that would have taken me to the base of these rocks.  This is why knowledge of the area is important, when planning an effective photo shoot.  So, someday maybe I will get back here and I will know where to go.  But I can’t deny that I enjoyed the experience and challenge of exploring in the off trail area below the main feature.

Cathedral Rock – A wider view

If memory serves me correctly, I think I shot this image sitting on a narrow, slope ledge that I was able to pick my way onto above the dry drainage.  The early morning clouds abbreviated the golden hour, which lasted for only a few minutes this morning.

To be continued,

Ken

Sedona, Arizona – Part 1

Sedona, Arizona is in a picturesque setting with massive, colorful rock formations all around.  It is also a popular tourist city with all the trappings of such a city, many shops, restaurants and art galleries.

In the outlying areas there are many popular hiking trails, scenic destinations and places popular with rock climbers.

My wife and I drove around the local area around the city to check out the scenery.  I made mental notes about possible places to return to at sunrise or sunset to engage in my photography hobby.

My first chosen destination, Bell Rock, for a sunset shoot is just off of a major road and is a popular tourist draw.  As I left our motel in Sedona, an afternoon thunderstorm erupted with lots of lightening and heavy rain.  The local rock features that are visible from the city streets were surrounded by clouds with intermittent breaks in the clouds allowing sunlight to illuminate those features for a short while.  There would have been great photographic opportunities during the storm, if only there had been a place to safely pull over out of the heavy late day traffic and not be exposed to the heavy rain and possible lightening.  I could only observe and admire the views, wishing I were able to photograph the storm.

I hoped that there would still be some of the storm around when I arrived at the Bell Rock parking area, but the storm had moved on into the far distance by the time that I arrived.  The nearby sky was mostly clear, but the distant storm clouds were still visible.

There are a number of hiking trails around and near Bell Rock.  Most tourists opt to hike up the slope towards Bell Rock.  I decided to hike the less popular trail that went around behind Bell Rock towards other rock features nearby.  I only recall encountering two or three others on this trail.  The parking lot was not nearly as full, this late in the day, as it had been during my scouting pass through it earlier in the day.

Red Rocks against a Dark Sky
Red Rocks against a Dark Sky 2

As these first two images reveal, the distant clouds caused the light to constantly vary from entire shade to partial shade and the sky to vary from dark to light.

The Gold at Rainbow End

I made numerous, not so interesting, photographs of the distant rock outcrops as the late day light changed.  While the distant storm clouds added interest, it was not until I noted a faint rainbow appear that I began to hope for something more interesting.  Indeed, as I watched the scene that rainbow became brighter and a double rainbow appeared, seemingly terminating on the rocks with a golden glow from the late day sunlight.

Veneration

As I prepared to photograph this old, majestic tree skeleton (old trees like this are one of my favorite subjects), the clouds in the sky began to glow with the golden color of sunset light.  The golden cloud was perfectly positioned above the tree, as if forming a crown of honor and remembrance for the old tree.

Veneration 2

This is not the same tree as in Veneration, but it is nearby, with more of the local environment in the background.

Arizona Sunset Sky

As I walked the trail back towards the parking lot, after my late day shoot, I had to stop to capture these colorful, post sunset clouds with the silhouette of rock formations in the foreground.

After Sunset

When I turned to look back at this rock feature, I noted that the color was a deeper red just after sunset.  In researching this area, I had seen information that said these rocks looked best for photography just after sunset sunset.  My observation confirms that statement.

Until next time,

Ken