By Ted Grussing
… one of the treasured spots in the Sedona area is Red Rock Crossing and the photos taken from there on the ground, on the creek shore or in the water are absolutely beautiful and iconic. From the air it really doesn’t see like all that much though and one would really ask what the big deal is; just the difference in perspective. Red Rock Crossing is above the 2016 in my copyright on the photo about a third of the way up the image. You can see the access from Verde Valley School Road leading out to the right from the crossing below middle of the image and Cathedral Rock. Oak Creek kind of snakes its way down the left side of the image and you can see the more intense greens in the trees that border the creek. The truly iconic photo from the crossing is on a diagonal line from the crossing to Cathedral Rock. It is a narrow perspective albeit an intensely beautiful perspective.
The upper loop area is on the left side of the photo from roughly half way down the image and above that on the left is airport mesa (can’t see it); above and to the left of Cathedral Rock is the Chapel area, running the rock line up and to the right of Cathedral Rock you get to Castle Rock just off the image to the right and the populated area below and to the right of Cathedral Rock is Crimson Ranch, Highland Estates et al and the upper right corner is looking into Jacks canyon and Pine Valley and bottom of the image is Cross Creek Ranch … I think. Bell Rock is upper right and only the top is visible and just above that Courthouse Rock. So that is the two-bit tour tonight. A different view than is normally seen and a fun one. After taking this from about 8,000’ I dropped down to about 5800’ to do some close up shooting of Cathedral Rock; I like the overview, shadows and flow in this photo though.
Fun and busy day underway … four flights in the last four days and I see no reason to stop with that … this is fun! I flew up to the San Francisco Peaks yesterday and cruised the ridgelines. A lot of putrid looking stuff in the air so not much in the way of photos … all hazed out. It was probably a lot better (usually is) at lower altitudes, but I spent time at 14,000’ and came down to 12,000’ to cruise the ridgeline … and lower and closer cause I felt like it, then back to Sedona. Almost exclusively using the Canon 5DsR 50MP camera on my aerial shooting now so the detail I am getting is absolutely amazing. The throw away of pixels to get down to this size image is about 98% so if you ever want one of these aerial shots printed expect something amazing … if you are familiar with the film concept of contact prints from the negatives, a contact print from this camera would be almost 20” x 30”.
As always you have free right to share these images with family and friends and as always for personal, not commercial use. Always give photo credit and mostly just enjoy the beauty that is to be found on this wonderful little planet … it is all around you. I allow governmental agencies and non-profits free use of my images, just contact me for permission first. The largest photo that goes out for free sharing is about 1.5MP and wonderful for electronic viewing and smaller prints … anything larger is the commercial enterprise. Again, please respect the copyright … personal use is terrific and many individuals use them as a basis for paintings and such and that is okay … if you feel like making a donation for the use they are accepted. Smiles!
Had no idea how much I missed being in the air … YES!!!
Have a great day and share your joy with those you meet … smiles go a long way.
Ted
Hold high your head and be an honest man.
May kindness guide your daily steps
And in each deed and thought let Christ’s sweet soul always reflect itself,
And love your fellow men as I love you.
May words unkind and false ne’er pass your lips,
Nor harsh and low ambitions drive you on.
— Max Ehrmann, from Breaking Home Ties
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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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