Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: location close to phoenix?  (Read 7158 times)

AWeil

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 172
    • http://www.awl-photo.com
location close to phoenix?
« on: February 10, 2003, 05:01:19 pm »

If you don't want (or have the time) to leave the city, try to go hiking up and around camelback mountain. Its right there (Scottsdale) and quite surprising in the evening. Other than that, it would be Superstition Wilderness (I 10 East and up north on 88). Everything else, I'm afraid, is too far away (Clifton - with the amazing open pit mining, Globe, the dusty flatlands around Safford, the Coolidge Dam area or Tonto National Monument...)
A.Weil
Logged

Jhaelen

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 25
location close to phoenix?
« Reply #1 on: February 10, 2003, 05:39:02 pm »

The Superstition Wilderness would be a good area. The Apache Trail is a nice drive up into the northern area with some nice areas for photographing the Sonoran desert zone.

On the south side of the wilderness you can access the area from US 60. The Peralta trail road is a nice drive into the scenic area near the Peralta and Carney Springs trailhead area.

Check out this link:

http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/apache_trail/

Daniel
Logged

john van rosendaal

  • Guest
location close to phoenix?
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2003, 10:07:02 pm »

Well, I had my few hours in Arizona last weekend. The conference I attended in Scottsdale ended around noon and I had to catch a flight out of Phoenix the next day around 1 PM. I decided to spend some time in Sedona, famous for its red rocks and Oak Creek Canyon.

My experience in a nutshell: I arrived in Sedona Saturday around 3 PM, asked the park guides for the best place to shoot a sunset and sunrise (Airport Road) and drove around. The sky was cloudy in Sedona itself and made for quite dramatic landscapes. But we're still talking afternoon light. I headed up the famous road along Oak Creek Canyon and soon found myself in the driving snow at 5000 ft. After turning back and checking in at my hotel, I went to Airport Road for my sunset shots. By now, however, the snow had reached Sedona. I could hardly see the front of my car, let alone a wide open vista.

The next day, I wanted to shoot the sunrise shining onto famous Cathedral Rock. I was told that the best spot was Chapel Road. I went there in the dark and discovered that the road to the chapel (from which you would have the best view) doesn't open until 7 AM. Luckily, there was a house under construction, the future veranda of which provided a nice location. Nice, but freezing cold.

Anyway, I got some good shots of Cathedral Rock. I then again tried my luck at Airport Road and discovered that the snowfall had added to the luster of the place. There was now a wide open view, with snow-covered trees in the foreground. There were several other photographers there. After that I did some driving around, which was a mistake, because it meant that I had to seriously speed to make the normally two-hour drive back to Phoenix in time.

A couple of things to keep in mind, other than that Sedona is at 4500 ft. and thus has an unpredictable mountain climate in the winter: you need split-density filters or use Michael's digital blending technique to make the most of the red rocks and the dramatic skies; if you don't have time to hike or drive into sparsely populated areas, it pays to bring a long tele to make sure you don't get houses in every picture (the rocks are almost set in the middle of Sedona itself). I found myself using my 100-400 lens a lot more than my 15-30.

All in all, I can highly recommend Sedona. It's a great location.
Logged

jeffreybehr

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 365
  • Happily retired accountant
location close to phoenix?
« Reply #3 on: March 07, 2003, 01:40:37 am »

John, VERY nice Cathedral Rock...really dramatic.
Logged

john van rosendaal

  • Guest
location close to phoenix?
« Reply #4 on: February 10, 2003, 01:24:58 pm »

At the end of February, I will have one afternoon and one morning available around Phoenix before I have to catch my plane back East.
From studying the atlas, I get the sense that all great locations in Arizona are just beyond my reach time-wise.
I'd appreciate any good tips on where to shoot within a few hours from Phoenix airport. Thanks
Logged

Hank

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 679
location close to phoenix?
« Reply #5 on: February 10, 2003, 05:26:58 pm »

Apache Junction on Hwy-60 may be within your range.  Prior to 9-11 the military range/reservation near there was accessible to the public when not in use by the military.  It's really spectacular- rich in diverse cactus on the flats transitioning into great saguaro groves on the rocky hillsides.  I don't know who you would call regarding current status and schedules.  The cacti won't be in bloom in February, but the scenery is worth the short drive from downtown.
Logged

SteveS

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 41
location close to phoenix?
« Reply #6 on: February 24, 2003, 12:12:04 pm »

John,

Let me know where you decided to go and how it was.  I will be there in mid-March and will have the same "free time".

Thanks!

Steve
Logged

john van rosendaal

  • Guest
location close to phoenix?
« Reply #7 on: March 06, 2003, 10:43:34 pm »

I just posted two of my pictures from Sedona on Photosig.com. Here are the links:
Cathedral Rock
View from Airport Road
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up