01/06/2025
I think it’s time to post “The Pics”!! There will be multiple posts, I really don’t like photo dumps.
Every year, as Fall approaches most photographers start thinking and planning how and where we are going to shoot the Fall Colors. Most of us want that unique shot that no other photographer in our area got, not an easy task!
On a trip back to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan about a year and a half ago (2023) I thought I should fly back for the explosion of fall colors there which is arguably one of the best displays in the country. I did not make the pilgrimage to Fall Color that year, but it was on my mind, and I thought someday soon. Fast forward to July 2024 on my trip back to the U.P. and I told myself “This year I will do it”. I’d join the hordes of people collecting images of the glorious fall color of the U.P. Well…. I had another thought.
This past June I went to Sedona, AZ with my oldest daughter for the first time for five days. Wow!! Red rocks, amazing sunsets and mountains everywhere. We had an amazing time exploring the area but had barely scratched the surface of what Sedona and the North Central area of Arizona had to offer. I had also reconnected with a childhood friend, Karen Calvey who has lived in North Central Arizona for some time and knows of some very cool spots in this area. Between my oldest daughter and Karen sending me info about Fall Colors in AZ I made the decision to forgo my plan of going to Michigan and head to Arizona to photograph the Fall Colors, something you don’t hear many people say. I thought if the info I was receiving about Arizona Fall Colors was even half correct I would have the opportunity to have a collection of amazing, unique Fall Color images.
The logistics of this project proved a bit like “get on a plane and hope for the best’ish” as we all know you can’t predict the peak of Fall Colors anywhere. All the info I was receiving pointed to the first two weeks of October being the best choice for peak color in N. AZ. Unfortunately, I had commitments in Oregon that would not make this trip possible during that time so I booked a flight to Arizona for 10 days during the third week of October hoping there would be some color left to shoot. After a couple days in Mesa visiting my oldest daughter I headed north, picked up Karen and we started and based this project/adventure out of a cabin on the outskirts of Sedona, within a daytrip to a plethora of shooting locations. I have to say that on my two-hour drive north from Mesa I didn’t see a whole lot of color, in fact I saw none, and other shooting possibilities started running thru my mind, there’s a lot of mountains and sunsets in Arizona and those may now be my focus.
We got going on day 1 and headed into Sedona which is amazing at anytime of the year. We then took a drive up SR89A between Sedona and Flagstaff and WOW!! Oak Creek Canyon was in full color!! Prime color!! I did not put enough thought into how the different elevations, valleys, canyons, mountains and even the narrow latitude difference affected Fall Colors in Arizona. In the days following we drove between Sedona and the Grand Canyon in search of the Fall Sweet Spots and found some. Aspen Corner at 8,800’ on the way up Mt Humphreys has an Aspen Grove, and it was on fire, electric, neon yellow like I’ve never seen before! There’s a picture of Karen on my page in this location, scroll down and you’ll know it when you see it.
Getting amazing shots of Fall Colors in this area was amazing but I felt I needed more to have a collection that would represent fall in Arizona but, the Fall Colors were just not yet happening in the Verde Valley. I had another opportunity coming up as I’d be in Mesa again in about three weeks helping my youngest daughter move. I thought “just take more days off and see if the Verde Valley was in fall bloom”, I wanted to spend more time with Karen anyway, so this plan worked no matter if colors were happening or not. Guess what? Two for two!!! The Verde Valley was popping with color!! Some areas we were a few days too early but most of the areas had full fall color! Karen was an integral partner on this second attempt as she knew of places only a local would know and a tourist would not find.
I feel this long intro is kind of necessary as I’ve never travelled this far, multiple times for a photo shoot. I ended up with almost 4,000 shots and going thru all of them has been time consuming yet fun! Overall, this project has taken three months shooting, picking pics and editing. Not only did I get to shoot a planned project successfully, I got to spend quality time with my daughters and rekindle my friendship with Karen that will last the rest of my life!!!
I’ve learned soooo much doing this project and look forward to doing it again next year using what I’ve learned from this year. It will be Off The Hook!!!!
I’ve debated how to share these images with you. If you’ve followed me for any amount of time you know I can get a bit crazy posting every pic I take!! Lol. At first, I was just going to do a “photo dump” and decided against it as I’m not a fan of them. So, I’ll make this initial post with a pic for attention and over the next week post the rest of my images from this project with some context. I hope everyone who reads and sees this enjoys it!!! Oh, there’s only one cactus pic in this project!! Lol.
