Another day of vacation and, of course, another very early morning. Rachel is learning quickly why we say, “We need a vacation to recover from our vacation.” This morning we decided to shoot a place called “Little Cut” which is just ten miles south of Page, AZ. This little known area is a photographer’s paradise because of the unique rock formations and the mountains. We arrived just prior to 5 AM, and to our delight, there was just one other car in the dirt parking area. After the hordes of people last night at Horseshoe Bend, it was nice to enjoy some peace and quiet while we shot. After a very brief walk, we met up with a small group on a photo workshop. Perfect!

Just before the sun rises, the light becomes magical. As you can see in the photo below, the beehives turned orange and red, the rock walls in the distance turned pink and purple, all while the sky became a majestic blue. It was truly amazing how all these colors worked together in one scene.

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The Magical Light of Pre Sunrise

Rachel really enjoyed this sunrise shoot –  scampering from rock ledge to rock ledge. She shot everything and everywhere. Here she is alone at the top of a hill.

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Rachel, trying her hand at landscape photography… or is she shooting the tree?

In addition to all the interesting rock formations, there was a lot of vegetation from cool looking trees to wildflowers in bloom to cacti. Rachel spent a lot of time capturing close-ups of these plants (after all she is a plant biologist). At then end of the shoot, I tried to capture everything – In one final shot.

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Pulling it all together – flowers, plants, trees, rock tepees and mountains

This photo shoot was about as good as it gets We will definitely visit Little Cut again. And remember, it’s all about the light.