McArthur-Burney Falls Favorite

by Sherri on April 6, 2009

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McArthur-Burney Falls, Northeastern, California.

This photo of the famous McArthur-Burney Falls was taken last summer, during our Northeastern California Road Trip.

I didn’t really like the way it looked straight out of the camera at all. It was actually one of the photos that almost got dumped during the editing process. Then, the other day, I started experimenting in Adobe PhotoShop Lightroom 2.1 to see what I could come up with.

Now, it is actually one of my favorites from the series of photos I took of the falls. You can see a few more photos of McArthur-Burney Falls in my Shasta County category.

Can you figure out what I did to make this photo look like a painting? I will post the answer in a few days. Thank you for your participation!

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.

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Visit our Stock Photo Website for links to photo galleries.

Update: Thank all of you who commented on this photo of McArthur-Burney Falls. I am not going to make you wait any longer to tell you what I did to get it to look like a painting.

First of all, the original photo was way too underexposed. I really didn’t think I would be able to do anything with it, but I was wrong! I started experimenting using Lightroom 2.1, until I either got something I liked, or it was going into the trash bin.

Settings I used in Lightroom

Set Blacks to 0

Set Recovery to 100

Set Fill to 80

Set Clarity to +100

Set Vibrance to +55

Are you surprised?

North Fork of the American River

by Sherri on February 23, 2009


North Fork of the American River, taken from the Foresthill Bridge, Auburn, California.

This shot of the North Fork of the American River takes in more of the surrounding area, than the photo I posted last week. I also wanted to include the snow in this one. After all, that was the main reason I went on my photo adventure the day this was taken.

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.

You can also sign up for a “free” subscription to this Blog. Just look in the upper right hand side of the Blog under “Subscribe to Sherri’s Blog.” Then, either click on the orange button, or enter your email address and click on “subscribe.”

Visit our Stock Photo Website for links to photo galleries.

American River From a Different Perspective

by Sherri on February 19, 2009

North Fork of the American River, as seen from the Foresthill Bridge, Auburn, California.

If this view of the American River doesn’t make you want to walk across the Foresthill Bridge, most likely nothing will.

You are looking towards one of our favorite lakes in the area, Lake Clementine. This is the section of river just below the dam. In the bottom of the photo on the left you will see a big rock. That is a diving rock at one of the most popular swimming holes in the area, Clark’s Hole. We used to lug our chairs and icebox here nearly every weekend in the summer months. [click to continue…]

Family Fun at Ahjumawi

by Sherri on October 29, 2008

Family canoeing at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park, California.

This family was spending part of their summer vacation canoe camping at Ahjumawi. They and 2 fishermen in a boat were the only people we saw that day.

It was just enough people to make it interesting and they made great models for my stock photography!

Visit our Website for links to photo galleries.

Solitude at Ahjumawi

by Sherri on October 27, 2008

Horr Pond Camp, Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park, California.

If you are looking for solitude, look no further. This park gets less than 2,000 visitors annually.

Just be sure to BYOB! No, I’m not talking about booze. BYOB stands for “bring your own boat.” That is the only way you will get to experience Ahjumawi.

I’d like to see this photo used on the cover of a Northern California kayaking or camping guidebook.

Note: Be sure to read my other posts on Ahjumawi. I’ve still got a couple more coming too!

Paddle Pals

by Sherri on October 25, 2008

Jeff & Cocoa (Dirt Road Dawg) heading out for an afternoon paddle, at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park.

Poor Jeff. He usually has the dog in his kayak, because I usually have the camera in mine. The 2 don’t mix, as you have probably figured out.

We paddled out to the first campsite to check it out. We got a late start and we had a dog with us, which slows us down. So, the first campsite was as far as we were gonna get that day. That was okay. It was a scouting trip after all!

We hung out there for 3-4 hours waiting for the light to get better for photography, before paddling back to the truck.

I will post a couple more photos from our adventure next week.

Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park

by Sherri on October 23, 2008

Jeff and Cocoa preparing for our kayak adventure, at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park, California. Notice Mount Shasta on the left.

Most people have never heard of California’s Northeastern most State Park, Ahjumawi Lava Springs. I  hadn’t heard of it either, until the name jumped out at me while reading over the California State Parks brochure. [click to continue…]

Mount Shasta, California

by Sherri on October 20, 2008

This photo of Mount Shasta was taken from the boat launch at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park.

Jeff and I were loading up the kayaks for our paddle at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park. I looked up and there was Mount Shasta staring at me.

I thought it would be good to capture a closer up view of this beauty, in addition to the wide angle shot in my last post.

Unique View of Mount Shasta

by Sherri on October 17, 2008

Mount Shasta, California, as viewed from the dirt road to Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park.

Jeff and I were really jazzed about finally getting to experience Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park, in Northeastern Californa. It had been high on our priority list for a couple of years.

The journey getting there was just as enjoyable for us, as getting to the destination itself. That’s usually the case, whenever we travel off-the-beaten path via dirt roads, back roads, or by four wheel drive. In fact, when we are traveling on a dirt road, our dog Cocoa even gets the nickname “Dirt Road Dog,” because she prefers them too. I’m not kidding! She gets very excited as soon as the road turns to dirt, just like we do.

The scenery on the way into Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park was breathtaking. The photo above was one of our favorite scenes along the way.

Come back soon for photos of Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park!

Kayaking Lake Clementine

by Sherri on October 12, 2008


Our own private beach at Lake Clementine, Auburn, California

Jeff, Jeff and I paddled for about an hour, then we stopped off at this beautiful spot for lunch. The shoreline at the upper end of the lake is dotted with beaches like this.

The next time we paddle here will hopefully be this winter. We have wanted to do a winter paddle here to view wildlife for years, but when winter comes we are usually cross country skiing, snowshoeing or hiking.

Maybe it’s time to quit talking about it and “just do it!” I don’t think we will be hanging out at the beach, however!

Visit our Website for links to photo galleries.

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