Arizona. What do you think of when you hear the name of this state? For most people that I know/have asked, it's usually one or a combination of these words: desert, hot, cactus, Grand Canyon, illegal immigration, Republicans, guns, and/or Sheriff Joe Arpaio. But the thing is, almost all of those words only deal with the Phoenix-Metro area in Arizona, which houses over 2/3rds of Arizona's 6.7 million people. So while it may apply for the majority of Arizonans, the Phoenix-Metro area is only around 23,500 square kilometers in area, compared to the 295,234 square kilometers in area that the whole state occupies. Thus, there is a LOT of Arizona that lies outside of this sphere that many people don't think about.

Arizona is a beautiful state, politics aside. It's amazing how driving only an hour or so north already begins putting you in part of the other 272,000 square kilometers of the state that isn't a desert burning at God-forsaken temperatures like 115 degrees Fahrenheit (for the rest of the world, that's around 46 degrees Celsius, but you have to admit, the triple digit number makes it seem even more threatening and Hell-ish). But alas, as you move north, the shrubs and cacti of the desert make way for thicker, denser bushes, and then eventually, real trees that are dozens of feet tall, laying in areas surrounded by grass and greenery. All within an hour or two's worth of driving. Fun fact of the day: The Orre region in Pokemon was inspired by Phoenix and the rest of the state due to the diversity of biomes (dry, flat deserts, high-altitude mountain ranges, deep forests, etc).

As stated in the preview post, I went on a trip with friends up north in Flagstaff. We were there for 5 days, hiking and going to various places up north to enjoy the beautiful views and weather. Up north, there are real rivers, like Oak Creek, that we visited. We also visited the Lava River Cave, which was wonderfully dark and mysterious, as well as cold (around freezing temperature in certian parts). However, I did not have a chance to take photos in either of these locations. But, I did snag some photos at this mountain, whose name I cannot find anywhere. Absolutely beautiful.

We also hiked on Fatman's Loop, a popular hiking trail located within Flagstaff. The difference in scenery was beautiful; it was wonderful seeing a trail littered with greenery and tall trees, as well as clear, blue skies and forest all around. Sometimes I had to remind myself I was still in the same state. It's just so different from home.

Northern Arizona is beautiful. Don't get me wrong, I think the desert is beautiful and amazing as well, but each area has its own aesthetic that makes it beautiful. Although, the lower temperatures, pleasant breeze, and fewer people are also very nice. Sometimes, a change in scenery is wonderful.

More pics:

As my last blog post mentioned, I always wanted to try rolling shots of cars. Thanks to my friend who also wanted me to try it and his girlfriend/also my friend who was willing to drive my car while I took photos, I got to try it last Friday. We decided to do it in the morning, close to sunrise. This, plus the fact that the road we wanted to do this on, the State Route 87, is half an hour away from our houses, meant we had to wake up at 5am and still miss a good portion of the sunrise and the golden hour. But, after meeting in Fountain Hills, figuring out how our walkie-talkies worked (so we could communicate and I could tell my friend where to position himself relative to me), and driving out onto the freeway, we got settled in. I moved to the back seat and first learned that sticking half my body out the window of a car moving at 50 miles per hour really wasn't that bad. However, the wind on my sinuses was, so I could only stick out for 30 seconds at a time when facing away from the wind, 15 seconds max when facing towards the wind. After quite a few horrible shots and subsequent adjustments, I got into a groove.

It always amazes me how it only takes around an hour of driving to go from a desert landscape to a mountain/forest landscape. As much as I love the desert, it gets monotonous after a while; nothing but flat, sandy, landscape with low-growth shrubbery and cacti. As we drove, it was interesting for me to see the transition as cacti became replaced with trees, and blank mountains were replaced with mountains filled with green bushes and trees. It made for some nice backdrops to the photos.

I have to say, the road was super nice. Someday I'll have to come back just to drive on it. I was kind of bummed to not be able to drive, but hey, it's for art.

Even though it was only a short stint up north and about 20 minutes of walking around, it was certainly a nice change of pace from the city/desert. The air was crisp, the sun wasn't burning a hole through my face, and it was quiet, except for the sounds of birds and insects. Even though I've always preferred urban environments, there was a very strong allure I felt towards the less tamed mountains. I certainly wish to come back here sometime for more shoots.

On the way back, we decided to get some shots with the headlights up, just for fun. Headlights go up, headlights go down.

It was certainly a fun experience. I have to say, part of the reason why I enjoyed it was because of the walkie-talkies. We could talk to each other at a whim, as if we were just sitting and hanging out, except the seats we were sitting on moved at 60mph. I definitely wish to have more of these kind of shoots.

Here are some digitally edited photos, these made for some very nice sharp, high-contrast images:

Monochrome was pretty nice too:

And here are the four images from the other blog post: