By Ted Grussing
… a long time ago when the earth was erupting with fire and brimstone, forests were being ravaged and taking on new forms and purposes. Such was the case at a place we now know as Sunset Crater and the trees were scorched, gnarled, and distorted into mystical shapes and became home to spirits and creatures who eternally prowl the landscape looking for prey. High in a wooden cave, One surveils the landscape looking for movement, shadows and shapes that do not belong there and once seen or sensed she will launch her attack … successful, she survives another day and another creature has served its purpose as prey … life goes on.
Saturday I did a shoot of House Mountain which begins on the immediate south side of the village and is actually quite large, although from the ground its prominence is not overly high. Once part of the plateau and the rim, it is now separated from the rim. The volcano is a shield volcano which erupted about 15,000,000 years ago and in addition to the rim retreating to the north time has exposed the features of the volcano. The northern side of the volcano is more or less, straight line whereas to the other three compass points it has noticeable flows of lava. It is thought that this is because at the time it erupted, it was part of the Colorado Plateau rim. The geology of the Sedona area goes back about 316,000,000 years and would have been somewhat recognizable maybe 10,000,000 million years ago … the first humans arrived in the area about 13,000 years ago. Wayne Raney has a very informative book titled Sedona Through Time and it is available on Amazon for $15.95 at: https://www.amazon.com/Sedona-Through-Time-Wayne-Ranney/dp/0970120389/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sedona+through+time&qid=1557216801&s=gateway&sr=8-1. This is a must read if you live in the area. Busy reading it myself and it is giving me more ideas for aerial shoots.
Up to the Flagstaff Arb in the morning and then out to Rogers Lake … time to go there on the ground!
Have an absolutely wondrous day today … keep breathing as we get to do so for such a short period of time … make each breath provide you with a moment to enjoy life on this little planet and to make the day a better one for someone else too.
Cheers
Ted
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth
quietly and clearly, and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit.
— Max Ehrmann
###
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.
More about Ted Grussing …