Don't Miss the Forest for the Vista in Sedona

If you looked at the tourism literature or the websites about the Sedona area, you would think that all the beauty is tied up in vistas out on the horizon. In these images, the foreground presented unusual beauty and a contrast to the distant mesas and mountaintops. Adding drama to the images were the burned, black trees. One hiker we chatted with near the picture below thought he recalled the fires swept through in 2006. That made sense. The forests didn't smell like a barbecue, but in places they looked like one. While many trees were destroyed, it was amazing how many trees survived without a sign or with merely singed bark.

This image was taken near the north vista during our gale-force-wind hike on Wilson Mountain. You can see burned trees mingling with healthy on the right side of the panoramic. I bracketed this image but ended up only using one exposure to make the panoramic. I like how the interest is all focused close-in. The distant mesa is a dramatic presence that provides context and scale for the viewer, but the mood of this image is in the trees, rocks, clouds and the hoodoo below.