Sedona Arizona

After leaving the cold Grand Canyon we visited Sedona Arizona.  Lots of photo ops, but we just visited for a few hours.  The Visitor Center was very helpful in giving us some pointers to make the best of our time there.  

I had my crystal ball on the trip, too.  Found out that you can burn a spot in your hand if not careful  note the bright spot on my finger, it got reallll hot

I guess someone was real fast and ran out of their shoes.  Found these in the middle of a parking lot\.

A visit to Sedona is not complete without a visit to the Chapel of the Holy Cross.

Grand Canyon Morning Shoot

Up at 5:45 to get some sunrise pictures.  Staying in the hotel on the south rim encourages this kind of activity.  Regardless of the 25-degree temperature at that time of the morning.  

The next four pictures were taken over a 6 minute period.  Notice the change in the shadows.

These are some more from that morning. I have plenty more but you probably don't want to see them all.

Of course, there is always time for one whimsical shot.

The Kaibab squirrels were very friendly.  And somewhat dangerous, they bite!

Grand Canyon Evening Shoot

As usual, I am behind on my blog.  Maybe I should rename it to Richard Procrastination Blog. Rather than renaming the blog I will set a goal for 2020 to do better in posting.  I have to get better at processing my images in a more timely manner. It is more fun to take the pictures than processing,  But for now, here we go with a trip we took this past October - November.  Stop one is the Grand Canyon sunset pictures.  We got to the south rim right at sundown.  It was cold and I jumped out of the car grabbed my camera and tripod (yes I am using my tripod more) and ran to the rim.  I had a medium weight jack, no gloves, and a hat. By the time I finished shooting my hands were numb and my nose was frozen. 
   

Portfolio Review

I had a new experience this month - I participated in a Portfolio Review.  This review is where a panel of judges review a themed presentation of my images.  This is a free benefit of membership in the Northwest Houston Photography Club.  These opportunities can cost a hundred or more dollars.  So I took advantage of this free opportunity.  We had a public viewing first, then two nights later we had our personal review.  In my case, I met with three professionals and received some great pointers. Here are my submissions with a theme of "PLACES OF REST."   Enjoy!!

Reflection Rest

Majestic Rest

Swinging Rest

Swamp rest

Prickly Rest

Biological Rest

Riverside Rest

Eternal Rest

Great Smoky National Park

This past September I spent a week on a Road Scholar tour  (roadscholar.org) photographing parts of the Great Smoky National Park.  A week is definitely not long enough to photograph the park, but it was a fun start.  I was part of a group of 20 photographers, we were lead by two professionals and a "storyteller."  The storyteller told us history and fun facts about the Smokys.  I was hesitant to go thinking I am being led to spots where lots of other people had placed their tripod, but I threw caution to the wind and went and I do not regret going.  Yes, I did place my tripod in the same area lots of other tripods had been - BUT this is my tripod and my picture.  The pros (Bonnie Cooper (www.bonniecooperphotography.com) and Don Mcgowan (www.earthsongphotography.com) ) gave great thoughts, suggestions, and inspiration, and they knew where to go.  We had sunrise and sunset shoots along with shooting other times.
Here are some of the images I took - 

Click here to see these and more images from my trip.