From Redding to Mt Shasta in 5 minutes

Last week, I photographed the drive from Redding to Mt Shasta in about 3000 individual images. Then, I strung them together into a video for 5 minutes, with music. The result is an interesting compression of this scenic northstate highway journey through the Sacramento River Canyon.

Redding to Mt Shasta from Skip Murphy on Vimeo.

I like how this technique plays with time. I’m hoping to do more of these. Already, one Vimeo film maker has asked if he could use segments of it in his own project.
Enjoy the journey.
Pit River Arm by Skip Murphy

Shastina in Spring

It’s cloudy here today, but a few days ago I captured this image of Shastina from the northwest while hurtling southbound on Interstate 5, about an hour north of Redding.
Shatina on the way to Redding California by Skip Murphy
Click to enlarge a bit. Shastina is in the foreground, with Mt Shasta beyond her. Shastina sprouts from the flanks of Mt Shasta, and may be the most recently active part of the volcano. The community of Weed lies at her feet.
February is Shasta County Spring, but in the higher elevations and for much of Siskiyou County, it remains Winter. But any time of year, all this beauty and more is just a short drive north from Redding.

Houseboats hibernate for Winter

Just a pretty picture from a few days ago at nearby Bridge Bay on Lake Shasta. Like houseboat hibernation. This image is sized for my Desktop background if you click on it.

Houseboat hibernation on Lake Shasta

Owl! A real “Angry Bird.”

I met this owl while blowing leaves off my mom’s back patio. Talk about Angry Birds.
Owl in ReddingOwl in Shasta CountyOwl in Redding CaKarry thinks this is a baby Great Horned Owl. Famous for eating skunks. We’ll just leave you be, then. Anger management.

Unsettled weather

That’s what they call it on TV. I like to think of it as good cloud days. Here’s a couple of images I took yesterday while out in nearby Shasta Lake City.Unsettled weather in Shasta Lake CityUnsettled weather in Shasta County

Art in Tapas

I took these shots inside Tapas the other day. That restaurant has a very engaging vibe. And such interesting culinary selections too!
Art in Tapas restaurantArt at Tapas in Redding CaliforniaTapas restaurant Redding CaliforniaEnjoy the food, and the art; it’s Really Redding.

Astonishing lenticular cloud sunset over Mt Shasta

This was taken yesterday. So achingly beautiful, it brought a tear to my eyes. We live with these natural miracles every day, but it never gets old. Two glowing pink structures in snow and mist above the lake. This photo is my new screen background at 1920 X 1200 pixels, and if you click on it you can get it full size.

Shasta Lenticular Sunset 1920x1200 by Skip Murphy 2012.jpgSuch extraordinary beauty. Well ordinary, actually. It’s Really Redding.

Bright lights, big city – Redding from Space at night

NASA recently published hi-def imagery of Earth at night. Redding is pointed out below. I was surprised at the brightness of our urban light, from miles above.
Redding at nightGrants Pass, Medford, Klamath Falls. Familiar places, from top to bottom, with Interstate 5 visibly leading down to Sacramento and the Bay Area. Like neurons and ganglia connecting a living planetary nerve system.
Often enough, the space scientists of NASA discover more truth and beauty of our Earth than of the sky. Click on the image below for a full sized view.Earth at night courtesy of NASAVisible patterns of our civilization (colonization?). So very interesting to see, and to ponder. The planet lit like an orbiting Christmas Tree. All these human made photons, flowing out into Space.
Click for video
Presented here with immense gratitude to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Yeah, it is rocket science. It’s Really Redding.

Think Pink naturally. Fall’s sunset light on Mt Shasta

Windswept Fall skies offer crystal clarity. The Three Shastas display their majesty with Golden Hour hues.
Mt Shasta from Redding California
I don’t recall ever seeing the mountain so barren. Winter storms will likely soon envelop its flanks with a Winter cloak of snow and ice. For now, it’s a pink rock monument to the Fall.
Mt Shasta from Shasta Lake CityWe’ll surely see certain lovely Redding bridge painted in pink light this evening. A fine event. And seen here, a more northern pink glow illuminates a mountain of solitude to punctuate the day. Renewed with each spin of our planet, for those who look. That’s Really Redding Pink.