Saturday morning: While it was still dark, before dawn, Sophie and I began our trek up a small mountain to capture the sunrise.  Immediately, I realized that the flashlight that I keep in my camera bag didn’t work and I had to negotiate the rocky ascent with a dim light from my iPhone. Fortunately, Sophie led the way.

We weren’t on the mountain long before I realized there was another problem. I had diligently checked the forecast for Sedona before leaving home, but I had paid attention to only the daytime highs (thankful for the possible break from our 95+ degree Phoenix temps). Now, I own a warm winter coat and gloves, but they were inconveniently tucked in the back of my closet back home while my hands and feet began to feel numb. Worse than that, my little cocker spaniel shivered and huddled in the freezing weather.

We waited for nearly an hour before the sun’s rays began to inch over the mountain; however, it was not in vain. I used the time to wait, to pray, to practice meditation (I’m terrible at it as my mind will not quiet down). I enjoyed the pure quiet in that suspended state between sleep and wakefulness, while the sky slowly lightened.

The site I’d chosen is one of the famous vortexes of Sedona. I won’t take this space to explain the vortex, but your can find out more by googling “vortex Sedona” if you are interested. I, however, did not experience the energy that many people claimed to feel (only COLD).

7:03 AM 10/13/12 ISO 250, 1/60 at f/18 105 mm, Canon EOS 60 D

Eventually the sun’s radiance slowly casts its glow upon the face of the red rock formations in the East, but nothing spectacular was happening. However, when I turned around I audibly gasped at the breathtaking beauty as the sun splashed its color toward the West.

7:08 AM, 10/13/12, 1/40 sec at f/18, ISO 250, 24 mm, Canon EOS 60D

7:09 AM, 10/13/12, 1/40 sec at f/18, ISO 250, 70 mm, Canon EOS 60D

LESSON #4: 1) Plan for the weather. 2) Change the settings for sharper focus. Do you see the settings on the above images. I should have set the ISO at 100 and the aperture at f/11. 3) Use the tripod (which I did this time, I am happy to report). 4) Use a cable (or off-camera) release to further minimize camera shake. 5) Check ALL equipment before leaving home, not just the camera gear. A working flashlight would have been invaluable as I stumbled up the mountain in the dark.

I couldn’t leave the top of the mountain without commemorating our early morning experience.  Sophie is not at all happy as she continues to shiver against the cold.

After I got the shots from the top of the mountain, I drove to the other side of town and watched the early morning light and shadow play across the the famous Bell Rock in Sedona.

Even though I did not produce an image sharp enough to make a large print to hang on my wall, I did learn valuable lessons about shooting landscape, and I had the chance to relax my mind as I stood in awe, dwarfed by the magnificence of this incredible natural world God has given us.