Cathedral Rocks and Oak Creek

Posted by Don Smith (California, United States) on 31 May 2008 in Landscape & Rural.

Sedona, Arizona has always been a favorite landscape destination of mine. On a recent trip to northern Arizona, my colleagues and I spent a couple days in the famed red rock community. Our first evening we decided to go to the iconic location of Red Rock Crossing. We were provided with an awesome sunset with Cathedral Rocks bathed in warm sunset light and dark storm clouds holding the sky. I found this location where a calm pool offered a nice reflection of the rocks and used my 16-35mm to get as much of Oak Creek in the foregound as possible. To see more of my images, learn about my workshops, or to purchase a copy of my book On the Edge, please visit my website at http://www.donsmithphotography.com.

Comments (16)

bruno from les Ollières, France

Great colors and nice composition !

31 May 2008 7:22am

Mahsa Jamali from Tabriz, Iran

very nice!
thanks!

31 May 2008 12:36pm

Don Smith from California, United States

Thanks Bruno and Mahsa,

This is the inconic location in all of Sedona. I've been at this spot several times in the past and always tended to shoot too tight on Cathedral Rocks. This time I decided to give a sense of scale by shooting with a wide-angle. The light was as good as I've ever seen.

31 May 2008 1:31pm

moein from tehran, Iran

it is wonderful. very good.

31 May 2008 1:46pm

Don Smith from California, United States

Hi moein,

Thanks for your nice words!

31 May 2008 2:39pm

bm from Budapest, Hungary

Gorgeous, what a beautiful spot :)

31 May 2008 6:46pm

DaveB from Exeter, United Kingdom

Nice shot Don, looks like some pretty cool scenery up there! My only comment is that the lighting on the sandstone pillars in the background is a bit harsh and bleached, although judging by the clouds, there was little you could do about that!

31 May 2008 9:21pm

Ronnie 2¢ from London, United Kingdom

"Red Rock Crossing" has a certain ring to it that prepares the mind but not the eye. This is a dream shot with all those separate elements of Nature coming together in the right way at the right time. Quite something.

31 May 2008 11:36pm

Don Smith from California, United States

Hi bm, Dave and Ronnie,

Thanks for the comments. Dave, I can only say what I see on my 24" Dell Monitor. The colors on Cathedral Rocks (if that is what you mean by the "pillars") looks correct. Monitors vary across the board, so without seeing your monitor, i can't comment. Mine is calibrated monthly and balanced for my viewing environment.

1 Jun 2008 12:45am

DarkElf from Perth, Australia

fantastic light and colours! i also like how the rocks and dark clouds form a dark frame around the well illuminated formation in the center...

2 Jun 2008 12:47am

Don Smith from California, United States

Thanks Dark ELf - I always appreciate your comments.

2 Jun 2008 1:22pm

pedro alexandre from loures, Portugal

very nice warm light and very hard to balance, to many shadows, great work.

4 Jun 2008 5:00pm

Don Smith from California, United States

Hi Pedro,

I used Nik's Veviza software to help with the balance of shadows. This image was shot about 45 minutes before sunset. I wrote an article on my website (Writings / Articles - June 2008) about using Nik's Viveza.

5 Jun 2008 12:35pm