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

Alabama Hills, California – Part 5 – Sunrise at Mobius Arch

As I’ve said many times, early morning landscape photography is the best for a number of reason, but especially for being alone on location.  Most casual tourists and visitors to a popular location, seldom get out and about in the early morning hours, so we seldom have to worry about people popping into our shots.

Mobius Arch Pre-Sunrise, Alabama Hills, California, March 18, 2024

The first images here are long exposure, pre-sunrise photos.  There is just a little pink color beginning to show on the distant horizon.

Mobius Arch and Sierra Nevada, Alabama Hills, California, March 18, 2024
Mobius Sunrise, Alabama Hills, March 18, 2024

Shooting from the rounded rocks in front of the arch, made using a tripod very difficult for getting down low, so I ended up shooting hand held, using a higher ISO to get my shutter speed high enough to counter my hand shake.

Mobius Sunrise 2, Alabama Hills, March 18, 2024
Mobius Sunrise 3, Alabama Hills, March 18, 2024
Mobius Sunrise 4, Alabama Hills, March 18, 2024
Alabama Hills Sunrise, March 18, 2024

I shot many images at this location today and could include more, but these are representative of the morning’s scene.  Having those magnificent, early morning clouds was a bonus for shooting today.

Until next time,

Ken

Indiana Fall 2023, Part 7, Sunrise Sequence, Brown County State Park

Sunrise A,  Brown County State Park, October 26, 2023

I went into Brown County State Park again for sunrise photography, this time stoping at one of the overlooks.  It was another morning with scattered clouds and good cloud color.

Shooting into the bright sky and getting a good exposure of the foreground fall color is a challenge and no matter how careful one is with the exposure and filter application, post processing of the images is a must.

These sunrise images have varying exposures, filter usage and post processing, yielding variations in the colors and details.

BCSP Sunrise Sequence 1, Brown County State Park, October 26, 2023
Sunrise B, Brown County State Park, October 26, 2023
Sunrise C, Brown County State Park, October 26, 2023
Sunrise D, Brown County State Park, October 26, 2023
Sunrise E, Brown County State Park, October 26, 2023
BCSP Sunrise Sequence 2, Brown County State Park, October 26, 2023

More Brown County State Park fall images next,

Ken