Lava Tubes, Waterfalls and One Huge Volcano! Mt. Shasta Photography: Photos 21 to 35

Many people believe Mt. Shasta has supernatural powers, from the Native Americans known as the Shasta to the multitude of residents that make their home near the volcano today. Adherents to Hinduism, New Age beliefs and Buddhist monks are drawn to the volcano's serenity and imposing presence. So are outdoor enthusiasts, because at 14,200 feet Shasta is the 2nd largest volcano in the Cascades- so high most of the time is creates its own weather.

The Japanese religion of Shugendo, Lao Tsu and Hinduism all had it right- this mountain, like many other striking skyscrapers of stone, has some sort of spiritual energy that is hard to describe. I find anything on earth described as "Super-Natural" hard to swallow, as the separation between the spiritual and the physical realm is a western concept I have long felt is untrue.

I love the father above,
his name is sky

I love the mother below,
her name is earth

each an equal,
a prequel to a sequel

neither one is good and neither one is equal

Frankly I was quite skeptical about Mt. Shasta being either jaw-dropping or enlightening. I was eager to find out, but first

Full Text Entry: Lava Tubes, Waterfalls and One Huge Volcano! Mt. Shasta Photography

There is definitely an aura to Mt. Shasta and you could not have captured in better with your two sunset exposures. Nice work my friend!

I love your Pictures.... Question: How do you get your skies so blue? [Photoshop? Lens Filters?] I have taken some where around 10,000 pictures all over Central America and very few turn out with a all-around good exposure [as in your picture 'the land of the free'] either i have a blue sky and darkish foreground or a good foreground and a white sky. {ex. Pictures 19 & 20 on my web site: http://bcaphotos.com/PhotoStore/Central%20America.html } Please Help! Thanks So Much, Brian Allen

Stephen, keep those pics coming. It's the best way for others to see the world and learn how others capture their surroundings.

I never used to use filters, but a circular polarizer is sometimes essential to landscapes. It removes reflected light- hich takes out he reflections in lakes, rivers and ponds and also deepens the blue of the sky. It also filters out light and a poor quality polarizer makes the image less sharp. I heard a professional photographer say once "why would I cover up my $1000 lens witha $10 filter?" and it makes sense. But for a wide angle and lots-of-sky picture like 'land of the free'? A polarizer made all the difference! I use photoshop, but not heavily. I noticed after I began using the Nikon d80(or any other high quality camera) the colors are more vivid and balanced, thus less need for Photoshop. The other issue of a white-washed sky or a too-dark foreground is the central issue of any good landscape shot. professionals use an ND Gradient Filter- its like a lens of a sunglasses but with a gradual fade. This way you can compose your shot on the foreground, and the ND gradient filters out the overly bright sky to balance the image. All the juicy landscape photographers of the world use ND gradients with incredible success. On travelblog you should check out Cumberland Sausage- many of his incredible sunset shots are not possible without an ND gradient! Try this trick next time when taking pictures- squint your eyes. It takes out the detail, yet will show you if there is too much contrast to capture the scene without an ND gradient. You can also take 2 shots- one metered on the sky and one on the foreground, then merge the 2 in photoshop. Its the poor man's ND gradient!! :)

Im getting props from travelblog pro's like Cam2Yogi AND the Crazy Canucks?! Its my lucky day!!! Thanks guys!!

The photos are super

Yes spirituality and mountains, i have long believed in it, well since I met Fuji anyway... now when will you go there and take such beautiful photos of my mountain. PLEASE.

Let me give you my Boss' phone number so you can convince him to give me 3 weeks off, because Im fresh out of vacation hours!

One word Stephen..."Stunning!" You have captured some incredible images there of Mount Shasta, you have an uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time. Well done mate,sterling work!

Thanks so much!! I guess I have a lot of luck you are right. but Sunset and Sunrise are always prime time photo ops. The rest is taking 4 hours to do what most peopel take 1 hour- that way you see things unfold more slowly!

Thanks so much!! I guess I have a lot of luck you are right. but Sunset and Sunrise are always prime time photo ops. The rest is taking 4 hours to do what most peopel take 1 hour- that way you see things unfold more slowly!

Nice pics! I love Volcanos! :)

your photos make me fell two ways.... 1 pride for the area that i live and grow up in! 2... motivation; you have captured moments that i don't recall ever witnessing myself.

Your photos are incredible! Thanks for sharing. We live in Chico and I was wondering if the summer time would be a good time to expore the lava tubes? I'm assuming that the Burney Falls are probably not flowing as well right now... Thanks for your input!

These are some of the most beautiful photos I've seen of this area. I'm new to Nor Cal and a few years ago a friend took me to Burney Falls and around the Mt. Shasta are and I was blown away. I'm from the Yosemite area and some of this are is even more spectacular than Yosemite. I've been wanting to go back to the Burney are for quite some time now, and I just sent a link to your blog to a friend in my old Yosemite are and she's all charged up to visit, too.. so thanks for the inspiration, we're planning a trip for April!

Thank you so much for the kind words. Northern california around Shasta is definitely underrated and extremely beautiful. So much lava and forest and volcanos you would think you are in chile! And no picture does Burney Falls justice. Look forward to seeing your travelblog of the area!

thanks for the interesting photos you totaly showed me if I was there

Looking for a photo of a lava cave E. of Mt. Shasta. The roof has collapsed, letting in moisture and light. There is a tree growing in the bottom of the cave.

There is definitely an aura to Mt. Shasta and you could not have captured in better with your two sunset exposures. Nice work my friend!

I love your Pictures.... Question: How do you get your skies so blue? [Photoshop? Lens Filters?] I have taken some where around 10,000 pictures all over Central America and very few turn out with a all-around good exposure [as in your picture 'the land of the free'] either i have a blue sky and darkish foreground or a good foreground and a white sky. {ex. Pictures 19 & 20 on my web site: http://bcaphotos.com/PhotoStore/Central%20America.html } Please Help! Thanks So Much, Brian Allen

Stephen, keep those pics coming. It's the best way for others to see the world and learn how others capture their surroundings.

I never used to use filters, but a circular polarizer is sometimes essential to landscapes. It removes reflected light- hich takes out he reflections in lakes, rivers and ponds and also deepens the blue of the sky. It also filters out light and a poor quality polarizer makes the image less sharp. I heard a professional photographer say once "why would I cover up my $1000 lens witha $10 filter?" and it makes sense. But for a wide angle and lots-of-sky picture like 'land of the free'? A polarizer made all the difference! I use photoshop, but not heavily. I noticed after I began using the Nikon d80(or any other high quality camera) the colors are more vivid and balanced, thus less need for Photoshop. The other issue of a white-washed sky or a too-dark foreground is the central issue of any good landscape shot. professionals use an ND Gradient Filter- its like a lens of a sunglasses but with a gradual fade. This way you can compose your shot on the foreground, and the ND gradient filters out the overly bright sky to balance the image. All the juicy landscape photographers of the world use ND gradients with incredible success. On travelblog you should check out Cumberland Sausage- many of his incredible sunset shots are not possible without an ND gradient! Try this trick next time when taking pictures- squint your eyes. It takes out the detail, yet will show you if there is too much contrast to capture the scene without an ND gradient. You can also take 2 shots- one metered on the sky and one on the foreground, then merge the 2 in photoshop. Its the poor man's ND gradient!! :)

Im getting props from travelblog pro's like Cam2Yogi AND the Crazy Canucks?! Its my lucky day!!! Thanks guys!!

The photos are super

Yes spirituality and mountains, i have long believed in it, well since I met Fuji anyway... now when will you go there and take such beautiful photos of my mountain. PLEASE.

Let me give you my Boss' phone number so you can convince him to give me 3 weeks off, because Im fresh out of vacation hours!

One word Stephen..."Stunning!" You have captured some incredible images there of Mount Shasta, you have an uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time. Well done mate,sterling work!

Thanks so much!! I guess I have a lot of luck you are right. but Sunset and Sunrise are always prime time photo ops. The rest is taking 4 hours to do what most peopel take 1 hour- that way you see things unfold more slowly!

Thanks so much!! I guess I have a lot of luck you are right. but Sunset and Sunrise are always prime time photo ops. The rest is taking 4 hours to do what most peopel take 1 hour- that way you see things unfold more slowly!

Nice pics! I love Volcanos! :)

your photos make me fell two ways.... 1 pride for the area that i live and grow up in! 2... motivation; you have captured moments that i don't recall ever witnessing myself.

Your photos are incredible! Thanks for sharing. We live in Chico and I was wondering if the summer time would be a good time to expore the lava tubes? I'm assuming that the Burney Falls are probably not flowing as well right now... Thanks for your input!

These are some of the most beautiful photos I've seen of this area. I'm new to Nor Cal and a few years ago a friend took me to Burney Falls and around the Mt. Shasta are and I was blown away. I'm from the Yosemite area and some of this are is even more spectacular than Yosemite. I've been wanting to go back to the Burney are for quite some time now, and I just sent a link to your blog to a friend in my old Yosemite are and she's all charged up to visit, too.. so thanks for the inspiration, we're planning a trip for April!

Thank you so much for the kind words. Northern california around Shasta is definitely underrated and extremely beautiful. So much lava and forest and volcanos you would think you are in chile! And no picture does Burney Falls justice. Look forward to seeing your travelblog of the area!

thanks for the interesting photos you totaly showed me if I was there

Looking for a photo of a lava cave E. of Mt. Shasta. The roof has collapsed, letting in moisture and light. There is a tree growing in the bottom of the cave.