Yosemite and More

Near the end of April I headed north and visited Shasta Dam. I hadn't been  there in many years and being the middle of the day wasn't overly  hopeful for a good photographic visit. I was wrong, for a guy who likes  lines in his photographs this was a wonderful opportunity. My first photo, lines, lines, lines. These are the flumes that take water from the late to the power plant. Shasta Dam is a major supplier of green energy. Changed this on to black and white. Other than the power house not much water was being let out from behind the dam. You know this was taken in late April because the lake level is so high and there's snow on Mt. Shasta in the upper left. Much of the lake is no more of a river and the mountain is bare. Go, See, Enjoy, Stay Safe and Photograph Dave

 At the end of March my photo buddy Friedhelm and I went on a little hunt for wildflowers. The hunt was successful.  I seem to be attracted to the odd man out. You'll see that several times in this post. The sun hadn't hit this poppy yet. Lupine is always a favorite. Most of the flowers were some hue of yellow. The Lupine really stood out. In this area the California Poppies were on one side of the fence. And the little yellow ones (I don't know the name) on the other side. Maybe this is what happens when you don't stay on your side. As I said yellow seemed to be the prominent color. I decided to turn this closeup of the poppy to black and white to emphasis the structure. Too much yellow. Great place for a barn! Go, See, Enjoy, Stay Safe and Photograph Dave

 I Finally upgraded my computers memory, it was either that or get a new one. It's a  lot easier to edit photos now so hopefully I'll get down to it. I have a number of blog posts pending. I was lucky enough to get up to Yosemite a few days after a snow storm  and experience a brief little flurry while I was there. I'm always in awe of Yosemite, especially in winter, it seems like everywhere you turn there's beauty. This was taken before you get to the Valley looking back down the Merced River Canyon. The high country is always impressive, especially with snow on the trees. You can almost feel the cold. And of course the view from the Wawona Tunnel is always pretty special. There's even a little water coming over  Bridalveil Falls I decided to take a trip to the Ahwahnee Hotel and while I was heading back to my car to get my wallet so I could buy a chocolate truffle I spotted the shelves behind the Ahwahnee Bar. If you look closely you can see the plexiglass shields...

 Seems like so far this year it's the year of birds for me. Not really but I have been lucky several times. I've decided to post the bird photos from several outings in this one post. I've visited the Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge, Shasta Dam and Shasta Valley National Wildlife Refuge. I'll let the Merced Wildlife Refuge birds remain in my prior post. The Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge is in far Northern California and I visited it about two weeks too late for optimum birding. Not complaining. This is one of the smaller ducks, don't think I've ever seen one before. The contrast between the dirty water of the canal and the black and white of the Buffalo Head is quite stark. Most of the Bald Eagle shots I've made are from a great distance. This one was very accommodating.  It stayed perched while I slowly approached getting as close as I  could across a canal. I believe this to be a Juvenile Red Tail Hawk by the size of it's beak and of course feathers.  I...

During the last month or so I went to the Merced Wildlife Refuge a couple of times.  There wasn't a lot of new birds to photograph so you'll see a lot of old favorites. The ones that were there seemed to be pretty accommodating to this photographer.  Usually when I photograph a White Faced Ibis they're at a distance and usually end up being overexposed. This one was right near the road and  very accommodating. This is one of my favorite birds and subjects. It's hard to catch them with they're head up since they're prolific feeders. I believe these to be Snow Geese because of the longer neck than a Ross Goose.  With the way they're flying do they lead your eyes right off the photo? Kestrels are small fast and typically skittish.  This one just watched me very carefully.  Killdeer are also a bird that likes to run away. It's a defense mechanism they use to lure predators away from their nest. This one was too busy eating near the road.    These Nort...

 I went to Yosemite the other day. It snowed a little before I got there and then rained a little turning the snow to ice. I was hoping for some fog in the valley and wasn't disappointed. It was kinda cold. This is what greeted me when I first arrived at Tunnel View Literally 10 minutes later the fog had changed. Not wanting to miss too much of the fog in the Valley I left and headed down the hill The fog in the Valley shifted from place to place. This is an interesting shot. My polarizing filter cleared up the Merced River reflection but not the fog or haze above it. As the sun hit and warmed up the Swinging bridge it gave up it's moisture  Looking the other way I saw this. Walking along the Merced River I notice this ferocious alligator about to devour a helpless pinecone. While I had hoped my depth of field was better I was still intrigued by the juxtaposition of the old leaf with a new bud along the same branch. The clouds came in and obscured much of the higher elevation....

I recently took part in a Tundra Swan tour sponsored by the  California Department of Fish and Wildlife in the Marysville area north of Sacramento. The swans over-winter on the rice fields that are flooded after the harvest to break down the rice stubble and provide habitat and food for numerous water fowl. More tours are schedules for Dec. and Jan. Since this was an organized tour my options were somewhat limited. When you have 11 cars in a caravan you can't just stop anywhere. In addition, some of the  participants didn't seem to understand that noisily closing car doors and quickly approaching the waters edge spooks the birds and they either take flight or swim away. On the way and making sure I found our starting location at the Mathews Rice Dryers I came upon this scene.  Notice the Swans are only in the middle rice paddie. Different depths attract different  birds and they flood the fields accordingly. In the background you see the Sutter Buttes. The smallest m...