Photographing Arizona

This past June my wife and I had the chance to spend 8 days in Sedona, Arizona. The overall experience was breathless both literally and figuratively! The endless beauty of the Arizona landscape simply cannot be explored and captured in just 8 days. From long hikes and helicopter rides to sunsets and night photography, we tasted as much of The Grand Canyon State as we could!

We spent most of our trip in the beautiful small town of Sedona. Of course, who wants to spend time shopping in a city when there are endless miles of trails to hike?! We worked our way to the tippy top of Devil's Bridge and Cathedral Rock, but nothing was more satisfying than getting to the top of Bell Rock, which happened to be an hour further up the mountain from where most of the hikers stopped as they sat down near the base of Bell Rock to enjoy the sunset. I sat on a pillar only about 7 feet in diameter at the top of Bell Rock, hundreds of feet above everyone else. There, I enjoyed the cool air as I watched the sunset. That moment was the highlight of the trip.

Of course, there is so much more than just the area around Sedona. We went on a day trip up to the Northeast corner of the state to explore the colorful and amazing Antelope Canyons, which you may recognize from a classic desktop wallpaper. Every turn of these canyons was picture-perfect. I advise taking the photographer's tour, which even then was pretty crowded but gave plenty of time to get dozens of great shots.

While up north, we also had a chance to visit Horseshoe Bend, which words simply cannot describe. Then of course, we visited the scene of most Westerns: Monument Valley. This has always been on my Bucket List and sitting at Monument Valley for another beautiful sunset was definitely a highlight.

On the way back to Sedona, we made a stop at the Lowell Observatory, the observatory that first discovered Pluto! 

That about sums up the trip as best as words can, I advise you enjoy the photos below :)

2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Antelope Canyon (35)

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2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Antelope Canyon (69)

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2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Bell Rock (106)

2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Bell Rock (11)

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2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Cathedral Rock (60)

2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Cathedral Rock (64)

2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Devils Bridge (110)

2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Devils Bridge (27)

2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Devils Bridge (46)

2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip General (102)

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2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Helicopter Ride (40)

2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Helicopter Ride (7)

2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Helicopter Ride (8)

2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Horseshoe Bend (5)

2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Horseshoe Bend (6)

2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Lowell Observatory (5)

2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Monument Valley (104)

2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Monument Valley (109)

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2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Monument Valley (43)

2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Monument Valley (61)

2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Monument Valley (90)

2016-06 AZ Sedona Trip Panorama (18)

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