Seeing Butte County

Hank Hansen started taking pictures on 35mm film when he was in high school in the early 70s, and while photography itself has changed pretty significantly in the intervening years, Hank is as passionate about taking photos of beautiful and interesting things now as he ever was. His favorite subjects are sunsets, landscapes, and the night sky. “Up at Mount Lassen is where I love to go for nighttime photography because there’s not a lot of light pollution,” he says. “You’re at a higher elevation, above the smoke and stuff that comes through the valley, and you can see everything so clearly.”

Everyone has something they particularly love about their chosen hobby, and for Hank, it’s the seeing. He lives in Oroville, and he points out that there is a lot of beauty all around if you just take a moment to look for it. “Butte County is a very photogenic place,” he says. “We have so much around us, like the lakes and the foothills and the farmland.” The diversity of subjects in and around Butte County really is astounding. Being on the Pacific Flyway offers unique opportunities for capturing photos of wild birds as they make their way south for the winter and the many moods of Lake Oroville also make for fascinating photos. “It’s a beautiful lake when it’s full." Hank says, "When the water goes down, and you see more of the bottom of the lake—the contours—it gets a whole lot more character. So when the lake is at record lows, it’s fun to look around and take pictures.”

Hank takes hundreds of photos on his outings. He carefully weeds through each and edits them before posting to his Facebook page, where he often gets comments from folks who assume, from the beauty of the photo’s subject, that they must have been taken somewhere far away. “I’ve taken photos very close to Oroville and people make comments when I post them to Facebook: ‘Where is that?’ And I say, ‘It’s just five minutes outside of Oroville.’ And they say, ‘I've lived here all my life and I’ve never seen a beautiful place like that!’” Hank says. “It’s fun to show people who can’t get out the beauty around us.”

Hank is disabled and not in the best of health, which keeps him from getting out and doing things the way he used to. It also has changed the way he looks at his photography. “Taking photos is kind of a community service that I do,” he says. “I take pictures of people at events and post them and just give them away mostly. It’s a way of giving back to the community.” This past December, Hank and his daughter had a joint show at MugShots Coffee House in Oroville, which he enjoyed. They’ll be mounting another one this winter.

Until then, Hank’s photos can be seen at www.facebook.com/hank.hansen.984. Swing by, and see why we can’t get enough of his work.

2023–2024 SEASON

NOVEMBER

Swan Lake

November 11, 2023 | Cascade Theatre, Redding | 7:30 p.m.

November 12, 2023 | Laxson Auditorium, Chico | 2:00 p.m.

FEBRUARY

Mozart Requiem

February 17, 2024 | Laxson Auditorium, Chico | 7:30 p.m.

February 18, 2024 | Cascade Theatre, Redding | 2:00 p.m.

MAY

Sounds of the Cinema

May 11, 2024 | Cascade Theatre, Redding | 7:30 p.m.

May 12, 2024 | Laxson Auditorium, Chico | 2:00 p.m.

MARCH

YOUTH CONCERTS

Extraordinary Beethoven

March 5, 2024 | Cascade Theatre, Redding

March 6, 2024 | State Theatre, Red Bluff

March 7, 2024 | Laxson Auditorium, Chico

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