Trip to Butte Valley

Yesterday we managed to get away for the day for a photography and sketching trip to Butte Valley. Turns out it was too cold to sit outside and sketch, but I did get some interesting shots with my camera. One of the reasons I like to go to Butte Valley is the wide open spaces there, the birds at the wildlife sanctuary and the dilapidated old farmhouses which make neat subjects to photograph. The late afternoon light was perfect to catch these subjects...


View of Shasta from the Valley



Butte Valley Airport with Shasta in the Background



This old house is a personal favorite. I keep coming back to photograph it and see what happens over time. The last time I was here was 4 years ago. Since then the roof has collapsed on the back side of the house and the property has become a storage place for irrigation pipe. Another old house we went back to see had been recently bulldozed. Sad.



This male American Kestrel was very coy and kept flying to the next power pole down the road every time I would get too close.



We have a female Kestrel that has become a frequent visitor to our ranch. But this is the first male I've seen.



This ubiquitous Red Tail Hawk was very annoyed with my attention.



I finally figured out that sitting in the back of the truck and a 'stealth' approach was needed.


We also saw a large bald eagle, but I wasn't able to get close enough for a good picture. Maybe next trip...

Sundial Bridge

Yesterday we took a day off and headed to Redding with no particular place in mind. On a fluke we stopped at the Shasta Dam and lucked into an amazing tour of the dam and the powerhouse. Will post more pictures on that later. After dinner we headed over to the Sundial Bridge where I tried out some night photography. I had forgotten my tripod so I had to get creative with only a 3" high ultrapod and weird camera angles and braces. It was fun to check out the bridge and the time exposures were fun to do as there were a lot of people out walking. I'd like to go back and see the Dr. Suess show at Turtle Bay before it leaves.