2011 Tahoe Concours d'Elegance Photography

"Tahoe Concours d'Elegance Sunset 1" - Photograph of classic wooden boats from the 2011 Tahoe Concours d'Elegance at sunset.

Last weekend I had the great experience of getting to photograph the Tahoe Concours d'Elegance for TahoeTV and the event organizers. The Concours d'Elegance is North Americas premier classic wooden boat show put on by the Tahoe Yacht Club Foundation. I've been wanting to photograph the event since I moved to Tahoe but just never made it out. I'm sure I'll be back every year now...

I was lucky to have special access to the event, which made photos like the one above possible. The event was "closed" before sunset. You can shoot the boats from outside the event, over railing for free. But you're better off paying the entrance fee and getting up close and personal with the boats. Getting up close can provide some interesting "abstract" type shots of the beautiful craftsmanship that went into the making of the boats.

"Wooden Boat on Lake Tahoe 1" - This abstract photo of a classic wood boat was taken at the 2011 Tahoe Concours d'Elegance.

"Boat Steering Wheel 1" - This classic wooden boat steering wheel was photographed at the 2011 Tahoe Concours d'Elegance.

A tilt-shift lens is a big bonus at this event. I had a ton of fun getting shots that provided a "toy boat" look. There was also a lot going on in the background at the event so blurring it out heavily with the tilt-shift lens helped simplify the shots. Below are a couple tilt-shift shots, if you click on the images, you will see a larger version that makes it easier to see the effect.

"Toy Boats at the Concours d'Elegance 2" - Photograph of classic wooden boats from the 2011 Tahoe Concours d'Elegance. The toy boat effect was achieved using a tilt-shift lens.

"Toy Boats at the Concours d'Elegance 3" - Photograph of classic wooden boats from the 2011 Tahoe Concours d'Elegance. The toy boat effect was achieved using a tilt-shift lens.

On the third and last day of shooting, I was asked to shoot the grand finale, the Roar Off! This is where many of the boats pull out of the marina and show off their speed (and noise). They have to wait to pull out past all of the buoyed boats near the shore before they can make the boats "roar". I could tell when I scouted out a location that I was not going to be happy with the shots from the shore or a dock. So... I unloaded my kayak from my truck and braved dozens of spectator and exhibitor boats to get the shot.

I would NOT recommend shooting this part of the event from a kayak. There were plenty of smart photographers shooting from ski boats but I worked with what I had. There were many boats with lots of partying going on and I felt a little vulnerable in my easy to run over kayak. But I kept looking over my shoulders and raised my paddle if I could see a boat driver was paying more attention to the wood boats than what was around him.  Big waves were also a problem when the Roar Off boats started having fun. A dry bag is a must for your gear if you do decide to shoot the event from a kayak, I got soaked. But it was worth the risk of sinking $18k in camera gear and I got many great shots like these:

"The Hornet II on Lake Tahoe" - Photograph of the Hornet II, a classic wood and aluminum Gar Wood special racing boat from the 2011 Tahoe Concours d'Elegance.

"Miss De Meanor on Lake Tahoe" - Photograph of the Miss De Meanor classic wooden boat from the 2011 Tahoe Concours d'Elegance.

Above are some of my favorites from the event. But I shot many many more. Please enjoy this slideshow below. Many more photos will be added to it in the upcoming days so check back. Thank you!

-Scott Thompson

2011 Tahoe Concours d'Elegance - Images by Scott Thompson

All of the images above are available as fine are prints, gift items, and as stock photography. Please click on an image or view the 2011 Concours d'Elegance gallery for more info.

Any questions about the event? Please ask in the comments!

New Lake Tahoe Photo Gallery added.

Yesterday I added a new photo gallery to my website. Well, actually I divided one gallery up into two galleries. I had a Lake Tahoe Sunsets and Sunrises gallery. Now I have a Lake Tahoe Sunsets Gallery and a separate Lake Tahoe Sunrises gallery. This is because I was getting too many images in the original gallery, a good problem to have. I've been out shooting even more Tahoe and Truckee sunrises lately, although it has been tough as the sunrise happens pretty early this time of year.  Please view the photos below for a few favorites. 

Here's a couple links to the new galleries:

Lake Tahoe Sunrise pictures

Lake Tahoe Sunset pictures

And here are some new Lake Tahoe sunrise photos and Tahoe fishing photos I've added to my website recently:

"Sunrise Fishing on Lake Tahoe 2" - This trolling fishing pole was photographed at sunrise on Lake Tahoe.  One of the motivating factors for getting up so early lately has been fishing. I have a good buddy with a fishing boat and I often get the invite. As you can see, fishing and photography go very nicely together. 

"Tahoe Fishing Boat at Sunrise" - This silhouette of a fishing boat and fishing poles was photographed at sunrise on Lake Tahoe.  The boat is my fishing buddy's boat and I have spent many hours fishing and taking pictures of Tahoe from it. The fishing boat was loaded with gear and coolers, and the silhouette worked great to hide it all. 

"Tahoe Sailboats at Sunrise" - These silhouettes of sailboats were photographed at sunrise on Lake Tahoe.  I captured this one from the dock, right as we were about to head out fishing for the day. 

"Sunrise at Lake Tahoe 7" - This sunrise was photographed from a boat on Lake Tahoe.  As we were heading out of the buoy zone, the boat was moving slow so I was able to capture a few photos of a fiery but near cloudless sunrise. 

"Sunrise at Lake Tahoe 6" - This sunrise was photographed from a boat on Lake Tahoe.   Taken at about the same time as the photo above, I zoomed out to the widest angle my 24-105 mm lens could go. I like this one a lot for the simple and abstract feel to it. 

I've previously written a bit of a "how to" when it comes to photography from a small fishing boat on Tahoe. You can view the post here:  Fishing and Photography on Lake Tahoe  If you have any technical questions about the subject, please feel free to ask in the comments area below. Thank you!

-Scott Thompson

The images above are available at Fine Art Prints, Gift Items, and as Stock Photography. Please click on an image to view it larger and for purchasing info. All of the Scott Shot's Tahoe area photographs can be found in the Lake Tahoe and Truckee Areas gallery collection. 

My Kayak, What a Great Photography Tool.

Scott Thompson fishing and shooting on Lake Tahoe. Photographed with a Motorola Droid.

Last summer, my wife and  I decided to spend a few hundred bucks and buy a tandem sit on top kayak for the family. The purchase was supposed to be about family fun and fishing, it has held me, my wife, my son, and my 85 pound Labrador all at once. "The Orange Peel", it's nickname, has been well worth the money. But I have also found it to be an incredible addition to my camera bag.

The kayak is an Equinox 160T from Costco. The price was way below anything else I had been looking at online. My expectations weren't very high but I have found it to be perfect for my needs. Very stable and a whole lot of space for family and/or camera gear. The front seat has held my big fully loaded camera bag in a large dry bag and I've even stood up in the kayak for photos. (Note: Dry bags are a MUST if you plan on bringing a camera you value onto small paddle driven boat, drips happen, many many drips, oh, and don't forget splashes and sloshes. A small towel is also recommended.)  The kayak comes stock with a small covered hatch that keeps things relatively dry but water has unexpectedly gotten in there when the family was using it for play. If you own this kayak, don't trust the hatch for H2O sensitive camera gear.  Also, don't plan on winning any kayak races with this beast, slow and steady wins for photography purposes.

I've customized my kayak a bit. Online I found two flush mount fishing pole holders and a 4" hatch to provide a little more entertainment value and access to the large interior of the boat creating more storage.  These inexpensive additions have been priceless. Trolling for fish on the way to photography locations is a great way to make good use of work hours.

Scott's son Kane kayaking and fishing on Donner Lake.

When I'm with the whole family, wife and dog included, I skip all cameras but my cell phone.  When fishing with just my son, I bring just one camera body, one lens, flash, and polarizing filter. As always a dry bag is a must but I skip the tripod and additional gear. Space is limited and my attention to photography is also limited. But when I'm by myself, this kayak provides plenty of space for all my outdoor gear, 2 Canon bodies, 4 lenses, flash, tripod, and a whole lot of random accessories I rarely need until I don't have them.  I own three dry bags of different sizes and I use the smallest I can get away with.

The low angle  you get when you shoot from a kayak can be a good and a bad thing. It can provide some incredible photogenic angles but the glare and/or reflections on the water requires a polarizing filter most of the time to remove the glare. When you use a polarizer filter you lose a lot of light (kind of  like sunglasses for your lens)  so shooting from the boat handheld can be a bit more of a challenge. I usually use an ISO of 400 and a shutter speed no slower then 1/160 of a second.  Later in the day when more gasoline powered boats get out and about, the waves can really pick up. This can require even faster shutter speeds. It can also require you to ditch the shoot and quickly toss your gear into your dry bag. Safety of camera gear first, I can swim.

Lake Tahoe has 71 miles of incredible shoreline but much of it is inaccessible by foot due to private property or rough/steep terrain. Although I haven't kayaked all 71 miles, I have accessed a whole lot of areas I could never have dreamed to get to without it. Getting in close and bumping rocks is no problem either like it would be on most other watercraft.  Quickly beaching it in rocky areas and setting up the tripod for a shot has been great as well.

Photographed from a kayak with a polarizer filter.

The kayak has also proven to be great with helping me photograph birds. They seem to let me get a whole lot closer on water than on land. Getting out early can provide some incredible fog on the water images like this:

Canadian Goose and fog photographed from a kayak.

If you are a photographer or just want to get a better look at mother nature, I would highly recommend purchasing a kayak. After much use, the Equinox 160T gets two thumbs up from me. Kayaking is green and good exercise as well.

Please enjoy this sideshow of images that I have photographed from my kayak or from shore line that I kayaked to. Click the full screen icon for a better view. Are you a  kayaker? Please comment and/or post a link to a favorite kayak photo of you or that you have shot, or a favorite kayak photo story. Have a question about one of the images, ask me.

Photography from a Kayak - Images by Scott Thompson

These images in the slideshow above of Lake Tahoe, Donner Lake and Prosser Reservoir were all photographed from my kayak or from shoreline that I kayaked to. All are available as large fine art prints, gift items, and as stock photography. 

-Scott Thompson

Fishing and Photography on Lake Tahoe

Fishing and photography go great together, and when it's on Lake Tahoe, well, just view the slide show below. I'm lucky to have a friend with a small aluminum fishing boat and an addiction to trolling for  Mackinaw. He gets out a ton and I've joined him a couple times this spring with my fishing and photography gear. Both trips left me with no fish but plenty of photos. He has caught a Mack on both trips...

Fishing Lake Tahoe - Images by Scott Thompson

Not only did I get some fun photos of fishing poles and of the boat, but I shot a bunch of landscape and stock photos while trolling along the West shore of  Lake Tahoe. The quickly changing shoreline can be a lot of fun shooting from a boat.

Lake Tahoe from a Fishing boat - Images by Scott Thompson

When shooting Lake Tahoe from a small fishing boat, weather resistant gear is highly recommended. I bring minimal gear, my Canon 5D Mark II, a 24-105 L lens, a flash which I've never used out there, and a polarizing filter. The small camera bag fits into my small dry bag, which gives me peace of mind when I'm not shooting. Both times I've been out this spring it has snowed or hailed on us. The weather can change fast but can provide some beautiful scenery.  Dress warm with layers and a waterproof jacket if you suspect you may encounter some weather. I'd also recommend bringing a rag to wash and dry your hands between fishing and shooting for obvious reasons.

I wish I could give some great fishing tips, but as I mentioned, I got skunked both times. My buddy caught his big Mackinaw on our first trip with a red and blue pattern Rapalla in about 15 feet of water. The waves were a bit too big for his boat when we came around a point so we had to U turn and head back to the calmer waters. Right then he snagged a "rock", we turned around again to save the lure, and when we got closer, he realized he had actually hooked a huge fish.

Photographed on a Motorola Droid

The second fish was caught on the second trip with a big lure attached to a new down rigger in fairly deep water. It started snowing/hailing on us and just as we were about to call it a day, he landed another Mackinaw.  Then we called it, we'll have to bring waterproof pants next time...

Photographed on a Motorola Droid

The Lake Tahoe photos in the slideshows above are available as fine art prints, gift items, and as stock photography. Click on the slideshows for purchasing information. Thank you.