Not everything in Sedona AZ was about images of big rocks

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STM

Senior Member
There is this beautiful Catholic Church coming into Cottonwood (just south of Sedona) that had twin steeples like this. The perfect symmetry of the adobe colored steeples against that perfect blue sky was too much to pass up. 80-200mm f/4 AIS around 180mm. This is but one rendition of it, but I like the spot color version the best.





 
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Lovin Our Life

Senior Member
I love the Architecture of the SW, from the Spanish style missions to old homesteads, just something about the old west. Personally, I like the spot color one.
 
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PapaST

Senior Member
I just booked my trip to Sedona last week. From the looks of your pictures it is a terrific place to be. Thanks for sharing.
 
S

STM

Senior Member
PapaST said:
I just booked my trip to Sedona last week. From the looks of your pictures it is a terrific place to be. Thanks for sharing.
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DO NOT stay in Sedona unless you want to pay WAY TOO MUCH for a room! I stayed in Cottonwood, which is 20 minutes south of Sedona. I stayed at Verde Valley Inn. I paid $123 for two nights, about what you would spend for maybe ONE night in Sedona. The rooms were clean, with a microwave and fridge and they had very fast internet and it is located right across the street from a Walmart if you need to stock up on food or other and various sundries! Sedona survives on the tourist industry, subsequently, you will pay through the nose for things like rooms.

I found a perfect vantage point for photographing 4 buttes side by side. However, be prepared to lug your gear up some somewhat treacherous rocks and terrain. The shot will be worth it. Entry to it is supposedly "trespassing" but forget that s**t, I ran into several hikers and mountain bikers. You take Mountain Shadows Drive off the main drag in Sedona to Fabulous Texan Rd (I have NO IDEA where they came up with that one). There is a sign between two houses that says "Posted, No Trespassing". Blow it off and park right next to it like I did, no one hassled me. Below are the GPS cuts for the entry and the place where I took the photo below. Perhaps my little rock "Teepee" is still there. It is about a 300m hump, make sure you have appropriate footwear for climbing rocks lest you slip and bust your ass and potentially your gear! If you plan to stay there past dark like I did (for star trails photos) make sure you have a head mounted lamp. The trek down will be dangerous!

Entry: N 34º 52' 32.2"
Photo spot: 34º 52' 38.7"

The hump is worth it, because this is the view you get:

 
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cwgrizz

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
STM said:
DO NOT stay in Sedona unless you want to pay WAY TOO MUCH for a room! I stayed in Cottonwood, which is 20 minutes south of Sedona. I stayed at Verde Valley Inn. I paid $123 for two nights, about what you would spend for maybe ONE night in Sedona. The rooms were clean, they had very fast internet and it is located right across the street from a Walmart if you need to stock up on food or other and various sundries! Sedona survives on the tourist industry, subsequently, you will pay through the nose for things like rooms.
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Great Advice STM. Sedona is pretty, but everything is priced for the upper crust tourist trade. IMHO.
 
S

STM

Senior Member
cwgrizz said:
Great Advice STM. Sedona is pretty, but everything is priced for the upper crust tourist trade. IMHO.
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It is but there are really TWO Sedona's. Headeing south, the first one you find is the "old timey"Sedona one with all of the shops and curios. Once you get past the round-about you get into the more "contemporary" Sedona with all of the modern trappings. Cottonwood is 20 minutes to the south and has all of what you would expect of amenities of larger town. And things are MUCH cheaper there. There is a Texaco along AZ -89 (the main drag) that if you get gas there and have a Safeway rewards card, you can get gas for $2.01 a gallon. I jumped al over that like a duck on a Junebug! Betta b-lee dat s**t! :)
 
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STM

Senior Member
BackdoorHippie said:
Love the lines, but not the spot color here. Go figure.

Looks like you've got some sensor spots to deal with as well.
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There is a personal reason for the spot color, perhaps it is esoteric. I am a devout Catholic and for me, everything below the cross represents what is here on earth and is therefore in black and white. All that associates with the Cross and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead for me is in color. I regret that I was not there at a time when I could have attended Mass in that Church. If you will, compare it to the Wizard of Oz. The movie was in B&W in all of the dreariness of KS until Dorothy arrived in Oz, at which point it was in color. For me there are spiritual overtones in that movie.
 
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hrstrat57

Senior Member
STM said:
DO NOT stay in Sedona unless you want to pay WAY TOO MUCH for a room! I stayed in Cottonwood, which is 20 minutes south of Sedona. I stayed at Verde Valley Inn. I paid $123 for two nights, about what you would spend for maybe ONE night in Sedona. The rooms were clean, with a microwave and fridge and they had very fast internet and it is located right across the street from a Walmart if you need to stock up on food or other and various sundries! Sedona survives on the tourist industry, subsequently, you will pay through the nose for things like rooms.

I found a perfect vantage point for photographing 4 buttes side by side. However, be prepared to lug your gear up some somewhat treacherous rocks and terrain. The shot will be worth it. Entry to it is supposedly "trespassing" but forget that s**t, I ran into several hikers and mountain bikers. You take Mountain Shadows Drive off the main drag in Sedona to Fabulous Texan Rd (I have NO IDEA where they came up with that one). There is a sign between two houses that says "Posted, No Trespassing". Blow it off and park right next to it like I did, no one hassled me. Below are the GPS cuts for the entry and the place where I took the photo below. Perhaps my little rock "Teepee" is still there. It is about a 300m hump, make sure you have appropriate footwear for climbing rocks lest you slip and bust your ass and potentially your gear! If you plan to stay there past dark like I did (for star trails photos) make sure you have a head mounted lamp. The trek down will be dangerous!

Entry: N 34º 52' 32.2"
Photo spot: 34º 52' 38.7"

The hump is worth it, because this is the view you get:

Click to expand...


Love the post and the pic!

Another real cool photo taking spot is just up the road....Jerome.

Ok some of it is tacky but the vistas are special, even the San Francisco peaks loom in the distance! It is an old mining town placed on the side of a mountain.....nasty drive tho in a 4 cyl car or a minivan, steep.... as is a lot of Arizona.

Rent a Mustang GT or Corvette if you go....

:)
 
cwgrizz

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
In that part of AZ there is enough to see and photograph to occupy all of the time you want to take. Sedona, Jerome, Cottonwood, Clarksdale... All mining towns with lots of history and beauty. Well actually all of AZ can provide many diverse photography opportunities. Maybe as a native Arizonian I'm biased. Ha!
 
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hrstrat57

Senior Member
cwgrizz said:
In that part of AZ there is enough to see and photograph to occupy all of the time you want to take. Sedona, Jerome, Cottonwood, Clarksdale... All mining towns with lots of history and beauty. Well actually all of AZ can provide many diverse photography opportunities. Maybe as a native Arizonian I'm biased. Ha!
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This!!!

and look north to Flagstaff, Williams, Winslow........the list goes on and on. (not to mention photography heaven, the GC !!)
 
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STM

Senior Member
hrstrat57 said:
This!!!

and look north to Flagstaff, Williams, Winslow........the list goes on and on. (not to mention photography heaven, the GC !!)
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Next week is my last 3 days off here. I am headed to Monument Valley AZ/UT for 3 days. The weather is supposed to be clear and cold. I foresee much photography! MAN I WISH I HAD BROUGHT THE HASSELBLAD WITH ME!!!!! Enough of this digital jazz!!
 
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Blacktop

Senior Member
STM said:
Next week is my last 3 days off here. I am headed to Monument Valley AZ/UT for 3 days. The weather is supposed to be clear and cold. I foresee much photography! MAN I WISH I HAD BROUGHT THE HASSELBLAD WITH ME!!!!! Enough of this digital jazz!!
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OMG, I am sooo frikkin jealous right now it's not even funny. I haven't been there in ages, and the last time I wasn't even into photography. You should see the crappy pictures I took with my film camera back then. Some Minolta set to automatic. At the time I thought they came out great after I picked up the 4X6's from the one hour Fotomat.
 
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