Today is the first day of a two week adventure in California. Clear sailing over the Siskiyous set the stage for a great day. Unfortunately, the only glimpse I got of Mt. Shasta was in a place where it was not safe to pull over for a photo so that op went by. I finally decided to pull off the freeway at Willows and see what I could find to photograph.
What I found was grain elevators. Who c
an resist the shapes and textures of a grain elevator? Not me for sure. Here is the first one I stopped at done in a Platinum tone black and white treatment in Topaz Black and White Effects.
The next grain elevators were metal and 
cried out for a cool tone treatment so I went with a Cyanatone, also in Topaz B&W Effects. I toned it down some using decreased saturation in Photoshop but I still think the toning is a bit overdone. I’m also not crazy about the jet streak in the sky but it could be argued that the diagonal line adds something.
I checked in to Granzella’s Inn in Williams and then set out for the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge. Now, it should be said that the Sacramento Valley Wildlife refuges are a worthy destination i
n themselves but for this trip they had to be just a fly by. I made three laps around the auto tour route and came up with this handsome Snowy Egret who seemed much more interested in his/her dinner than me and my car blind. And for once the sun was coming from the right direction.
Then there was this Western Meadowlark just hanging out on the edge of the lake, actually there were several, along with some Brewer’s blackbirds. I still can’t get over the detail in the feathers that is coming out of the 7D Mark II. Wow, just wow.
Tomorrow I make my way from Williams to Salinas or wherever I land en route to Pismo Beach where I am due to start a Road Scholar trip on Thursday. Mostly, making tracks is on my agenda for tomorrow but there should be at least one Mission on my route and who knows what else may turn up. Check in tomorrow or, better yet, subscribe to this blog and find out!