You drive through miles and miles of unexceptionable high desert, distinguished only by some parts being even dustier and plainer than others. You take a minor exit, round a slight bend, and there it is: the red rock of Sedona.
Sans warning, it comes upon you all sudden-like and then you’re surrounded by it for as long as you’re in the area. You don’t quite come to take it for granted, but you might stop gasping every time you turn around.
You can’t take it all in. You can’t choose your favourite view. You can’t choose the best place to stand with your camera, or the best way to photograph it. Should you fill the frame or zoom out to capture the immensity and extent of it? Should you shoot at sunrise, high noon, or sunset? Should you look for reflecting water in the foreground or not?
Stop. You’re all right. There is no wrong way to see the red rock of Sedona, and hardly any bad photographs of it.
The only thing that might be wrong or, at least, less than fully good? Rushing it. So, this week, the red rock as seen in reflections.
Beautiful, Isabel.
I covet the experience.
Tom
Tom – Thanks. I’ll do my best to convey the dimensions of that experience.
Isabel – I remember some of those “rocks”; especially the one on the left, 2nd level down.
What I do not remember is my SUV being that clean and shiny; given that Ottawa’s streets are wet and dirty at the moment, and will likely stay that way for another month at least.
John – 🙂 We find the vehicles here to be a lot cleaner than at home, at least in the city. They also have more car washes (& good car washes) than I’m used to seeing. There could be a correlation there . . .
In addition to being wet and dirty, Ottawa’s streets are also full of potholes. Big deep potholes. Apropos of nothing whatsoever, it costs about $140 to have the wheel alignment of your vehicle corrected if you happen to encounter one of those big deep potholes.
John – Ouch. Ottawa has a long, albeit not proud, history of potholes. I remember hearing about them in the mid 1970s from then-residents. Not the sort of core competence one usually likes to brag about.
This is a rock with personality and attitude. A centrepiece. The stuff of myths and legends. I love the idea of reflections. Is the presence of a reflecting pool almost as legendary and mythical as the reflection?
Laurna – I can understand why Native Americans thought of this location as sacred.