Fall at McCloud

My day started at 5am, hoping to find fall shots in the Mount Shasta area. I spent the night at my in-laws in a country town just outside of Redding. The coyotes were so loud all night I hardly slept. Once my alarm went off, I crawled out of bed and tried to get ready as fast as I could. As I was walking to my car in the dead of night, the stars were bright and vibrant. I took a minute to appreciate the vividness of the starry night before driving off into the darkness. First I went somewhere at the base of Mount Shasta, which had nothing but disappointment. Then decided I would try my luck at McCloud Falls. I arrived around mid-morning, the air cool and crisp, with light rays piercing through the tall trees. I flung my camera bag over my shoulder and made the short hike down. When I arrived, it seemed like I was a couple weeks too early. There was some color change starting to happen, but not as much as I hoped there would be. A bit of disappointment set in, "is there anything I can do here?" I said to myself. I found this one shrub just a little downriver that had the most color. Reds, yellows, and greens all in the same shrub. As soon as I saw this I knew, if there was any hope of capturing some kind of fall landscape, it would have to include that shrub. I stood here for over two hours, capturing this one angle. As the sun continued to rise, different kinds of light rays burst through the trees, making it seem like the light was dancing on the water. I was a little skeptical at first if I would like how any of these turned out. For it is not an angle I'm used to seeing McCloud photographed from, which could be a good thing, but it could also mean, "there is a reason why no one photographs it from there - it's not good."  I made the walk back to my car that afternoon with doubt and skepticism. Maybe I got a good shot, maybe I didn't. I didn't even bother looking at the photos for weeks. But when I finally did, it became clear that I had captured something special. The waterfall cascading behind the rushing water, the colorful fall shrubs, along with the soft morning light glistening on the water, it was a one of a kind.  All because of one shrub, I shot it from this angle. A little unconventional than how I'm used to seeing this photographed, but I went with my gut, and it worked. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut and hope for the best.