Sometimes the money shot sneaks up on you.
A few months ago we had family in town and took a quick trip to the Grand Canyon, stopping in Sedona on the way back to Phoenix. The quintessential scenic Arizona road trip. Both locations, though touristy and on the beaten path for photographers of any level, have a beauty and wonder that continues to surprise me.
This photo is a prime example.
We’d stopped by Chapel of the Holy Cross just before we went back to Phoenix. It was one of the last Sedona sites we’d see on the trip. I’d been there before, and wasn’t expecting anything spectacular from the many photos I was snapping: some nice family shots, a few potential new angles…
And at the peak of my “been there, done that” attitude, a group of nuns walked in the foreground as I was taking photos of the “Two Sisters” rock formation in the distance. I knew it was the money shot the second they entered the frame and conspicuously snapped a couple shots.
Despite the harsh sunlight overhead and the poor composition, it’s a one-of-a-kind photo from an over-photographed locale and now one of my favorite shots in my Sedona library.