https://www.facebook.com/111629791767130/

Colton J. Dixon Photography

Home
United States
Fort Jones, CA
Colton J. Dixon Photography

I am a naturalist who loves to photograph and write about how nature inspires me to be a steward.

08/29/2025

One day from the back porch I got to see one of the resident bald eagles stop to enjoy a ground squirrel they caught on a telephone pole. While bald eagles have a reputation for being mostly scavengers, and thieves. I have seen many successful hunts, especially on ground squirrels! I took this photo while one of the local pairs was about to flege their chicks, so perhaps this one (I think it was the Dad, based on his size) enjoyed a little time away from the kids.

08/16/2025

I typically don't post photos from my phone on my feed, but I couldn't pass up this opportunity. I have been snorkeling rivers looking for returning adult summer steelhead and Spring Chinook Salmon. Summer Steelhead are similar in life history to spring Chinook. These fish seek clear, cold water to hold over in the summer heat as they await spawning in the fall. They take advantage of snow melt during the spring and summer to get high into parts of watersheds where fish that migrate up river in the fall cannot get to. Having passage barriers between the summer and fall fish is important to maintain the genetics of these populations.

Summer Steelhead can be a bit of a boom and bust life history. This year seems to be a decent one in the tributaries of the Klamath River.

At the end of my survey this lovely fish let me spend some time with it and photograph it while it hid under a log jam.

In the Elwah River in Washington it was the summer steelhead that had the quickest increase in population thanks to the dam coming out. I am curious if the Klamath will see something similar?

08/03/2025

As many of you have seen through my stories there are many beautiful sunsets in Scott Valley where I am living. We have had some amazing sunsets, this one isn't even the most spectacular of them. However having the hot afternoons replaced with cool evenings thanks to thunderstorms blowing in has been such a treat. Although the storms have brought summer wildfires that have affected where and when I work, I don't have any control over any of it. In the meantime we might as well enjoy the beauty around us in spite of what we can control or not.

07/07/2025

As I work in close to 100° heat I am missing the green and cool of spring. Snow just coming off the mountains and roads becoming accessible for the first time in months. Up high things are still pretty cool, but in river bottoms and valleys the green has been replaced by gold and brown and the cool has switched to heat. Either time, the mountains are a refuge. An escape. A place to get perspective. To feel awe. I watch them from below. Wishing I was there as a storm threatens to gather. To feel the wind and chill and drink from fountains of living water. To see all there is to see. In time I will be back again. In the meantime I will thank the Creator for the invention of ceiling fans and blackout curtains.

06/25/2025

Down in the dried out creek bed, sliding over the cobbles as the coastal fog reaches the pinnacles. Grabbing the last warmth of day to help aid in the digestion of its last meal. The gopher snake moves slowly and silently. Easy to miss. The bright purple flowers called Chinese houses catch the eyes of passerbys. The snake freezes, hoping that its camouflage can hide it in the rocks. For some it may work. It is a gamble trying to live out there. If camouflage doesn't work you could always imitate more dangerous kin. Puffing up their bodies, flattening out their heads, rattling their tail in leaves or rocks to make a buzzing sound. Sometimes it can save you. Other times it can harm you. The snake doesn't know till it tries. Just keep warm while it lasts. Before the cool of night forces you underground.

06/19/2025

Looking at these photos it might truck you into thinking you are somewhere in the American Southwest, but these rocks are in Central California in Pinnacles National Park. A place of unique geological formations has left the landscape looking like it doesn't quite match the surroundings. Among the rock formations grow oaks, gray pines, chamise, buckwheat, bunch grasses, and flowers. This area can get very hot, but fortunately this afternoon I was visiting fog from the coast blew in and cooled things down dramatically! It also added to the beauty of this place. Pinnacles is one of the least visited California National Parks and while it is nice when you are there, more people should enjoy it!

Although public lands like these are less likely to be affected by what is going on in the Senate right now, we still need to advocate for our public lands. They belong to us, not private enterprise. If you live in a red state, please be sure to contact your senators and urge them to vote NO on the "Big Beautiful Bill".

06/15/2025

So a while back I got to visit Pinnacles National Park, if you haven't been I highly recommend it! One of the things to visit is a Talus Cave. Talus caves are uncommon and are formed by boulders falling on top of each in a narrow canyon. Bear Gulch Cave in the park was likely formed by rockfalls during the last ice age. These caves offer habitat for species like Endangered Townsend's Big Eared Bars, as well as others trying to escape the heat. Look at the size of these boulders! They are massive!!

06/05/2025

The Green River begins in South East Wyoming and Flows South through Utah and meets the Colorado River in Canyonlands National Park. On the border of Utah and Wyoming the Green River is dammed and forms Flaming Gorge Reservoir. This is the largest reservoir in Utah and Wyoming. The dam provides each state with hydroelectric power and flood control. It also has some of the best fishing in each state. You can see why the reservoir gets its name. The layers of sandstone contain large amounts of oxidized iron, rust, that gives it that "flaming" color.

Looking at a scene like this, it strikes me with such beauty. I am glad it still looks like a mighty river meandering through the gorge. But I wonder what features are lost beneath the dark waters of the reservoir. A much deeper canyon beneath. Beaches of deposited sediments. Lush gardens are fed by river and spring flows. What trails taken by ancient inhabitants wandered through these canyons? I am always thinking about what was once there? When was this place in a more, ideal state? The mysteries remain dark and deep, often how we navigate through life. But in the meantime beautiful vistas like these help us keep on going.

05/31/2025

Utah Rocks. Thanks to the fact that most of Utah was once under an ocean over 60 million years ago, there are a lot of sedimentary rock formations that have become eroded and uplifted thanks to tectonic activity. This area in north eastern Utah surprised me with its beautiful sandstone and other rock formations. I love the way they look, especially when the sunlight hits it just right. They just glow!

05/29/2025

I feel grateful for views like these when I go for drives. I live on Highway 3, and this road splits off from hwy 299 in Weaverville, CA and goes north to Yreka, CA. Pictured here is the upper Trinity River, which is the largest subwatershed/tributary of the Klamath River. The next photos are Mount Bolivar (Craggy Peak) in the Trinity Alps. I see this 8,058' peak from my living room every day. I love it. I hope you do as well.

Address

Fort Jones, CA
96032

Website

facebook.com

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Colton J. Dixon Photography posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Photography Service in Fort Jones?