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July 2026
Red Rock Country
Sandstone Landscapes of the USA Southwest
A portfolio of human-made imperfect images. Captured at real locations, using real light and film or digital sensor exposed to real photons. Real life experiences and lasting memories. No AI.
Part 2 of our road trip led us to red rock country. This amazing dessert landscape includes the area around Sedona in Arizona, Monument Valley, and the sandstone formations around Moab, Utah
I hope you enjoy the photos.
JMZ
Monument Valley, Arizona-Utah
Our last visit of Monument Valley, which is located at the boarder between Arizona and Utah, dated back more than 20 years. At that time we stayed at Gouldings Lodge which is right next to the Navajo Tribal Park. This time I didn't plan to visit Monument Valley at all. However, when we drove from New Mexico to Sedona in Arizona we opted for a short detour and diverted north to the valley. It was around noon when we arrived, the worst time for landscape photography. It was a hot but cloudy day which helped a bit to control the contrasts. Last time there, I was shooting sunrise and sunset using an analog film camera, which is a totally different animal. This time I decided to go with a digital black & white approach. The different red and orange tones translate very well into gray tones. The first and third frame were taken from the 17 miles loop road in the valley, the second one was shot right from the visitor center overlook.
Sedona, Arizona
When it comes to Red Rock Country Sedona is clearly the capital of this stunning desert landscape. This was our first trip to Sedona and we dedicated four full days to explore the area. In Sedona it can already be quite hot in June, so we chose to adapt and started our activities very early and/or late in the afternoon. We had booked a bungalow at a resort just outside of Sedona which allowed for fast and easy access to the locations I wanted to photograph. If you visit Sedona it is not a bad idea to bring a capable 4x4. There are many very rugged Jeep trails leading into the Red Rock Country. One of the most famous one might be Schnebly Hill Road which starts right in Sedona Down Town. Particularly the section from Sedona to the overlook is very rough and requires high-clearance and low gear 4x4. Most folks take a guided tour or drive to the overlook from I-17 which is a regular unpaved forest road. The Red Rock Ranger District has a pretty graphic warning posted on its website: "DO NOT attempt to drive up Schnebly Hill from Sedona without a high clearance, 4-wheel drive vehicle because it will eat your vehicle for breakfast and render it utterly destroyed." After having done this road I only can agree and I don't think you could even make a couple hundred yards with a regular car. Renting a Wrangler in Sedona is about USD 550 per day without insurance! Bringing your own pays off quickly.
Bell Rock at Sunset
This area is easily accessible from the road leading from Sedona to Oak Creek.
Cathedral Rock
One evening we went to Lover's Knoll, a popular location for engagement and wedding photographers. When you get there you know why. The view of Cathedral Rock in the distance is breathtaking. However, when we got there the light was dull, due to a cloudy sky. I decided not to give up and was willing to wait until after sunset. My stubbornness was "awarded" by a brief monsoon season thunderstorm that passed right before sunset. There was thunder and I saw lightning in the distance but since the storm was moving quite fast away from me I decided to hold out. And then it happened, for a few minutes the clouds opened and Cathedral Rock was illuminated by the warm late evening light.
Sacred Pools
Photographing the Seven Sacred Pools was a bit more challenging. Actually the location is very easy to access but logistics make it quite difficult to get a decent shot of the pools. It starts with the fact that there is a parking lot at the trailhead which opens only during weekdays at 8am. Maybe 20 cars can park there. Our first attempt: we are at the gate about 20 minutes before it opens. Two cars are already ahead of us. The gate opens and the parking lot fills very quickly. Okay let's hit the trail and hike the short distance to the pools. Once at the pools we get quickly surrounded by other hikers. But this wasn't the only challenge, at that time we got there the contrasts were already so harsh that even a just somehow balanced photo was impossible. We needed plan B. Access to the pools is allowed around the clock, finding legal parking was the issue. Eventually I discovered a trailhead which was much further away but open around the clock, From there we could take another trail to get to the pools before sunrise. A 3:15am wakeup guaranteed that we could hit the trail in the dark and arrive at the pools way before sunrise. The first frame is a twilight photo taken with a 1 minute exposure time, the second shows the first sunlight hitting the rocks.
Subway Cave
A location where you want to be early, but not too early. Early to get a parking spot, not too early to have the best light. The hike is just a few miles but the climb up to the cave (you are coming up through the gap in the middle) is steep and slippery. With my heavy backpack plus tripod it took me a couple attempts to get up there. To continue the trail you walk along the ledge on the right where it starts to become much easier.
Devil's Bridge
Another 3am wakeup call. If you want to photograph Devil's Bridge without tourists standing on it you have to be early. Very early! The best way to get there is to take the 4x4-high-clearance Jeep trail to the trail head and hike the few miles up to the bridge. It was still pitch black when we got to the trail head. After we arrived at the bridge a few other folks showed up as well, but luckily nobody did an hour-long Instagram performance on the bridge. We were told in the peak season people wait for more than an hour to get their picture taken.
Sunset at Secret Slickrock
One of the many viewpoints where you can watch Cathedral Rock at sunset. Access to this location is an easy short stroll, ideal for after dinner.
Around Moab, Utah
Moab is a great town to stay if you want to explore Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. It is in the middle of nowhere but has great infrastructure and offers fast access to great landscapes. We have been in Moab many times but this time particularly it felt less busy than usually. In general during this June roadtrip we experienced less crowds than expected and for sure significantly less visitors from overseas, even in Arches National Park where we had zero wait time when we entered the park at noon!
Dead Horse Point at Sunrise
An easily accessible but amazing overview of the Colorado River. We had some haze in the air stemming from nearby wildfires.
Druid Arch, Canyonlands National Park
Druid Arch had been on our bucket list for quite awhile, The Arch is located in the remote Needle District of Canyonlands National Park, which sees only a small fraction of the overall visitation. The trail is only 11 miles in and out but you hike with no shade over slickrock, then in a sandy canyon and the last few miles are enriched with several climbing and scrambling exercises including climbing an iron ladder (I have no idea why they make the rails at the top end of the ladder always so short?) For the day we planned this hike the weather forecast predicted temps in the triple digits, and it was right. We opted for a very early start and carried much more water than we normally would. Despite an early start the hiking time is too long to be at location during prime light. Doing this would require to stay there overnight, I wouldn't recommend doing this trail in the dark. Something to consider for the next visit but not an option this time (permits....) Again, I warmed up to the idea to shoot in B&W. The photo was taken at the top of the sandstone formations, you can't see the arch from anywhere below. You need to climb all the way up! But it is absolutely worth doing it. When you see the arch its name becomes self-explanatory.
Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park
This photo was taken from the Island in the Sky overlook. I took photos there in the past and never was absolutely happy with the results. As a matter of fact today I have only one frame of those in my archive. Most of the time the deep shadows inside of the canyons rendered the photo unsatisfactory. This time I decided to "sacrifice" a post sunset shooting for this subject to avoid this issue and hoped for some color in the sky.
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