The Buttercup Wildflowers Are Blooming!

Well... I've got some pretty great personal news. About 5 years ago, I had a scary health incident that landed me in the hospital's ICU for a couple weeks. The doctors told me that I could never mountain bike or snowboard again for the rest of my life. It was too risky with the stent I had placed in an artery at the base of my brain. Last week, I had an appointment with my neurologist to review a recent MRI of my brain and it turns out that I have reached a place where I can now indeed get back to the sports I love most!!!! So, of course I immediately bought a new (used) mountain bike and yesterday I got out on a bike for the first time in 5 years!

It was so much fun, I forgot just how much I love biking. There was no wiping the huge smile off of my face the whole time I was out there. Of course... I brought my Canon camera because I had no idea what I would see. And lucky me, I saw some early blooming Buttercup wildflowers in one of the meadows. The meadow was a bit flooded with all of the snowmelt water, it made for some great photos, below is my favorite of the bunch.

Shot handheld with a Canon 5DS R and a 24-105mm lens. The camera's ISO was 400, the shutter speed was 1/200 of a second, and the lens aperture was f/18. No lens filters or flash were used.

This image is now available on my new website here: "Buttercup Wildflowers 1" Metal prints, framed prints, canvas prints, photo products and more are available for ordering, shipping is available worldwide.

Also... I am running a HUGE Mother's Day special through 4/26/2024. The coupon code MD2024 will get you a 30% off discount on any purchase of any print or product of any image on the new site. Just enter the code when checking out...

Okay, here's a couple of very happy selfies with the "new" bike. I had just picked the bike up from getting repaired and having a major tuneup. It rode great! And wouldn't you know... After five years, I remembered how to ride a bike, lol. So much fun!

Thanks for looking and I hope you are all having a great day!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.TruckeeTahoePhotos.com

Last Night's Donner Lake Sunset

Tonight's sunset was beautiful, but I was out sitting along the shoreline of Donner Lake, sipping tea, with no camera on me...

Last night's sunset was also beautiful! And I had gone up to the Donner Summit area for some photo fun. After I had dinner, I looked outside and determined that the clouds looked like we might actually get some nice color looking to the east, instead of just to the west. So I headed up to get a view of Rainbow Bridge, Donner Lake, and the town of Truckee, California. I live near the far end of the lake in the photo below, so it's not a very far drive to this vista location.

Fortunately, I was correct, and the color looking to the east was indeed incredible! The purples and pinks were very nice to see, and fun to shoot. I'm still not sure though which photo I like better. The horizontal, or the vertical with Rainbow Bridge in the frame. Which one do you like better?

Both of these were shot with a Canon 5DS R and a 24-105mm lens. The camera's ISO was 100, the lens aperture was f/20, and the exposures were a few seconds long. A graduated neutral density filter was used on the front of the lens.

The images are now on my new website, where prints can be purchased and shipped worldwide. https://www.truckeetahoephotos.com/donner-lake-gallery

I had some time to kill before the colorful show, so of course I had to take a few selfies... lol.

Thanks for looking and I hope you are all having a great day/evening!!!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.TruckeeTahoePhotos.com

Milky Way Shoot Video and More New Photos

The Milky Way shoot Saturday morning was successful. But I also stuck around for sunrise, and that was a successful shoot too! The Milky Way shot is in my last post, and the sunrise photos are below. But first... I put together a little behind the scenes YouTube video, so you can have a bit of a look at the fun involved with this type of shoot. Also, I shot an Instagram Live video. I can't seem to download and share that, so if you're bored and would like to see the sunrise with me, here is a link to that: Instagram Live Video

Okay, this first photo is actually of the sliver moon rising above the mountains. It was only visible for a few minutes before it disappeared behind the clouds, a pleasant sight to see!



This next one was a predawn shot, a few cars were driving on Old Highway 40 and over Rainbow Bridge. I thought it made for a nice scene.

And this one of the sun actually rising above the horizon has proved to be rather popular on other social medias. I love the warm tones of that first light on the bridge.

Thanks for looking and watching. I hope you all had or are having a great day!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.TruckeeTahoePhotos.com

New Milky Way Photo!

WOW!!! I was incredibly lucky to get this shot recently! I woke up at 2:30am on Saturday, 4-6-24, was at this spot a bit after 3:30am, and shot this photo just before 4am. Shortly after I got this "keeper" the clouds rolled in and the Milky Way was no longer visible. If I would have gotten up a little later, I would have missed the shot.

Bonus, there was a cloud above Truckee and the lights of Truckee lit it up beautifully. Also, a car drove over Rainbow Bridge during the exposure which lit up the railing. The snow was reflective enough to become visible during the 20 second exposure. Everything came together perfectly, I am VERY happy with this shot.

Shot with a Canon 5DS R and a 16-35mm lens. The camera's ISO was 1600, the lens aperture was f/2.8, and it was a 20 second exposure, on a tripod. No lens filters, flashes, or headlamp were used.

This photo is already up on my new website. I am loving the new site! And I've already had some vern nice print orders. People seem to like the shopping experience a lot better than my old website. Here is this image on the site. Large prints, small prints, and photos products are available for shipping worldwide.

I actually stuck around for sunrise. It was incredibly cold out there but I have some more "keeper" photos to work on. Stay tuned for that post...

Thank you for looking and I hope you are all having a great day!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.TruckeeTahoePhotos.com