OTD, Jan 05, 2014, we wake to a crisp dawn. Not the warmest of nights under the Arizona sky, but a good night's rest none the less.
The day before, spent at Cathedral Rock, met out longing desire to be under the desert sun, but we would have given anything to spend just another day down in Sedona to really satiate our solar appetite. With a 9 hour drive ahead of us back to Colorado, we stick to a simple plan of visiting the Chapel of the Holy Cross. We tear down camp, pack our things, remove our traces, and head out.
The Chapel of the Holy Cross is an iconic landmark in Sedona and has held a strong interest for me in terms of its construction and its impression on the landscape. The building itself is of a clean lined, yet rugged and detailed designed. The facade from a distance looks sleek, but closer inspection of the materials reveals it's fabrication. A mixture of concrete and gravel gives this building its sharp lines and rusted color that blends effortlessly with its perch at the base of the buttes on the outer edges of town. The chapel feels as if it had been carved right out of the sandstone by the hands of a master craftsman. A perfect juxtaposition of subjective order out of objective chaos.
^ From our first day in Sedona ^
Seeing the chapel from only the front as you would if you were to just drive by it is impressive on its own, but take the time to walk around to the backside and a whole new and elegant dimension to the chapel is discovered. Keeping the clean design, but adding the curves in the ascending ramp visitors and churchgoers use to get inside the chapel was a design element that struck me with inspiration.
Paths
Though I didn't realize it at the time, these images would become the catalyst necessary for me to pursue the style of imagery that I would later create in my Vegas series. Returning to school with these photos in the following days gave me positive feedback as to where my efforts would lie in my fourth semester of Colorado Mountain College's Photography and New Media Program. These photos and many others, to be posted soon, will leave you with a trail of elements that reveal my process and desire to create this style of photography. As I said before, some good images and some bad; some happy times and some depressing; but all necessary for the development of my vision.
We wrap up our tour of the chapel by meeting each other in the courtyard and taking in one last look of just what a place we spent the last three days was. Growing up on the western slope of Colorado, and being so close to the desert, these impromptu type trips westward and to follow the warm weather were quite frequent in my childhood. To this day I still get giddy at the excitement of living out of a dusty car, hiking under crystal blue skies, and feeling the warmth of the sun if only for a weekend. It's a rush that puts all the senses on edge, and keeps your curiosity alive. This feeling is something that I strive to find in each new day, and each new image I make.
