Earlier this week, I returned to Sedona, accompanied by Chad and Aimee Walker for a jeep tour into the backcountry west of Sedona. Our trip, the “Diamondback Gulch Tour” was 6 miles of the roughest trail you can imagine, including a steep descent into Diamondback Gulch. This tour is a combination of scenic tour through the desert, off-roading adventure and thrill ride. Our 6 mile ride took about an hour, never exceeding a speed of 10 mph. Despite the slow progress, we were jostled around constantly, making it virtually impossible to photograph while on the move. I did get the opportunity to work in a few shots, some of which I’ll share with you today.
The drive to and from the Diamondback Gulch Trail afforded the opportunity to get some good shots of the surrounding scenery, including this one of the Coxcomb.
We paused for some photos at the bottom of Diamondback Gulch, one of the very few I got along that part of the trip. It’s a dry creek bed at this time of year. Indications of the huge volumes of water that course through it during monsoon season are very apparent, the large boulders strewn throughout the area. We didn’t see any of its namesake rattlesnakes. It’s too cold for them at this time of year; they’ve gone into hibernation.
Emerging from the gulch, we stopped soon after at Flat Rock, an oasis of smooth terrain in the middle of the chaotic track they call the trail. I got the following picture looking back from where we had come. This picture provides a good view of the desert terrain in the area, backgrounded by the red rock for which Sedona is known.
My final picture from our expedition was taken on the Boynton Pass Road, on our return to Sedona after a truly memorable off-road experience. As you can see, I’ve re-styled this photograph, portraying the unmistakable scenery of Sedona a little differently.
I managed to get a picture on our way home from Sedona at a location I had seen on previous visits. This picture was taken from the highway bridge over the Dry Beaver Creek. As you can see, the autumn colours are still vibrant creating a brilliant, eye-catching scene.
That’s it for Sedona this year. I’m sure I’ll get back there this coming spring; looking forward to it already.
Nice images of a beautiful, unique part of the world. Very thoughtful compositions, particularly given your travel conditions. I’m doing some reading on composition, and will be returning to these images as I reflect upon what I have learned.