Cathedral Rock Photo

Photographer’s Note

Cathedral Rock at Oak Creek (near Sedona, Arizona) is one of those natural wonders that had to be visited. Oak Creek itself is a 12 mile long river gorge located along the Mogollon Rim, between the cities of Flagstaff and Sedona. The Oak Creek Canyon-Sedona area is the 2nd most popular tourist destination in Arizona, after the Grand Canyon. USA Weekend (May 2003) named Sedona as “The Most Beautiful Place in the USA.” I’m not sure if I agree with that statement, but it is certainly very nice.

This shot was taken in early March, late in the afternoon, from a position called Red Rock Crossing. It wasn’t hot but it was very dry. It hadn’t rained for over 140 days. When you go to shoot this rock you really want to go early and walk around. You can follow the creek up river, or there are trails that actually go up to the rock. Getting here is easy by car. They will direct you from the Chamber of Commerce (tourist info) in Sedona. The location is in a small park for which there is a nominal entry fee.

Depending on where you set up you can capture as much or as little of the creek as you want, and you can capture the dead tree in the centre of this picture, or not. For the duck, you need a little luck. Depending on when you shoot during the day the rock can have a very red to golden look. Take your tripod.

The largest problem I encountered were other people who were not totally cognizant of the fact that I didn’t want people in my shot. They of course have a right to be there too, so you just have to wait them out. Eventually when they see you set up and waiting for them, they get the idea and move on. I’ve seen different shots at different times of the year. I had my opportunity in March, but you can get great shots here throughout the year, with and without leaves on the trees, and with snow. Enjoy.

Post processing included: noise reduction (scan from a slide) adjustments for shadows and highlights, an adjustment for levels, cropping and final sharpening for this post.

Floydian, jhm, asajernigan, olivierduc, vesalius, MLINES, gunbud, pierrefonds, scobert has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Danzi (2405) 2006-11-23 2:55

Fantastic shot John!

Lovely colours and tones of this beautiful Cathedral Rock at Oak Creek in Sedona. Superb view on Cathedral Rock and river with the combination of rock.
I enjoy it a lot and thanks for sharing!

*Denis

GLEM (2998) 2006-11-23 3:46

bonjour John,
très belle image. Le cadrage est bien, ^même si j'aurais serré un peu. Pour les couleurs je pense qu'un peu de contraste et de saturation ferait ressortir davantage la roche et la végétation.

ws if it's open :)

tfs

[workshop] [compare] +

Floydian (30970) 2006-11-23 4:26

Hi John,
I passed by this place in Sep, but it was crowded with people. A decent picture taken was not possible. Your picture really proofs that when you have the time and patience and be there at the right moment the place is very interesting to make some serious and good landscape photography.
Good work on the scanning and the pp work...really excellent.
Regards, Henk

lucski (3676) 2006-11-23 18:34

amazing picture John
great POV and composition, colors and details are perfect..
well done the background looks realy splendit
good job mate
TFS lukasz

jhm (83378) 2006-11-26 6:11

Hello John,

A very attractive subject this great rocks, together with yur very interestig note too, I learn every day on TE through the other members those writing, excellent light and colours very well done!

Have a nice day,
John = jhm

doubay (5043) 2006-11-29 8:42

Hallo John,
very nice shot. It look´s very american.
Greetings, Andreas

Angshu (34141) 2006-12-09 3:41

Hello John
Beautiful landscape photography with the wonderful effect of light on the rocks. The scan is if the highest quality & your PP work to enhance the beauty of the place is very good. the effect of light & shadows of parts of the imposing rocks creates a dramatic effect. Well done!
Regards
Angshu

sixTL (8586) 2006-12-18 15:23

hello John, What a beautiful countryside. I like the frame, colors and contrast. Very well done.

Best regards Artur

rabani (9429) 2006-12-21 20:07

Once in a while, I get to see a scanned photo. The fine gritty detail is always pleasing as opposed to the digitals. Probably a lot like listening to a gramophone compared to a CD audio. You have a warm expression and colors of the Cathedral here, and that little duck is naturally a better choice than say, a tourist. Merry Christmas John and Happy New Year.
Regards
Rabani

asajernigan (14304) 2007-01-02 21:49

John,
This photo has great depth and sharpness. The color and lighting is excellent. I like your POV looking across the water toward Cathedral rock.
The duck adds a nice touch as well.
TFS,
Asa

vesalius (857) 2007-02-14 20:33

Hi John, very nice shot. I particularly like the rocks on the water which are leading up to the shore, they add a sense of depth to the photo. The colours here are rich and the shot is well exposed.

Once again, an excellent note.

Kindest regards,

Don

capthaddock (28640) 2007-02-25 18:29

Hi John - the scenery is gorgeous enough, though the low light really brings out its potential, as appealing as Sedona is, I don't think I agree with the superlative statement either, they should more properly say :"The Most Overpriced Southwestern Cuisine in the USA Which is Nothing More Than Mexican Cuisine Really Altered For the Gringo Palate."

MLINES (10984) 2007-05-08 4:44

Hi John. This is superb with blues above and below. The clarity of all the details is extremely good. Suitable for the National Geographic in my opinion. TFS. Murray.

gunbud (28165) 2007-05-08 23:09

Hi John,
Splendid Southwestern landscape with excellent clear colors and very soft pleasing details. The shadows do woderful work throughout this excellent image.
Regards, Tom

banyanman (7739) 2007-06-02 2:25

I've just been browsing your gallery, John. I like this post the best because the light is so good and the colours, whilst well saturated, look natural. The composition might have looked a little better-balanced if the Cathedral Rock wasn't centered so much (a little to the right maybe which would enable the stepping stones in the water to provide a very natural balance to the image) but the fact that you do have the stepping stones leading the eye into the frame from the bottom left makes the centering of the main landform not so noticeable.

I know what you mean about waiting for 'tourists' to get out of a shot. At a few popular places I've waited for hours for the right timing. As a last resort, if there's just one or two stragglers left, I wait until they are in a position (like in front of a bush or a rock) where it is subsequently easy to clone them out in PP.

Cheers . . . David

pierrefonds (26669) 2007-12-05 4:02

Hi John,

A good POV of the Cathedral Rock under a beautiful blue sky, the photo has a good composition, DOF and nice colors. Thanks for sharing.

Pierre

pablominto (41398) 2008-01-21 1:21

Hello John,
It is interesting to see this awesome rock formation from different angles!
It is kind of surprising to actually see water out there, hehehe...
A well composed presentation with rich colours!
Greetings,
Pablo -

scobert (5333) 2008-04-02 18:19

Hi John,
You did an excellent job with your film to digital conversion. This can be a frustrating process. The composition is wonderful and the ducks were a nice touch also. This is indeed a magical place with incredible beauty. Sedona would be a great place to live if we were to win the Powerball Lottery (very, very expensive). Outstanding!
Stan