By Ted Grussing
… the odds are pretty good your home is included in this photo I took this morning. This is one of the most all-inclusive photos I have taken of the area. Working from the lower right we’ll follow SR 179 as it travels north through the Village of Oak Creek where I live. On the right side of the road you have the Village of Oak Creek and going all the way out to Pine Valley. You can also see the executive golf course on the right. (Cork routinely cleaned my clock on that course). On the left also the Village of Oak Creek. The first golf course on the left is the Sedona Golf Resort and near the road just above the course is the Hilton Hotel, the Outlets on the right and then the next golf course on the left is where I live, Oak Creek Country Club.
Continuing to the left beyond our golf course is Highland Estates and several other upscale developments. Back to the road … as you pass north of the village you have three notable rocks you go by; on the left Castle Rock, on the right Bell Rock, Courthouse Butte and Lee Mountain out by Pine Valley.
Traveling north past these rocks you go through a national forest with scenic pullouts and after a few miles you enter the Chapel area which is the first populated area you can see past Bell Rock. Four active places of worship plus the Chapel of the Holy Cross which is a must see … you won’t see Natasha doing a handstand on one of the rock retaining walls with about a fifty foot drop though … still have that one Natasha :+) Maybe I can use it? Just below the airport is Cathedral Rock. On the other side on up a bit is Snoopy Rock and a lot of the other named rocks. Beyond the chapel area you enter the Hillside area with numerous galleries and restaurants where I encourage you to spend some time and money. Check out Gallery of the Modern Masters in the Hillside area … Zach has done a great job with the gallery and used to be an F4 driver. Keep traveling N on SR179, you will cross the bridge just before Tlaquepaque and very soon Reagan Word’s sculpture of a Blue Heron based on one of my photos will be put in place at the roundabout.
At the Y you can go right to Uptown area with all the shops, galleries and restaurants and looking straight ahead you will see Wilson Mountain, on the left Thunder Mountain and more …
Go straight up to the Hyatt complex with more of the same (if you do stop in the Wildflower Bakery and if Brittany is on ask her to make you a sugar free vanilla latte – excellent) and if you go left you will be heading into West Sedona which is on the other side of the airport and has the major shopping stores for locals plus a lot of gallery type stuff. The gallery of “Not just any John” Soderberg is on the right side of 89A as you travel S towards Cottonwood and just before Dry Creek Road.
On the other side of Thunder Mountain you have Long Canyon and Seven Canyons Golf Course, some residential areas and Enchantment Resort is also out there in Boynton Canyon which opens into Long Canyon.
I’ve omitted a lot, but this gives you an overview from above. Above Wilson Mountain (left of center at horizon) you can see the base of the San Francisco Peaks which were obscured by a rain storm. Mt Elden is to the right of them and right horizon you have Mormon Mountain (loaf shape) and the lake is the other side of it.
I took this shot with the Canon 5Ds R 50+MP camera using the new 24/70 F2.8 lens. The native size of the image is just under 20” x 30”at 300 ppi so the detail in the image is absolutely amazing. If you would like a print of this let me know. Think I will offer it as a 18”x 30”on 20 x 30 paper and an 20” x 36” on 24” x 36” paper (luster) for $79 and $99 respectively. Prices are delivered to your door! This image is only 1800 x 900 pixels or 6” x 3”
For the first portion of the flight I was putting Mariah through the paces making sure that everything was working the way it should including the iEFIS from MGL Avionics and it was. I also had the NavWorx ADS-B installed which tracks all traffic in my area and their proximity to me and also transmits all my info to them … very cool feature and it works great! So a couple of very minor issues remain, but how sweet it was to be back in the air and feeling good about everything.
The rest of the day was nice, visits with friends, work on projects around home and enjoying the rain that started just as I pulled into the garage.
Have a wonderful day … smile and share your joy.
Ted
And as the mellow years come on, will you
Remember still that love is young
And fresh as morning dew
For me and you?
— Max Ehrmann
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The easiest way to reach Mr. Grussing is by email: ted@tedgrussing.com
In addition to sales of photographs already taken Ted does special shoots for patrons on request and also does air-to-air photography for those who want photographs of their airplanes in flight. All special photographic sessions are billed on an hourly basis.
Ted also does one-on-one workshops for those interested in learning the techniques he uses. By special arrangement Ted will do one-on-one aerial photography workshops which will include actual photo sessions in the air.
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