New Exhibit At Art Obsessions In Reno

I'm happy to announce that my photography prints are now available at Art Obsessions in Reno.  I've been represented by Art Obsessions previously when it was located in Truckee, California but they have recently moved to a brand new Village at Rancharrah shopping center in Reno, Nevada.

The art gallery is the first business in the Village to open, many more shopping and dining options will be available soon. The hours may be a bit inconsistent at first. You may want to check the website and give them a call before visiting. https://artobsessions1.com

Here are a few photos I've shot of the shopping center and of Art Obsessions. Hopefully I will see you at a gallery event soon!

 -Scott Thompson

The Rancharrah mansion is the beautiful backdrop to the shopping center.

Many New Tahoe Aera Photos On The Website!

It was a busy spring, summer, and fall for taking photos in the Truckee / Tahoe area this year! I have finally added many new images to my website www.ScottShotsPhoto.com. These images are all available as large fine art prints, photo gift items, and to license, download, and use in publications, advertisements, and websites.

Here is a screenshot of my "Recent Work" gallery. If you want to see more photos from this year, please follow this link below. Click on an image then click "add to cart" and the price lists will pop up.

https://scottshotsphoto.photoshelter.com/gallery/Recent-Work/G0000CWVA3mDd9tE/

If you don't feel like going to another website right now... here are a few of my personal favorite new photos: 

"Emerald Bay in Autumn 2" - Sunrise photograph of fall foliage above Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe.

"Downtown Truckee 72" - Autumn photograph Historic Downtown Truckee, California.

"Sunrise at Rainbow Bridge 5" - This fiery sunrise was photographed at Rainbow Bridge, also called Donner Summit Bridge, above Donner Lake and Truckee, California.

"Spawning Kokanee Salmon 1" - Underwater photograph of red Kokanee Salmon spawning in a Tahoe area river.

"Fireworks at Donner Lake 5" - Photograph of the July 4th, 2019 fireworks show above Donner Lake in Truckee, California.

"Old Hwy 40 At Night" - Stitched panoramic photograph of Truckee, California and traffic on Old Hwy 40. Shot during the mass exodus after the 4th of July fireworks. The Milky Way can be seen in the sky above Donner Summit.

"Sunset at Lake Tahoe 45" - Photograph of an orange sunset above Lake Tahoe and tiny white wildflowers growing among the boulders at Sand Harbor.

"Sagehen Meadows Sunset 4" - Photograph of a vibrant sunset above Camas wildflowers and Stampede Reservoir at Sagehen Meadows.

Thank you for looking! If you have any questions about ordering prints or products, please email me personally at info@scottshotsphoto.com.

 Scott Thompson
 Scott Shots Photography

My Top 10 Tahoe Area Photos of 2018

It's that wonderful time of year again where I get to look back on my photos from this last year and decide which 10 shots were my favorite. It was a difficult year for choosing the best as I got out a ton this year and added many new photos to the archive.

Thank you everyone for your continued support, likes, loves, shares, upvotes, and print purchases.  You all make it possible for me to continue doing what I love to do.

Here are my top 10 Tahoe area photos, in the order that they were shot (click on the images to view them larger on my website)


1. Last winter, I shot a bunch of new snowy Downtown Truckee scenes that were very popular on social media. This image ended up being popular with traditional media too and was licensed for use in the Wall Street Journal. The article is HERE.

"Downtown Truckee 41" - Photograph of historic Downtown Truckee, California shot during a snow storm.

2. I've shot this awesome wavy shoreline on Lake Tahoe's east shore before. I had an idea for shooting it at night and I finally executed it! I love how the lights from the cars highlight the wavy shoreline even more. 

"Tahoe East Shore At Night 1" - Photograph of the wavy shoreline along Lake Tahoe's east shore, shot at night while cars were driving along the road.

3. It's hard to go wrong at Eagle Falls above Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe, especially when you get a nice sunset in the background with the falls flowing strong in spring.

"Eagle Falls At Emerald Bay 7" - Stitched panoramic photograph of Eagle Falls above Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe flowing strong. Shot at sunset.

4. I had a lot of fun this year "light painting". The lights from the Casinos on Tahoe's north shore and south shore made for some really fun subject matter. This was my favorite of the bunch, the Crystal Bay Club on the north shore. 

"Tahoe Lights 7" - Photograph taken at the Lake Tahoe northern state line casinos. The look was achieved by shooting a handheld long exposure and zooming the lens during the exposure.

5. I was lucky to get out backpacking a few times this summer. My favorite place to backpack to and camp at is Paradise Lake. You can probably see why it's my favorite spot in the photo below. This shot made it onto the cover of Tahoe Weekly magazine.

"Wildflowers at Paradise Lake 3" - Photograph of wildflowers and puffy clouds in the early morning at Paradise Lake.

6. One of the best sunsets I have ever seen! My photographer friend Tony Spiker shot it with me and we were saying that nobody would believe our photos because the sunset was so itense. The little bit of wildfire smoke in the air mixed with perfect sunset clouds and created this incredible scene.

"Sunset at Lake Tahoe 43" - Stitched panoramic photograph of a vibrant smokey sunset at Lake Tahoe, just north of Sand Harbor.

7. My underwater housing for my camera was used a bunch this year. I shot this arch at Whale Beach, Lake Tahoe while swimming around with the camera. So much fun!

"Boulders at Lake Tahoe 54" - Photography of a keyhole like boulder formation at Whale Beach, Lake Tahoe. Shot shortly before sunset while swimming with an underwater housing for the camera.

8. Again, I got out with my photographer friend Tony Spiker and we had some fun at an aspen grove above Lake Tahoe. We used headlamps to light up the aspen, and the Milky Way can be seen above the lake. This one will look incredible as a large print.

"Milky Way Over Lake Tahoe 5" - Night time photograph of stars and the Milky Way above an aspen grove and Lake Tahoe.

9. Over/Under shots! Like I said, that underwater housing was used a bunch this year and I had some fun getting shots of Kokanee Salmon spawning with yellow fall colors in the background. An incredible experience.

"Kokanee in the Little Truckee River 3" - Over/under photograph of Kokanee Salmon spawning in the Little Truckee River near Stampede Reservoir.

10.  Last but not least, Secret Cove! My favorite spot on Lake Tahoe for photography. Add in some fall colors on a nice sunny calm day and you get perfection! I could spend every day at this cove if I had the time...

"Secret Cove in Autumn 5" - Photograph of fall foliage along the shore at Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe.

There you have it, my top 10 Tahoe area photos for 2018. Many more photos were shot and those can be found on my website here:  Recent Work  It's been a great year of getting out there and getting the shot. I hope I can get even more photos in 2019...

If you'd like to follow along throughout the year, please follow me on these social medias: Facebook, Instagram, Steemit, Dtube.

Large canvas prints, metal prints, gift items, and image licensing available at www.ScottShotsPhoto.com

Happy Holidays! Happy New Year! Cheers! And thank you for looking and reading!

-Scott Thompson

My Top 10 Tahoe Area Photos of 2017

Looking back at my top 10 post from last year, I realized that 2017 was very similar to 2016 for Scott Shot Photography. Again, I was incredibly busy with shooting virtual tours and commercial photography. And again I was incredibly lucky to photograph many amazing Tahoe area landscape scenes. It was again very hard to narrow the choice down to 10. (To see all of my favorites over the last year, I would suggest scrolling through my facebook or instagram pages.)

Near the end of 2016 I purchased a new camera, the Canon 5DS R. I have absolutely loved using this camera for all of my photos in 2017. The 50.6 megapixel image sensor helps produce incredibly detailed and sharp large prints. I have also been using Lee lens filters this year and I'm a huge fan of being able to use a polarizer with graduated neutral density filters. An underwater housing for the Canon was also added to my tool kit and that has opened up a whole new realm of creative possibilities. It's been a fun year using all this new equipment.

So what are my top 10 Tahoe area photos? Here they are below. These images and more are available to view, purchase, and order at the Vista Gallery in Kings Beach (Lake Tahoe), at Word After Word Bookshop in Downtown Truckee, California, and at my website www.ScottShotsPhoto.com. Thank you for looking!

My Top 10 Tahoe Area Photos of 2017

(In order they were shot. Click on the photos for a larger view and purchasing info.)

1.   Truckee is where I have lived with my wife and son for the past 15 years. I love this town. Historic Downtown Truckee is the center of activity and has provided me with many beautiful small town scenes over the years. This photo was shot from near The Cottonwood restaurant a favorite view spot of mine. 

"Downtown Truckee 26" - Photograph of a snowy historic Downtown Truckee, shot in the morning after a big snow storm.

2.   Kings Beach, Lake Tahoe is a great place to hang out at in the Summer and enjoy the warm sun and sand. But it's not usually the first place I think of when I grab my camera gear and head out. This day I did decide to shoot the icy shoreline along Kings Beach and boy was I glad I did. It's not the usual big granite boulders and aqua blue water look. However the long exposure, cool tones and warm tones, and the ice and water all came together to give a unique and interesting look to Lake Tahoe. 

"Icy Tahoe Shoreline" - Photograph of any icy frozen shoreline in Kings Beach, Lake Tahoe. Shot just after sunset.

3.   Bonsai Rock.... If you are a fan of Lake Tahoe photos or you follow any Tahoe photo social media pages, you've seen thousands of images of this rock with it's tiny trees on top. It's very difficult to get a unique look. But I think I nailed it with this combination of snow, stormy clouds, super clear water, and a sun setting on the horizon. What do you think?

"Bonsai Rock Sunset 7" - Sunset photograph of the famous Bonsai Rock, coated in snow at Lake Tahoe.

4.   Rainbow Bridge, or Old Hwy 40 Bridge, is another regular location for many photographers. I have many photos of the bridge but this was a new look I decided to try. A car driving on the road during a long exposure is what made the streaking lights. That and the big moon really make this shot come alive.

"Full Moon above Donner Lake 6" - Photograph shot just after sunset of the full moon rising above Donner Lake and Rainbow Bridge in Truckee, California.

5.   Thunderbird Lodge, on the east shore of Lake Tahoe, isn't easy to get access to but photographing it from a kayak can be very rewarding. There is a lot of subject matter along the lodge's shoreline,  this little lighthouse at the property was where I decided to stay for sunset. An underwater housing on the camera let me partially submerge the camera so the lens was right on the surface. The fiery sunset reflecting on Tahoe made this worth the paddle back to Sand Harbor in the dark.

"Thunderbird Lighthouse at Sunset 1" - Photograph of the Thunderbird Lighthouse on the east shore of Lake Tahoe.

6.    Eagle Falls and Emerald Bay. Yes, another location overshot by visiting and local photographers alike. How to get a "unique" shot here...?  I visited this location with photographer Tony Spiker and we both decided panoramic photos would be a nice look with the strong flow of stream right above the falls. It was a challenge staying out of each other's photos but fun. This is a nearly 180 degree view and you can see up the stream on the right. Multiple vertical images stitched together is how I get this look, this one can be printed huge.

"Eagle Falls at Emerald Bay 3" - Photograph taken at sunset of Eagle Falls and Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe.

7.   Donner Summit is a favorite nearby spot of mine, even if I'm just going for a hike and don't expect to shoot anything. While exploring peaks and views, I realized this spot was special as it showed a good amount of Old Hwy 40. This photo was tricky to produce. Capturing multiple long exposures with cars driving on the road took patience and multiple tries. Photoshop struggled with my normal panoramic stitching method so I had to use a specialized stitching program called PTGui to get the whole road lit up. I'm patting myself on the back for this job well done...

"Full Moon Above Donner Lake 8" - Stitched panoramic photograph of a full moon rising above Hwy 80, Donner Lake, Truckee, Old Hwy40, and Rainbow Bridge.

8.  Yes, another stitched panoramic photo. Panoramic photos get requested and purchased so many times at the Vista Gallery (where I sell my prints) that I have been trying to add more to my archive.  This Lake Tahoe east shore scene was another great addition. Shooting a wide angle lens vertically helps get an ultra wide and interesting look.

"Tahoe Boulders at Sunset 18" - Stitched panoramic photograph of boulders at Hidden Beach, Lake Tahoe. Photographed at sunset with fall colors in the foreground.

 9.   The Fall colors were great this year. I had many other Autumn shots that almost made this top 10 list but the oranges and yellows in this one really grabbed my eye's attention, so bright and vibrant. I used two flash units to light up the tree in the foreground, otherwise it would have been a silhouette. 

"Donner Lake Sunrise 17" - Sunrise photograph of a vibrant orange sunrise, a dock, and a bush with Fall colors at Donner Lake in Truckee, California.

10.  I told you I have many photos of Rainbow Bridge... It's only about a 20 minute drive from my house so sunrises aren't too difficult for me to capture here. This is a classic view of the bridge but the beautiful sunrise, fog over Donner Lake, and light snow on the ground all came together to create a unique scene that I am very happy with. 

"Sunrise at Rainbow Bridge 3" - Photograph of a vibrant sunrise at Rainbow Bridge above Truckee and Donner Lake (under the fog).

Thank you for checking out my top ten 2017 Tahoe area photos! If you have any questions about any of them, please comment on this post below. Check back again next year, hopefully my top 10 will be even better...

-Scott Thompson

Full screen slideshow of the images (best viewed on a large monitor) -   https://scottshotsphoto.photoshelter.com/embed?type=slideshow&G_ID=G0000gCA3430ktQw#

Large limited edition prints, gift items, and image licensing of the photos are available.