@CAStateParks

About an hour and half drive south of Ashland on I-5 will put you in Castle Crags State Park. There are several hikes to choose from; we did Castle Dome and Indian Springs which total about 6 miles. That may not sound like much, but with over 2,200 feet of elevation gain (and, of course, decent as well) this is a strenuous hike. The views are totally worth it though.

Indian Springs is probably skipped by most, but I found that little piece of the hike to be totally worth it (on the way down).

Posted on May 5th, 2019 under nature, outside of ashland. Tags: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR Lens, california, castle crags, hike, landscape, Nikon D500, wildlife. Comments Off on Castle Crags Dome Hike

#california #mtshasta #castlelake #heartlake

Posted on February 18th, 2019 under nature, outside of ashland. Tags: california, hike, landscape, mt. shasta, nikon d7000, summer, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens for Nikon. Comments Off on Six and a half years ago…

Mt. Shasta Vista Point on I-5 near the Oregon border

@AARoads

Between Hilt and Yreka in the most northern area of Northern California (less than 20 miles from the Oregon border and about 30 miles from Ashland) you can find this exit heading south on I-5.

Posted on December 30th, 2018 under outside of ashland. Tags: california, i-5, landscape, mt. shasta, Nikon D750, signs, Tamron SP 24-70mm Di VC USD. Comments Off on Exit 780, Mt. Shasta Vista Point

We took a little road trip down south this past weekend. We spent most of our time in Napa but headed out one morning for a walk in Yountville.

Posted on March 8th, 2017 under outside of ashland, places. Tags: california, flowers, napa, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED AF-S VR, Nikon D500. Comments Off on Yountville

11-photo photomerge

@TipSquirrel #photography #phototips #photomerge #photoshop

I wasn’t thinking when I grabbed my D500 (crop sensor) instead of my D750 (full frame) to go on a hike this past Sunday. The D750 with a 24-120mm f/4G lens is perfect for hiking. The D500 turns that lens into a 36-180mm lens. I don’t really need 180mm on a hike, but I do need 24mm. When that happens the solution is to photomerge. I did so with the photo above. However, I didn’t like how much of the water at my feet wouldn’t fit. So, for the first time, I tried a different technique.

Normally I photomerge by shooting vertical images from left to right and then merge them together as a horizontal panorama. For the image below I shot vertical images from left to right, but instead of shooting one and moving right I shot one and moved down to take a second before moving right. Something like this:

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22

I didn’t know if Photoshop would be able to merge them together, but there were no issues.

22-photo photomerge

Posted on August 11th, 2016 under nature, outside of ashland, photography. Tags: california, hike, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED AF-S VR, Nikon D500, photography, photoshop photomerge, trail gulch lake. Comments Off on Trail Gulch Lake

Smith Lake, California

Today’s random, throwback photo is from May of 2015. All three girls in this photo are named Ellie. What are the odds?

Posted on February 4th, 2016 under nature, outside of ashland, people. Tags: california, ellie, hike, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED AF-S VR, Nikon D750. Comments Off on TBT

Mt. Shasta (left) and Black Butte (far right)

I never grow tired of gazing at Mt. Shasta. I have taken about ten photos from this same location (and posted about four or five of them including this one most recently), but they all look different depending on the time of day, season, and clouds. This location, by the way, is the first (of several) official viewpoints on I-5 heading south from Oregon. I was on my way down to Oakland this past Friday when I took today’s photo.

Posted on February 22nd, 2015 under nature, outside of ashland. Tags: california, mt. shasta, Nikon D750, Tamron SP 24-70mm Di VC USD. Comments Off on Mt. Shasta

hiking Castle Crags

Today’s photo is from nearly two years ago. We weren’t really hinking Castle Crags (in the background to the right), but the views of Castle Crags from this location were fantastic. For more on how to get to today’s photo spot see this prior post.

Posted on June 15th, 2014 under nature, outside of ashland. Tags: california, castle crags, hike, nikon d7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens for Nikon. Comments Off on Castle Crags

Mt. Shasta and Interstate 5 (Northern California)

Posted on May 10th, 2014 under nature, outside of ashland. Tags: california, i-5, mt. shasta. Comments Off on Mt. Shasta and I-5