By Ted Grussing
… a few hundred feet can make! I was up at the Arb in Flagstaff today delivering the greeting cards for the visitor center and was again struck by just how limited the views were when going through the forest … the sky was blocked by the trees and also by the irregular landscape. After the Arb, I was going to go out along the shore of Rogers Lake, because the area is so wide open you have views of the SF Peaks and so much more; and I thought there might be some water in it and waterfowl to shoot. Unfortunately the road out there is still closed so I didn’t get to see it today.
The views up there are absolutely magnificent if you get above the trees, so I found this shot I took in early January a few years ago … this photo shows it all and very late in the afternoon on a day that the wind was absolutely howling.
In the foreground you have a frozen Rogers Lake; the Arb is somewhere on the very right side of the photo about half way up. Right of center and a little over half way up is the Naval Observatory with its white dome rising from the forest. On the very left side of the image and on the horizon you can see the beginnings of the rise up the east side of Kendrick Peak, the San Francisco Peaks are just left of center and you can see the clouds ripping over the top. The lenticular cloud is a result of wave action coming off the peaks and no question that the wave soaring would have been phenomenal! To the right of the peaks is Mount Elden and near the base of it to the right is the Flagstaff Mall. Further to the right you can see many other volcanic cones in the San Francisco Volcanic Field and beyond that lies the Painted Desert.
The difference between today and this shot is that I am about 500 feet higher than I was today … what a difference it makes!
Leaving home for Lake Pleasant at 5AM, so time to shut the day down and get some rest. Adventure awaits us and the hunt for the perfect shot continues.
Have a beautiful day, keep breathing, smiling and give thanks for each moment you are still here … we are blessed, moment by moment.
Cheers,
Ted
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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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