Getting Dusted

After leaving the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge last Friday I spotted a low flying crop duster making some passes over a field off in the distance. I pulled over to watch and realized that they were landing to reload right next to a public road. I drove down the road and parked right next to them and sat and watched. They had a rudimentary but perfectly flat runway cut into the dirt twenty feet off of the county road. The crop duster was a Gruman AG Cat. It came in landed and powered itself around to get ready for take off. The truck with the hopper loader came forward and loaded the crop duster with fertilizer. The crop duster powered up to take off. I thought there would a be a little dust. Oh how wrong I was! I snapped off a quick couple of images and then was completely overcome and enveloped in a cloud of dust so thick I couldn't see. For the next take off I made sure I was well past the end of the runway. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Sacramento Valley crop dusters or aerial applicators are used quite heavily in the growing of rice. After fields are prepared and flooded they are seeded and fertilized from the air. Insecticides are also applied in a similar fashion. May you have a blessed day, chris These images created with a Canon 7D, a Tamron 150-600 and a Canon 17-85 mm lens.

Road Trip Through the San Joaquin Valley

Once in awhile you need a good road trip to open your eyes up to the rest of the world. Even if it is a trip on I5 which travels down the Central Valley almost straight as an arrow for hundreds of miles. Not much to see which is interesting in itself. The landscape is punctuated by cell towers, agricultural fields and equipment. Also too is the never ending procession of trucks hauling all manner of items for this vast consumeristic country of ours. Smell wise you pass by a few feed lots and dairies that will really open up your mind and make you immediately close the car windows if you just happened to have them open.It was very challenging to photgraph from the car traveling at 70 mph. The scenery just zips by so you have very little time to think and compose an image. A long but interesting road trip.

God's love and safe travels to all,

chris