The Great Escape

anwmn1

It has been far too long since my last photo trip so this past weekend, along with two like minded individuals, I made The Great Escape into some of Arizona's surreal lands.

1.


2.


As night set in the moon and out campfire provided some magical light on the sandstone among us.

3.


4.


We ventured beyond the safety of our narrow canyon continuing to shoot by moonlight.

5.


6.


During this night shoot we even witnessed a meteor falling to the Earth miles to our south with its green tail lighting the sky. Unfortunately none of use were shooting in that brief second. You will just have to believe me that it was an awesome sight to see.

Around 11:30 we decided we should catch a few hours sleep and then get back up in a few hours to shoot some more night shots before dawn. The temps plummeted to low 20's or high teens which made sleep tough and uncomfortable. Rising to ice both on the outside and inside of the windows of my Jeep I dressed and took two shoots before deciding it was stupid cold and returned to the Jeep starting both the engine and heater.

7. One of those shots in the stupid cold.



Sunrise came though the temps were still in the low 20's we dressed and continued to explore the area.

8.


9.


10. The sun crests the horizon lighting the valley with light


11.


12.


Once the sun finally rose above the canyon walls to the west the details of the rocks were washed away. We broke camp and drove almost three hours to our next campsite.

13. Another cold night awaits


14.


15. The moon rises as the sun sets



16.


17. Our accommodations at sunrise.


18.


We again broke camp after the sun rose and headed back to the Navajo Nation for lunch before meeting up with a model for a shoot along the ridge of another canyon.

Authentic Navajo clothing :thumb
Authentic Navajo model :thumb
Handmade jewelry :thumb
Unique location :thumb


Posted in people section. :deal

jdryan3

Aaron -
As usual a great collection of fantastic shots. I really like #1, #3, #6, and #13- #16 bring back memories of WP. Keep up the good work.

CWSkopec

Aaron, looks like you made excellent use of your "escape!" Amazing images!

It's difficult to even pick, but if you twist my arm, I'd have to say that #3, 9 & 12 are exceptional!

anwmn1

Thank you David and Chris.

It was a pretty good trip. Can't wait for the next one.

annnna8888

Desert and snow, yeah! It seems like it paid off to spend some time in the cold. These photos are beautiful. Hard to pick favorites, but let's say for me #3, 8 and 16 stand out.

Ana

shawnc

Love the formations in the last shot. The night shots are what I feel were the most rewarding. Great trip even with sleeping in a so called "0" deg sleeping bag in a tent the first night & half my rearend is missing from frost bite. Overall, I feel pretty good after returning to earth from these other worldly places! Great job Aaron! I'll finally get some shots posted this week sometime.

hawkeye978

Aaron,

Really nice set. I particularly like 3, 4, 9 and 14-16. I really like those last three. Great contrast between the lighting and detail in the foreground and the twilight sky.

anwmn1

annnna8888 wrote: »

Desert and snow, yeah! It seems like it paid off to spend some time in the cold. These photos are beautiful. Hard to pick favorites, but let's say for me #3, 8 and 16 stand out.

Ana

Ana- thank you for the kind words. Us desert folks are not use to this cold weather business.

anwmn1

shawnc wrote: »

Love the formations in the last shot. The night shots are what I feel were the most rewarding. Great trip even with sleeping in a so called "0" deg sleeping bag in a tent the first night & half my rearend is missing from frost bite. Overall, I feel pretty good after returning to earth from these other worldly places! Great job Aaron! I'll finally get some shots posted this week sometime.

Thanks Shawn- I look forward to seeing shots from both you and Joe.

anwmn1

hawkeye978 wrote: »

Aaron,

Really nice set. I particularly like 3, 4, 9 and 14-16. I really like those last three. Great contrast between the lighting and detail in the foreground and the twilight sky.

Thank you Tom. I appreciate the comments. The rocks up there have a lot of intricate details that are often over looked. Hard to get everything in a single frame.

eoren1

Wow Aaron - great series but seriously love that 3rd one
E

schmoo

Awesome series. You have some great color in the sky and in the rocks. It definitely looks like this trip was worth the effort and the cold.

kdog

All excellent but 3, 4, 13 are my favs, Aaron. Two thumbs up on another successful, but cold trip.

Cheers,
-joel

Sam

Very nice! Thanks for sharing....................I think #3 is the real gem here and worth the entire trip.

Sam

bryanj87

Great shots in here. I really like the night shots in particular. Well done.

jdryan3

kdog wrote: »

All excellent but 3, 4, 13 are my favs, Aaron. Two thumbs up on another successful, but cold trip.

Cheers,
-joel

Just how cold was it there? Grimace I'm sure knows cold; it is 10 where I am now. Not too bad actually.:D

anwmn1

schmoo wrote: »

Awesome series. You have some great color in the sky and in the rocks. It definitely looks like this trip was worth the effort and the cold.

Thanks Schmoo!

kdog wrote: »

All excellent but 3, 4, 13 are my favs, Aaron. Two thumbs up on another successful, but cold trip.

Cheers,
-joel

Thanks Joel- wish you could have made. I'l let you know about the return trip.

Sam wrote: »

Very nice! Thanks for sharing....................I think #3 is the real gem here and worth the entire trip.

Sam

Thanks Sam. That shot seems to be the favorite.

bryanj87 wrote: »

Great shots in here. I really like the night shots in particular. Well done.

Thanks for the comments Bryan.

Doug Solis

Loved your series. Especially like #3 & #4. Too bad the old hoodoos are losing their tops.

dlplumer

Incredible series, Aaron. Love them all clap

sgonen

Excellent, love the shapes, colors and your compositions.

Eia

3 and 4 stand out for me! It looks so warm but I know how freezing cold it really was! Looks like it was worth it.

anwmn1

Doug Solis wrote: »

Loved your series. Especially like #3 & #4. Too bad the old hoodoos are losing their tops.

Thanks Doug. It is too bad that they are falling but in a few thousand years there will be a whole new set of hoodoo formations.

anwmn1

dlplumer wrote: »

Incredible series, Aaron. Love them all clap

Thanks Dan.

I'll have a seat for you next time.

anwmn1

sgonen wrote: »

Excellent, love the shapes, colors and your compositions.

Thanks Shimon.

anwmn1

Eia wrote: »

3 and 4 stand out for me! It looks so warm but I know how freezing cold it really was! Looks like it was worth it.

Eia- definitely worth the trip and the cold.

a110p0

So many great shots.

What an amazing location.

Really dig your night shots.

Alvin