It had been way too long since being on the road and out of the city. All of my photography this year has been local until today. This afternoon was spent in Sedona, Arizona at one of my favorite locations, Cathedral Rock for a sunset shoot. Although I have shot here a few times, none of my images have told the story I wanted.
Usually I go out shooting by myself, but today was different. I met up with one of my second cousins who lives in Sedona. Turns out, my mom and her dad were first cousins. We went to junior high and high school together, but we weren’t friends nor enemies, just two girls who knew each other in the same small town in Southeast Iowa. Back then we didn’t know we were related. I have known for some time, don’t recall how I discovered this, and today we finally got together as cousins. The original plan was to do quite a bit of shooting, but we had too much to talk about.
The last couple of days has brought rain to Arizona once again, so Oak Creek was flowing at a steady pace. Clouds were moving in along with a storm and my hopes were high for an amazing sunset. We were actually in the middle of the creek on some dry rock, but I was unable to get the composition I wanted as there were several people enjoying the creek today. My chances of all the people moving were rather slim, so I decided to go further into the creek on some rocks that were only an inch or two under water. However, the rocks were covered in algae and quite slick. I was able to get a few shots and then the sun went completely behind the clouds and the light was gone. I packed up all my gear and was starting to go back to the dry rock and BAM, I fell on the slippery rocks and was in the water! It was rather cold, but felt good. I felt like a deer in the headlights for a few seconds as I was stunned. Unfortunately, my cousin had put her camera away and didn’t get a shot. My shoes and socks were drenched along with my pants. A very nice gentlemen, Rob, who was there with his wife and four beautiful children, helped me across the creek so I wouldn’t slip and fall again. I always bring an extra pair of shoes and socks when shooting near water. However, the only extra pants I had were my rain pants. Certainly not stylish, but at least they were dry.
Little did I know, but Rob would come to my rescue a second time. My car keys were in my pocket and got wet so when we got to my vehicle, I was unable to disarm the alarm system. Usually I can unlock my vehicle with the key when this happens and once I start the engine the alarm disables. Today, my vehicle wouldn’t start and the alarm would not disable. Rob suggested I pop the hood so he could remove the battery cable to hopefully reset the alarm. We tried a couple of times, but it didn’t work. Finally, we decided to take the cable off and wait several minutes. This time it worked! We said good-bye and went on our way.
The shot above, is the one I took from the middle of the creek. Was it worth it? I think so, do you?
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Different Isn't Wrong, It's Just Different 