This week I traveled north to Sedona for a day of photography. I was accompanied by Alex Skoczen, another avid photographer. We left home at 6:30 am and reached our first stop, the Red Rock Visitor Centre, at approximately 8:30 am.
We were drawn to the brilliant green of the trees’ leaves. The trees, located along a small river thrive from the available water and the warming temperatures of spring.
Walking back to my car, my eye caught these cacti growing amid some red rock. I couldn’t resist the complementary, vivid red and green colours. Complementary colour combinations are the pairs of colours positioned opposite to each other on the colour wheel. These contrasting colours catch the eye and are intended to leave a favourable impact.
THE COLOUR WHEEL
Our next stop was a location along Oak Creek, a stream flowing through the nearby town of the same name. This scene features a small waterfall and a large tree leaning over the creek. The water level was low at this time, affording us the opportunity to photograph from the exposed, rock bottom of the creek, from several good locations.
This picture was taken from further upstream, taking advantage of a number of leading lines directing one’s view to the subject tree in the centre of the scene. Leading lines are always a positive element of an image’s composition.
Leaving Oak Creek en route to Sedona, we paused for this great view of Cathedral Rock, one of Sedona’s prominent landmarks. The image includes a picturesque fence, a strong foreground element.
After a welcome lunch in Sedona, we moved on to Slide Rock State Park, a short distance north on Highway 89A. This area is particularly popular among visitors in the summer. Oak Creek is shallow in this area, enabling visitors to enjoy sliding down along its inclined bottom.
Wilson Mountain is one of the peaks bounding Oak Creek Canyon. Its elevation of 7,121 feet (2,171 metres) makes it the highest peak in the Sedona area. Those are apple groves in the foreground.
Midgely Bridge, spanning Oak Creek Canyon is a favourite photo site of mine. We made a brief stop to take a couple of shots before embarking on the return trip home.
We got home surprisingly early, much to the surprise of our spouses, not accustomed to us meeting our return deadlines.