Lake Almanor, Northern California

by Sherri on October 16, 2013

sherri meyer photography, plumas county, california travel

Lake Almanor at Sunset

There are no shortages of great sunsets at Lake Almanor! Even on a boring sky day, if you wait long enough you can usually count on a great sunset. Depending on where you are, you can also include Mount Lassen in your composition.

I usually like to include people in my sunset photos such as in this article Plumas County RV Trip I wrote recently. But, I also shoot them without people in them, during my photo sessions. You never know when the need for one over the other may occur!

If you like this photo, please share it with your friends. Also, please feel free to ask questions or leave a comment below.

Sign up for our Photo Newsletter!

Plumas County RV Trip

by Sherri on October 2, 2013

RVing, Northern California, Lake Almanor, Canyon Dam, Plumas County, Sherri Meyer Photography

RV camping at Forest Park RV Spaces, Canyon Dam, California.

We did it! Not only did Jeff, me, Hope (my Mom) and Cocoa (our dog) just return from a fantastic RV trip, but it was our first one! We have had the 26 foot travel trailer for several months now, but had yet to try out the many awesome features it has, hence the main purpose of this trip. We baked brownies in the oven, cooked burgers and steak on the RV-Q, tried out the shower, microwave, CD player and more.

Forest Park RV Spaces, Plumas County, Plumas County, Sherri Meyer Photography

Jeff, Mom & Cocoa walking in the Plumas National Forest bordering Forest Park RV Spaces.

We spent a wonderful week at the Forest Park RV Spaces in Canyon Dam. It was the perfect RV park for our needs. The RV spaces were very spacious with plenty of shade, was dog friendly and backed up to the Plumas National Forest. The owners Joe and Crystal were very friendly and helpful during our stay. We did a lot of research on places to stay in the area before leaving home and this was definitely “The best bang for the buck!”

Mill Creek Falls, Hike, Lassen National Park, Northern California, Sherri Meyer Photography

Mill Creek Falls, Lassen National Park, Northern California.

Canyon Dam is located at the Southern end of beautiful Lake Almanor and about a one hour drive to the southwest entrance to Lassen National Park. For one of our day trips, we met up with local photographer and friend Jan Carmichael Davies, for a hike to the very unique Mill Creek Falls in Lassen. It was 3 1/2 miles round trip and a wonderful mix of uphill, downhill and nearly level terrain. It was just what the doctor ordered!

Sherri Meyer Photography

Jan hard at work!

Before we left home, I made a photo shoot list of some of the things I wanted to do and photograph during our visit to the area. Exploring the back roads is always one of the top priorities. After a recommendation from Jan and studying the California Gazetteer, we opted for a drive out to Round Valley Reservoir for another day trip.

On the way there, we stumbled upon one of the neatest old, abandoned log cabins in the woods I have ever seen. Of course, we hung out there for quite awhile capturing photos of it. Check it out!

Plumas National Forest, Northern California, Old Log Cabin, Sherri Meyer Photography

Old log cabin in the woods, Plumas National Forest, Northern California.

We finally pried ourselves away from this cute little cabin and continued on, taking the wrong fork in the road on the way to Round Valley Reservoir. We didn’t go too far out of the way though and we saw plenty of awesome scenery we wouldn’t have seen otherwise. We eventually made it to our destination and were pleasantly surprised at how beautiful it was.

Round Valley Reservoir, Plumas National Forest, Northern California, Sherri Meyer Photography

Round Valley Reservoir, Plumas National Forest, Northern California.

Round Valley Reservoir was beautiful at a distance, as well as close up and personal. One end of it had lily pads galore. I love shooting nature close ups and this was a very exciting subject to work with.

Lily pads, Round Valley Reservoir, Plumas National Forest, Northern California, Sherri Meyer Photography

Lily pads on Round Valley Reservoir, Plumas National Forest.

You could find us relaxing by Lake Almanor, waiting for the sweet light all but a couple of nights we were in the area. The next photo is a great example of how I maximize a photo shoot. Included in this image are several of the shots I had on my shoot list for the trip. They are: sunsets, silhouettes, landscapes, outdoor recreation, Lake Almanor and Mount Lassen. We arrived early and I decided on a background first. In this case, it was Mount Lassen. Then I waited patiently for my subjects to arrive and a brilliant sky. This is what I got. It was definitely worth the wait!

Mount Lassen, Northern California, Outdoor Recreation, Boating, Fishing, Lake Almanor, Sherri Meyer Photography

Fishing on Lake Almanor at Sunset, with Mount Lassen in the background.

We did a lot of relaxing too. We also took a drive to Juniper Lake in Lassen National Park. To get there, you enter from the town of Chester. It was a nice drive, but not nearly as exciting as other parts of the park. It was also very windy and cold up there.

Juniper Lake, Lassen National Park, Northern California, Sherri Meyer

Whatever it takes to get the shot! Here I am laying down on the job, shooting Juniper Lake, Lassen National Park.

The photo below is what I was shooting! 🙂

Juniper Lake, Lassen National Park, California, Sherri Meyer Photography

Juniper Lake, Lassen National Park, California.

Our first RV trip was a huge success. We learned a LOT, took plenty of notes and photos and we can’t wait to go again! Don’t be surprised if our next trip is BOON DOCKING!

I hope you found this article interesting and informative. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below in the comments section. 🙂

Happy travels,

Sherri

To order prints or greeting cards of this area, please visit our Shasta Cascade Gallery. We will be adding more photos to this gallery soon! To see more galleries click here.

PS – Don’t forget to sign up for our Photo Newsletter!

Camping at Sugar Pine Reservoir

by Sherri on August 27, 2013

Sugar Pine Reservoir, Northern California

Camp Host at Sugar Pine Reservoir.

Camping at Sugar Pine Reservoir is something my husband and I had never done until this month. Going there had always been a day trip, since we live so close and the kind of camping we usually do is more remote. What motivated us to finally give it a try? Well, every time we were packing it up to head home, the light was just getting good for photography and the water was always calming down, making it the perfect time to take the kayaks out for a paddle. The solution was to camp there, for the first time in over 25 years. We brought along my 91 year old Mother and 3 of our friends to test it out!

Camping Sugar Pine Reservoir, Foresthill, California

Sugar Pine is senior & dog friendly too!

What we found out was it was a really great place to camp, but like most places there were pros and cons. We camped at the Shirttail Campground. Our first choice was Giant Gap, but there were no spaces available, when we made our reservations over a month in advance. The campsites were very nice and well maintained, although some of them were very small and close together. The campsite we camped in was barely big enough for 2 tents, 2 vehicles and 6 people.

While we were camping there, we checked out all of the campsites and found that sites 1-7 were the nicest, at least in our opinion. They were closer to the lake and hiking trail, had more space and were not so close to the next door neighbor. I doubt that we would stay in that campground again, if we couldn’t reserve one of those sites!

The restrooms were nice, roomy and kept very clean thanks to the camp hosts, who just happen to be from our home town of Auburn. They had just started working there and were doing a fantastic job of taking care of the important things. There were also water faucets very close to the campsites, but I recommend using the water for cooking only. It was rusty and awful tasting.

Sugar Pine Reservoir, kayaking, Foresthill, California

Kayaking into the sunset at Sugar Pine Reservoir.

Boating of all types is excellent here too, however if you have a fishing boat or a sailboat, you have to launch them about two miles away at the boat ramp. If you have kayaks, canoes, or stand up paddle boards, you have to carry them a bit of a distance to the water. Depending on the weight of your boats, this can get to be a pain. We prefer to camp near the water. For us, this was the biggest con about camping at Sugar Pine.

Hiking, Sugar Pine Reservoir, Foresthill, California

Hiking near the campgrounds at Sugar Pine. When the water level is high, this is an island.

Sugar Pine has a wonderful hiking, biking and running trail that goes around the whole lake and is about 3 1/2 miles long. The area closest to the campgrounds is paved, in the sun and suitable for wheelchairs, while the rest of it is dirt and mostly shaded. It is a great mix of flat and hilly and you can access it from the campground, or the boat launch area and hike just a portion of it and back if you prefer.

For more information on Sugar Pine Reservoir, please refer to my post “Top 6 Lakes to Kayak & Canoe in Northern California.”

Please feel free to ask a question, or make a comment below.

Happy camping!

~Sherri

 

Outdoor Lifestyles on Flickr

by Sherri on September 12, 2011

Camping at Lake Almanor, near Mount Lassen, Northern California.

Surprise! I did something I thought I’d never do. I jumped on the Flickr bandwagon. I have nearly 100 photos uploaded now and a few sets. Here is my largest and most popular set; Outdoor Lifestyles.

I will be adding many more images here and to our main Photography Website in the coming weeks! Be sure to check back often!

C ya,

~Sherri

Sherri Meyer Photography

Gold Lake Adventure & Fall Photo Tours

by Sherri on September 27, 2010

Gold-Lake-10

Sunrise on Gold Lake, Sierra County, California.

Have you been following me on Facebook? I seem to be a little more active there lately, than I am on this Blog. If you have, then you would know that Jeff & I just returned from another adventure in Northeastern California.

We 4-wheeled in to the OHV campground at the back side of Gold Lake, one of our favorite off-the-beaten-path locations. Our friend, Jeff, came along too and he had never been 4-wheeling before! I hiked in to the campground with our dog, Cocoa, while spotting for the two Jeff’s. Cocoa thought that was pretty cool!

When we arrived, someone was camped in “our” favorite spot. We were really disappointed at first, but it didn’t take us long to get over it. We found a better spot, one which was always occupied before.

Oh boy, did we luck out. We ended up in a large campsite at the end of the campground. We had room for 5 or 6 tents and our own private beach for the boats! The campground was built with OHV Green Sticker funds and all of the sites had new tables, fire rings and some even had “Bear Boxes.” The outhouse near our camp was a room with a view (no roof). It was great on starlit nights, but not so good when it rained!

During our stay we kayaked, hiked, relaxed, told stories, ate great food, drank great beer and came home with lot’s of new images! 🙂 I’m giving this trip a 10 out of 10! I guess the weather and water could have been a wee bit warmer. But, there are always trade-offs! If the weather was warmer, chances are the sky would have been boring. We would not have had the wonderful light shows we had = less photo opportunities!

Fall Photo Tours & Workshops Coming Soon! I am really excited to announce that I will be leading several half & full day Fall Gold Country Photo Tours & Workshops, scheduled for October & November. Since there will not be much advance notice, they will be offered at a special “2 for 1” price. More information on this coming soon on this Blog, on Facebook and in our October Newsletter!

As always, thanks for visiting and your comments and questions are greatly welcomed and appreciated!

Happy Trails,

Sherri

Blackberry Cobbler Anyone?

by Sherri on October 9, 2009

Utica-Reservoir-13

Vicki West cooking Dutch Oven Blackberry Cobbler, Utica Reservoir, Alpine County, CA

Move over summer. Fall is here.

This wraps up my summer series at Utica Reservoir. Our wonderful friend and Professional Chef, Vicki, came all the way out from Colorado to help celebrate my Birthday. What a gal!

She hauled 3 Dutch Ovens with her and all the makings for Beef Brisket and Blackberry Cobbler (minus the Blackberries – we picked those in our neighborhood) for my Birthday dinner Saturday night.

Vicki spent much of the day prepping and cooking. Jeff gladly assisted her during the cooking process. He wants to get into Dutch Oven Cookery too. It was quite amazing to watch and photograph. But, the best part of it all was eating it!

If anyone wants the recipes for the Beef Brisket and/or the Blackberry Cobbler, just leave a comment below. I’m sure I can get them for you, when she returns home to Colorado. She is currently working at a ranch in Wyoming and should be returning home soon!

Room with a View

by Sherri on October 7, 2009

Utica-Reservoir-12

View of Utica Reservoir in Alpine County, CA at sunrise, from inside our tent.

Fall has arrived. That said, I will be wrapping up my summer series on Utica Reservoir soon. Then, my focus will be on Fall images.

This photo was shot from inside our tent at 5:30 in the morning. I didn’t feel like messing with the tripod, so I shot this at ISO 3200. My camera (Nikon D300) does very well at the higher ISO’s. I can also reduce the digital noise using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Even so, I couldn’t reduce the noise enough for my liking.

So, what did I do?

I took this image into Photoshop CS3 and applied “Cutout,” one of my favorite artistic filters. It did exactly what I hoped it would. It covered up all the noise and rendered an image that was pleasing to the eye.

I hope you like it!

Thank you for visiting. If you would like to leave a comment, simply click on the “comments” link (add your message in the box) at the bottom of this post.

Visit our Stock Photo Website for links to photo galleries.

Lightroom Photo Makeover

by Sherri on September 22, 2009

Fruit-Salad

Camp Fruit Salad, Utica Reservoir, Alpine County, California.

I’m not a Food Photographer. But, I like to pretend to be one once in awhile.

This photo was taken during our recent camping trip with friends to Utica Reservoir. Putting the salad and arrangement together was a collaboration. I had the Gingham tablecloth. Vicki had the blue enamel bowl. Kim supplied the cloth napkin. We all supplied the ingredients.

It was a lot of fun and I’m happy with the results. I think it will work just fine as a “Camping Stock Photo.”

The Makeover

Photo #1 – To develop this image, I used Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Photo Management Software. To improve my original image (see below), I did the following:

  1. Created a Virtual Copy.
  2. Used the Nikon D300 Preset and increased the exposure by 1/2 of a stop.
  3. Set the Clarity to +40.
  4. Set the Vibrance to + 60.

Photo #2 – This is the way the photo looked straight out of the camera.

Fruit-Salad-2

Camp Fruit Salad, Utica Reservoir, Alpine County, California.

I hope you enjoyed this photo makeover.

Thank you for visiting. If you would like to leave a comment, simply click on the “comments” link (add your message in the box) at the bottom of this post.

Visit our Stock Photo Website for links to photo galleries.

Lake Tahoe, California

by Sherri on November 10, 2008


 Fallen Leaf Lake (foreground) and Lake Tahoe, California, taken from the Mount Tallac Trail.

After leaving Blue Lake, we drove south on 395 and headed for Fallen Leaf  Campground, in South Lake Tahoe.

Some of our friends joined us there for the last leg of our road trip. While we were there, we hiked the spectacular Mount Tallac Trail.

This photo was taken during our hike. There are so many photos of Lake Tahoe that all look pretty much the same. I wanted to capture a more unique shot of this very popular subject.

Here is another post I wrote about our visit to Lake Tahoe.

Visit our Website for links to photo galleries.

Likely General Store

by Sherri on November 7, 2008


Likely General Store, Modoc County, California

It’s not too likely that you have been to the Likely General Store before. If you have, you will know how fun it is to browse the variety of merchandise they carry.

One of the things I love about little itty-bitty towns is they often have one of these types of stores. They carry the basic food items in case your camping supplies get low. Then, there is the popular blue camping enamel ware, cast iron cookery, arts & crafts and my favorite greeting cards by Leanin’ Tree.

We ran out of supplies while camping at Blue Lake. We could either drive into Likely, or drive a few miles further to the BIG (population under 3,000) town of Alturas. On this particular day, that was a no brainer. We opted to visit the Likely General Store. I so fondly remember stopping here when I was a kid and it hasn’t changed a bit.

Check out the gas sign. This was just this past August. Granted, the fuel prices in Likely run a little higher, due to their location. But, just 3 months later, our prices here in Auburn have dropped to $2.49 per gallon.

Let’s just hope we don’t see gas prices this high again any time soon!

Visit our Website for links to photo galleries.

← Previous Entries