The full moon occurred on 04 June and there was an early morning partial eclipse — but I slept through it. The two evenings prior to the full moon, however, provided an opportunity to photograph the rising moon as the sun still cast light and color on the red rocks.
Stereo pair of Cathedral Rock, Sedona, Arizona.
Using The Photographers Ephemeris (TPE) I was able to pre-determine where to set up to photograph the moon as it traversed above the towers that make up Cathedral Rock. As the moon rose up and to the right I moved my position to the left to keep the moon in the larger gap. The unintended consequence of this movement is that I was able to get these similar — but slightly different — images about five minutes and 50 meters apart. Putting them together side-by-side makes a good stereo pair using the cross-eyed viewing method — that is, as long as you don’t object to having two moons in the 3-D image.
Moonrise over Oak Creek, Sedona, Arizona.
The following night I set up in a different location and was able to capture the moon as it rose from behind these cliffs with this large home in the foreground.
A late season storm brought snow to the high country of Flagstaff where almost a foot of snow fell over the weekend. But snow also occurred in the lower elevations including Oak Creek Canyon. Here was a final opportunity of the season to photograph new-fallen snow on the red rocks of Slide Rock State Park.
New snow on the red rocks of Slide Rock State Park in Oak Creek Canyon.
Unlike my previous snow photo shoot here back in early December temperatures were considerably warmer. (On that cold morning it was below zero in Flagstaff and only in the upper teens at Slide Rock State Park.) In fact, the temperatures remained above freezing overnight in this part of Oak Creek Canyon. This meant that the snow had been melting all night long leaving only patches on the ground. On the other hand, the relative warmth also meant that the rocks were only wet rather that covered in ice as in that previous session. So this made walking around substantially safer.
Snow covered boulder sits in Oak Creek in Slide Rock State Park.
Low clouds hung over northern Arizona that morning and the light was dull and flat as a result. Consequently the photographs don’t have the *pop* they might otherwise have if there was sunrise light reflecting off the high cliffs above the creek. Still, the juxtaposition of snow on the red rock is always worth a chance.
Boulders in Oak Creek in Slide Rock State Park.
Afterwards, a trip to the Indian Gardens Oak Creek Market was in order. Having a hot cup of coffee after a chilly morning of shooting is always welcome. And their bakery items are pretty good, too.
Slide Rock State Park is a great place to visit. The water from Oak Creek becomes channeled as it flows through multiple layers of sandstone resulting in some deep and narrow pools of water. On a hot summer day the area is filled with people swimming and having a grand time.
If you arrive here early in the morning you can catch some beautiful light reflecting off the high sandstone cliffs onto the water below.
Water cascades through the sandstone, snow, and ice in Slide Rock State Park.
Earlier this year I had an opportunity to take part in a photo workshop at this location. After that summer workshop I was determined to return in the winter and capture some images with snow on the sandstone. Snow isn’t rare in this location — it’s at an elevation of around 5000 feet, after all. But snow doesn’t last long at these elevations in Arizona, either.
Slide Rock State Park with layers of ice, snow, and sandstone.
A recent series of snow storms put snow on the ground at elevations even lower than Slide Rock so this was a great opportunity. I left Flagstaff before sunrise and the temperature was a very cold 0°F at an elevation of 7000 feet. By the time I had descended down Oak Creek Canyon to 5000 feet the temperature had warmed to a balmier 19°F. To make it even more uncomfortable, there was a down-canyon wind blowing to bring on some wind chill.
Still, I was determined to try.
Slide Rock State Park, Oak Creek Canyon.
The lighting was very challenging as the upper canyon walls began to light up with the rising sun. The normally red rocks were brilliant with snow and it was all too easy to overexpose the upper portions of the canyon walls while being underexposed within the Slide Rock area.
Rather than try to capture “everything” it was more reasonable to focus on the water, rocks and snow that were all still in the deep shadows of the canyon.
A delicate cascade of water produces icicles on the leaves and branches.
As the sun rose higher and the shadows disappeared other photographers arrived. Perhaps they knew better than I that the best light was after the sun was higher in the sky. Or, perhaps just as likely, they weren’t willing to photograph in well below freezing temperatures. Either way, I had the area to myself for over an hour of shooting and I had a great time.
Not too far south of Flagstaff lies Pumphouse Wash, a beautiful and narrow canyon that cuts through the Kaibab limestone and Coconino sandstone. The canyon drains from the upper elevations of the Mogollon Rim into the headwaters of Oak Creek. Most of the time Pumphouse Wash is dry with occasional pools but it can run very full during the spring snow melt and after heavy summer thunderstorms.
Shortly after a light snowfall in late November I took a walk up the wash hoping for some interesting photographic possibilities with snow and ice. I wasn’t disappointed. The first image shows a small pothole scoured by the erosive actions of the occasional flood waters. It was filled nearly to the brim with rain and snow melt, perfectly blended with leaves and pine needles, and then frozen in time.
A mixture of rain and snow melt with leaves and pine needles all frozen in time.
Elsewhere in the canyon a sycamore tree had shed its leaves among the boulders of the wash and upon these leaves some snow was still in place.
Snow atop fallen sycamore leaves in Pumphouse Wash.
Although it was a sunny day in northern Arizona very little of that sun was able to penetrate into the confined narrows of Pumphouse Wash. And I had the canyon to myself that day.
