‘Horseshoe Bend’ Photo Goes Viral

Drone Shot Of Russian River Surrounding Local Landmark Is An Instant Classic

By Christian Kallen

Amid the many news and social media photos of swollen creeks, fallen trees and general mayhem from the rainstorms earlier this month, one picture stood out: an aerial shot of Fitch Mountain surrounded by a ribbon of brown water, the Russian River.

The photograph shows clearly the geographical quirk that is Fitch Mountain: a solitary wooded hill embraced by the course of the river, a wooded nub in a landscape of greenery. It looks like a green version of the celebrated Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River near Page, AZ.

The image appeared on Tom Rennie’s Facebook feed the morning of Jan. 8—when the deluge had already been soaking Sonoma County for a week—and as it was tagged and shared, even mentioned on Brent Farris’ morning KZST radio program, it became an iconic image of Healdsburg virtually overnight.

Vice Mayor David Hagele took notice, and asked the photographer if the City of Healdsburg could use the image on its site, where it immediately appeared as the background for storm weather updates

“There's a lot with that photo with the river wrapping around the mountain,” said Hagele admiringly. “You see Fitch Mountain, how pretty it is. It was perfect timing too cause the river was full, the weather cleared and he got it. I mean, it was just an incredible photo.”

“This is a photo I've been thinking about getting for the last eight years from a friend’s property on the east side of Fitch Mountain,” said Rennie, a drone pilot and photographer, by email last week.

“I’ve done drone work in this area before and noticed the entire Russian River is not visible from this vantage point because of lower (not flooded) river levels.”

But on a hunch, realizing the river was high from recent heavy rains, on the morning of Jan. 8 he launched his DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone to see if the image in his mind’s eye could be captured by the drone’s camera. It worked, but the image is more than a snapshot. Said Rennie, “This photo is actually six RAW drone images merged together using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop,” the sort of technical work that an experienced

CIGAR AND POT SMOKE COMPLAINT SPARKS A NEW POLICY PLAZA, REC PARK AND VILLA EVENTS ARE NOW SMOKE-FREE

By Christian Kallen

It was a summer Tuesday not unlike most of the summer Tuesdays in the Healdsburg Plaza last year. Reggae band Sol Horizon worked the gazebo stage, friends and families gathered on the grounds, photographer and drone pilot knows how to do. He posted the image on Facebook before noon, where it was shared 36 times.

“It is important to note that Fitch Mountain is 991 feet in elevation and that my drone took off from an elevation of about 600 feet,” Rennie told the Tribune. “Drones are to stay below 400 feet in elevation from the point of takeoff per FAA regulations.” and everyone seemed to enjoy the good weather and good vibes of the post-pandemic party.

Make that almost everyone. Whatever the reason—the ganja-friendly music, the rambunctious crowd—the smoke seemed thicker than usual that evening, and Louis Jordan for one was not enjoying himself.

In fact, the financial consultant and local winemaker was so irritated by the smoke that less than a week later he attended the Healdsburg City Council meeting and, during the open public comment period, asked the city to expand the non-smoking areas to include the sidewalks surrounding the Plaza.

“At this week's Tuesday in the Park, there was extensive cigar and some pot smoking,” Jordan told