The richly diverse landscape of California is a photographers dream. The night before taking this shot we rolled up in the dark and booked ourselves into a log cabin by the water, not knowing what to expect. The next morning we got up early to discover we’d hit gold with this majestic scene. The morning sun burnt off the cool air from Mount Shasta, a great morning to be alive!

The lake, or more accurately, reservoir, lies in the far reaches of Northern California. It owes its existence to Box Canyon Dam, on the Sacramento River. If you look to the left of the lake, between the trees, you’ll see Mount Shasta, a volcano belonging to the of the Cascade mountain range, rising to it’s peak of over 4000 metres.

Original Native American foot trails formed the basis of the Siskiyou Trail. This pioneering path created a vital and practical route through the valleys, linking early settlements in California and Oregon. The trail was used heavily during the Californian Gold Rush, but travel was still distinctly slower than on the modern day Interstate 5, which follows a similar route.