Sedona, AZ

After the visit to the Grand Canyon we spent the rest of the week relaxing in Sedona, AZ. I say relaxing but what I actually meant is a lot of exercises. I hiked at least 2-3 miles everyday. Sometimes with the girls and sometimes solo. The weather was perfect and with the 2 hour time difference it was a lot easier to get up at 5:00 in the morning for a sunrise hike. Now if I can just figure out how to discipline myself to do that back home....

Coffee Pot Rock was my first hike in Sedona - did this one solo. Ashlyn was too tired from hiking the Grand Canyon the day before...can't say that I blame her my legs felt like jello when I started this.

Cathedral Rock is the most photographed place in Sedona. I spent a few afternoons there and never did get the exact shot that I wanted. I am however, very pleased with how this one turned. Ironically this was the least planned of all the pictures. I had conned the family into trusting me as I drove down a dirt road...jumped out of the car to setup for a few shots. I could see a storm cloud coming in so I didn't take long and headed back to the car. I was climbing up the hill and Sarah told me to turn around. I glanced and saw the light hitting the rock just perfectly. Quickly snapped 3 shots using bracketed exposures, then combined them in the digital darkroom for the nice HDR shot above. This one is going on the way so I brightened everything more than I normally would since the hallway is a little dark.

Ashlyn and I both tried to get the famous reflection shot at various locations but just couldn't recreate it.

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