Fall in Northern Arizona

Fall is an exciting time in Arizona.  It represents change.  For those of us living in southern Arizona, it means a relief from the hellish heat of Arizona.  No longer will you be smack with the heat when you go out to the driveway to pick up your paper.  Everything pumpkin start showing up:  Pumpkin Bagels, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin Waffles, etc.
To truly appreciate Fall, one must leave the brownish landscape of the desert to where Mother Nature does her magic every year.  Up in the higher elevations of Arizona, cooler weather means a change in color.  Trees are bracing for winter and the leaves are turning yellow and some, red.  This is not quite New England, but it's close.
On my second trip with Arizona Highways Photo Workshops (AHPW), we started in Flagstaff, about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Phoenix, Arizona.  There were 6 participants from all over the country:  Texas, Colorado, Massachusetts, Missouri (two attendees) and Arizona.  Our Zen Photographer, Shane McDermott, hails from Vancouver Island, Canada, but has lived in Flagstaff for about 10 years.  Zen because of his calm demeanor and approach to photography.  He is into meditation and yoga and the environment.  You can see his work at this site:
Wild-Earth-Illuminations

This 5-day workshop starts in Flagstaff.  Most serious photographers shoot pictures only early in the morning, around sunrise, and late in the afternoon, around sunset.  This is when you get the best light.  During the middle of the day, you get direct lighting that is too harsh.  So, for our first photo shoot, we met at 4 pm in the hotel lobby and drove about 30 minutes to the Hart Prairie area outside of Flagstaff.  Here is an open field with views of the mountains around Flagstaff.  We took pictures of clusters of aspen trees with leaves already turned yellow.  There was also a beautiful sunset with red clouds lighting the sky.

Aspen Trees Turning Yellow

Sunset at Hart Prairie

The second day's morning shoot was in Lockett's Meadows, about 45 minutes outside of Flagstaff and on the way to our next destination:  North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Here we hiked through a forest of aspen trees.  In the early morning light these trees display colors that you don't normally see during the day.  Shane showed us what to look for and how to shoot those beautiful shots of the trees.

Aspen trees, some appear blue in the morning light

Aspen trees bathed in blue light

Looking up at the yellow leaves of aspen trees

We next drove to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  The North Rim is much less crowded than the South Rim.  It's opened only a few months in the summer.  In the winter it gets so much snow that most of the time, the roads are impassable.  This is only my second visit to the North Rim but I've been to the South Rim many times.  It takes only about 1 1/2 hours to drive from Flagstaff to the South Rim but 5 hours to the North Rim.  Both rims offer great photo opportunities.

After you entered into the Grand Canyon National Park entrance, you still have about 14 miles before arriving at the lodge.  On this road, you see many aspen trees turning yellow and if you are lucky, you may see a herd of bisons grazing by the side of the road.

Bisons at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Aspens along the highway entrance into the Grand Canyon

We spent 2 nights at the Grand Canyon, taking pictures at different vantage points.  Most of them require about 30 minutes to an hour drive from the lodge.  You ate almost all our meals at the Dining Room at the lodge.  Without the crowd, the lodge area provides a very relaxing place to visit and admire the Grand Canyon.
In between the shoots, we had a photo critiquing session and a well-deserved morning off to relax and enjoy the place.

East Terrace next to the Lodge

View from Cape Royal

Expansive View from Cape Royal

Sunrise at Point Imperial

On the fourth day after the morning shoot, we drove back to Flagstaff.  About an hour before Flagstaff, we stopped at the popular Cameron Trading Post for lunch.  This Trading Post includes a hotel, gift shop and a restaurant.  One of the unique dishes in this area is the Navajo Taco.  This consists of a base of Indian fry-bread, topped with beans, ground beef, cheese, etc.  Indian fry-bread is a dough, patted flat, and deep-fried.

Navajo Taco

Morning Photo Shoot at Lockett's Meadows near Flagstaff

After 5 days and getting less than 5 hours of sleep every night, everyone was exhausted.  On the last day before everyone goes their separate ways, we gathered at one of the participants, Christye's house in Flagstaff for a brunch.  We went through some of Shane's best pictures.  It was a beautiful way to end the trip.