Important Notice
Club Members: Once club members have completed, signed & submitted a “Channel City Camera Club Field Trip & Club Events Waiver and Release” form, you are free to participate in our monthly field trips or other events. This is another reminder to those members that may have overlooked the event waiver form and particularly for the newer members of our camera club.
Please have the field trip waiver form completed and send to the club’s mailing address
Channel City Camera Club
Post Office Box 30453
Santa Barbara, CA 93130-0453
The form can be downloaded from here.
Club Members Guests Camera members that wish to have guest(s) join them in these field trips, also need to have their guest(s) sign a form, however, being a non-member – they must sign a “>waiver formwaiver form for each field trip they participate.
Upcoming Field Trip(s)
December 2024
December 7th – Field Trip: Monarch Butterfly
GOLETA MONARCH BUTTERFLY GROVE, Saturday December 7 2024
Description: Last year was a good year to view the butterflies, and hopefully the this one will be too.
Monarch butterflies spend the winter here in the Butterfly Grove located in the Ellwood Mesa Preserve. The peak time is usually in early December. However, the number varies greatly from year to year. In the morning, most of the monarch are sleeping, but as the air warms some will take to flight. Occasionally a large number will burst into flight.
A medium telephoto lens is best for capturing the details, since the viewing area is restricted and visitors are not permitted to approach the butterflies closely. The light filtering through the eucalyptus can be patchy and challenging, so using a low ISO and underexposing may be necessary to manage the high dynamic range. A tripod can be useful when the monarchs are clinging to the eucalyptus branches, but not when they are flying. Docents are often available on weekends during the
peak season to answer questions.
Location: Ellwood Mesa Preserve, Goleta; Parking Lot near South end of Coronado Street.
Distance from downtown Santa Barbara: Approximately 10 miles.
Time to Visit: We will meet at 10:00 am at the Grove on Saturday December 7.
Admission: Free.
PIXLEY NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
December 15th and 16th
Description: The Pixley National Wildlife Refuge is one of very few areas in the Southern San Joaquin Valley where the public can enjoy viewing sandhill cranes, which roost here from September through March with numbers peaking to 6,000. During the day, the cranes forage for food in nearby open fields. They return to the refuge at sundown arriving in large groups of as many as hundreds at a time, emitting their mournful honking cries —- a remarkable event both visually and aurally. The best place to see the cranes is at the observation deck which is a 0.75 mile hike from the parking lot. Think carefully about what you want to take to the deck. In my experience, the best images are those taken of the cranes in flight as they return, for which a hand-held telephoto lens is best.
On the other hand, if you want to photograph them at rest in the shallow water of the ponds, you may want to bring along a tripod. There is a single photo blind that is available if reserved in advance (see the website for details). Note that except for a pit toilet at the parking area, there are no services at the Refuge.
Location and Distance from Downtown Santa Barbara: Pixley NWR is located at the intersection of Rt. 88 and Deer Creek Avenue in Earlimart, CA. It is approximately 215 miles from SB via Hwys 101/46/43 (3 hours, 40 minutes).
Driving Directions: From Highway 43, turn east onto Sierra Avenue (Avenue 56) and continue to Road 88, where you will find a brown directional sign guiding you to the refuge. Turn north on Road 88 and proceed one mile until you cross a small ditch (Deer Creek). After the ditch, you will find the parking lot on the west side of the road and the trailhead leading to the observation deck.
Hours: The Refuge is open 7 days a week from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.
Date & Time of Visit: December 15 & 16. I suggest we arrive in the late afternoon on December 15 at the refuge in time to prepare for the return of the cranes to the refuge at sundown (4:45 pm).
Admission: Free entry, free parking.
Local Accommodations: Delano is the closest town (~20 minutes) to the Refuge, where there are a half dozen hotels/motels, of which the best is probably the Hyatt. There is also a campground nearby at the Allensworth Historic State Park, an early African American settlement that thrived for a few decades early in the 20th century until overt and covert racism caused its demise in the 1940’s.
Images from previous field trips….
| October 2018 - Photowalk | |
| "Harbor at Dawn" by Terry Straehley | "Harbor Flags at Dawn" by Sandy Grasso-Boyd |
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| June 2018 - Solstice Parade | |
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| April 2018 - Night Photography | |
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| April 2017 - Douglas Family Preserve | |
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| March 2016 - Night Photos at the Harbor | |
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| February 2016 | |
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| November 2015 | |
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