Seeking Sedona

“Don’t think about the image before the image happens. Don’t go into the moment with a belief of what you expect to see, just go in and see what there is to see.” ~ Vincent Versace

Last week my wife and I traveled to Sedona, Arizona, to take in the scenery and try and capture the beauty of the area in photographs.  I had visions in my head of grand vistas, epic sunsets; I had in my head visions of...  I'm not sure what exactly.  All I knew was, it was going to be grand, epic, sweeping...

The first afternoon we drove up Schnebly Hill Road, heading up the road a bit, past where the pavement turned into a rutted, bumpy dirt road best suited for Jeeps, going a short way before turning around, all the while enjoying the scenery and the truck's air conditioning.  Despite the heat and the haze of the late afternoon we pulled over at one point, and I took a few shots looking back towards Sedona.  My favorite was this one, with the century plant in the foreground.

Over the course of that evening, while hiking the next morning, and on into the day, I kept being drawn in by - and kept photographing - a singular subject that caught my eye, over and over.  It wasn't the gorgeous red rock vistas, or any particular mountain, but something on a much smaller scale.   

The century plant, agave americana.  Dotting the landscape.  Catching my eye.  Capturing my imagination. 

Late on the second night we headed up Dry Creek Road, where the previous evening I had spotted a century plant near a "medicine wheel" a short distance from the road.  I put my wide angle lens on the camera and darted off into the brush...

I then headed uphill, stopping to take photos here and there, until I found this century plant, standing tall against the sky with the golden glow of the evening in the background...

I worked the scene for a bit, moving around the century plant until this composition with the sun setting behind the mountains in the background made me pause...

I went to Sedona looking for epic vistas and adventures straight out of an old John Wayne western and ending up being drawn in by a tall, lonely, beautiful plant that lives to bloom once and die...  

All photos taken with a Nikon D7000 and Nikkor lens: 16-85 DX VR (first photo), 10-24 DX (other photos)

You can view my online portfolio and purchase prints here.

Want to keep up to date with where I'll be and what my latest creations are?
Follow me on FaceBook and Google+
I'm also on Twitter @KSchafferPhoto
And am now sharing iPhone photos on Instagram: @kschafferphoto
 

The Lone Tree

Somewhere I read the phrase "if there's a lone tree, you must photograph it."  

The lone tree can be an interesting subject, a living contrast to a stark environment.
Resilient. A survivor.  Bent, but not broken.  Resistant to forces of nature, meddling of man, the Ides of March and random acts of God...

I just finished reading Edward Abbey's "Desert Solitaire," a collection of reflections - mostly from the time he spent as a park ranger at Arches National Park in Utah - and musings on the park and "industrial tourism" and the desert, the benefits and shortcomings of isolation, the need to preserve and protect and spare the wild land from the interventions of man.  I'm still absorbing what I read and coming to terms with some of the more radical thoughts put forth, and part of that process is writing this post.  Abbey's book got me thinking about the harshness and beauty of the desert Southwest - which circled back to thoughts of the lone tree.

The last couple of months I've been drawn to the idea of simpler, starker, uncluttered compositions, and incorporating the subject of the lone tree into some of my recent work reflects this idea of aesthetic. 

Last April I spent a dreary, misty, foggy morning driving around the panhandle of Texas outside of Amarillo, taking in the landscape, the rolling hills and flat expanses of farmland.  At one point I saw this tree, bent from years of fighting the wind for a foothold on the open range...

This juniper was at Dead Horse Point State Park near Moab, Utah, ever reaching towards the dawn...

There was this cottonwood along the Colorado River outside of Moab, beginning to relinquish its summer green for the golden yellow of fall...

This bristlecone pine near the South Window in Arches National Park, its branches and form seemingly framing the arch behind it...

 "If there's a lone tree, you must photograph it."  I started photographing lone trees because I liked the look of an uncluttered composition.  Now I stop and photograph them because it gives me a moment to pause and reflect and take in the beauty that lies within a harsh environment or in unexpected places... 

All photos taken with a Nikon D7000 and Nikkor lens: 16-85 DX VR (first and third photos), 10-24 DX (second photo), and 10.5 DX Fisheye (last photo).

You can view my online portfolio and purchase prints here.

Want to keep up to date with where I'll be and what my latest creations are?
Follow me on FaceBook and Google+
I'm also on Twitter @KSchafferPhoto
And am now sharing iPhone photos on Instagram: @kschafferphoto