Interesting Trees Near Echo Peak, Tahoe

I recently went for a big hike with a friend and the dog se is dog sitting, up to Echo Peak in the Tahoe area of California. There was a fair amount of smokey haze in the air from a nearby wildfire, not many photos were taken, but I did end up with a few "keepers" of interesting trees.

These next three images were shot with the Canon R5 MKII, near the peak, after a long hike up the mountain. There were lots of trees and boulders that were weathered, twisted, beat-up, and photogenic. The weather up there is not gentle but that makes for some unique scenes.

Here's a few phone photos of the day's adventure. Echo lake is below, in Tahoe's Desolation Wilderness.

My friend's family has owned a property on Echo Lake since the 1920's. It's a boat-in only location, new homes are not allowed to be built in the area. It's a pretty special little cabin!

Tons of fun out there, even if tons of photos weren't taken.

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.TruckeeTahoePhotos.com - Art
Scott Shots Photography - Services

New Rainbow Photos

The weather has been wild this last week. So much rain in the afternoons! And what does that mean??? Well, lately it means RAINBOWS!!! There have been rainbows the last three evenings, and I have been lucky to have the time to get out with the camera and capture them.

This photo is above the cherry on top for me. I can't wait to print it up huge. I have been trying to capture a rainbow over Rainbow Bridge and Truckee, CA for over 20 years. Every time I make the drive up there after seeing a rainbow in town, it is gone by the time I make it up Old Hwy 40. Finally! And with yellow blooming rabbitbrush in the foreground, yes!

Shot with the Canon R5 MKII and a 24-105mm lens, with a polarizing filter on the front of the lens. The ISO was 50, the shutter speed was 1 second long (camera on a tripod), and the lens aperture was nice and small, f/22, in order to have a sharp focus on the flowers in the foreground and the mountains in the background.

Here's a couple more rainbow photos, above and below. These were actually shot across the street from where I live. It's so nice to be able to look out the window at the lake, see the rainbows, grab the gear, and capture these scenes.

Thank you for looking and I hope you all have a beautiful day!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.TruckeeTahoePhotos.com - Art
Scott Shots Photography - Services

Reno, Nevada Car Show Photos!

I made a last minuted decision last night to grab the gear and head down to Reno Nevada for some photography fun at the Hot August Nights car show. It was crowded, but not as many people as I expected. I was able to get right up to the railing at the Downtown Reno neon sign and captured some images that I'm pretty happy with!

All shot on a Canon R5 MarkII with a 24-105mm lens. Handheld. The settings all varied but they were all very high ISOs and most of them were at 1/200 of a second exposure.

These last three are ICM photos, or Intentional Camera Movement photos. I used about a half second shutter speed and moved the camera while zooming the lens in or out. The type of image has a very high falure rate for me. So I shoot tons of them, and hope for a few "keepers". I was happy with these.

The event is still going on Saturday night and Sunday. If you happen to be in Reno, Nevada, I would highly recommend checking it out!

Thank for looking and have a great day.

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.TruckeeTahoePhotos.com - Art
Scott Shots Photography - Services

Shooting and Shooting in Nevada Yesterday

I helped a friend with a chore near Lovelock, Nevada yesterday. I brought my camera and my friend brought a shotgun and some clay targets, so some fun was had while we were out there! The clouds were looking incredible. After shooting at targets, I shot this old nearby "home" with the amazing clouds in the sky.

Shot with a Canon R5 MarkII and a 24-105mm lens, set at 24mm. The ISO was 400, the shutter speed was 1/200 of a second, and the lens aperture was f/16 in order to get the foreground and the clouds in the background in focus. A polarizing filter was used on the front of the lens in order to bring out even more detail in the dynamic clouds.

I am very much out of practice when in comes to shooting clay targets, I didn't hit many of them. Fortunately, I'm a bit better at shooting photos...

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.TruckeeTahoePhotos.com - Art
Scott Shots Photography - Services

New Fun Las Vegas Photos!

I recently had a great time visiting my son Kane where he now lives - Las Vegas, Nevada! We went on many little adventures around the Vegas area, one of the evenings we hit the strip, of course. And I, of course, brought my camera...

Kane watched my back while I got into photography mode, where I am able to shoot and completely ignore the thousands of people around me. Thank you, Kane!

ICM (intentional camera movement) is my technique of choice when around bright fun city lights. There are millions of regular photos of the strip out there, I wanted to capture something somewhat different.

These photos below were shot with a Canon R5 Mark II and a 24-105mm lens. The camera's ISO was 50, the lens aperture was around f/5.0, and the photos were about a half a second long. The longer exposure allows me time to zoom the lens in or out, and move the camera a bit. When dialed in, it can create an artsy acid trip look that I have a great time shooting. And I love the way these look as large fine art prints.

They are all currently available as prints and photo gift items on my website: www.truckeetahoephotos.com/las-vegas-lights-gallery

Thank you for looking, I hope you enjoyed seeing these as much as I enjoyed shooting them!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.TruckeeTahoePhotos.com - Art
Scott Shots Photography - Services

New Snowy Wildflower Photo (and a Lake Tahoe shot)

There was some wild weather up here in Tahoe yesterday. My brother was in town, and we got out for some Lake Tahoe shoreline hiking and photography fun. It was beautiful out! Until it wasn't... The wind, rain, then snow came in fast and seemingly out of nowhere. Tragically, some boats capsized on the lake and about six people lost their lives (the news story).

This is how the lake look prior to the bad weather. When it started getting windy and rainy, we hiked back to our car.



On our drive back home, it started snowing! I asked my brother to turn up a rough road that I knew went up to a very high elevation. The snow was actually sticking to the ground up there. We went to a Mule Ears wildflower grove that I know about. The flowers were in bloom, and they were covered in a thin layer of snow. Perfect! I got out the camera and went to work. This shot below was my favorite.

Shot with a Canon R5 MarkII and a 24-105mm lens, set at 43mm. It was a handheld shot so the shutter speed was fast, 1/200 of a second. The lens aperture was as small as it could be so I could get the best depth of field as possible, f/22. This led to the ISO being a bit higher than I usually prefer, ISO 2000.

Now available as large fine art prints on my website, HERE.

Thank you for looking, and I hope you all have a safe and great day!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.TruckeeTahoePhotos.com - Art
Scott Shots Photography - Services

New Book Release! - Docks of Donner Lake

I've been working hard the last couple of years, compiling a collection of images of the "Docks of Donner Lake". I finally completed the book, and it is now available on Amazon!

The book is a photographic study of the docks along the north shore of Donner Lake in Truckee, California. Here is a little look at the book.

10"x8" image wrap hard cover, 53 pages, premium paper, photo paper finish. Printed by Blurb, sold through Amazon.

ORDER "Docks Of Donner Lake" ON AMAZON.COM, CLICK HERE

I'm very excited about this! Thank you for looking!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.TruckeeTahoePhotos.com - Art
Scott Shots Photography - Services

This Morning's Donner Lake Rainbow

I could tell this morning that it was "rainbow weather". So I was keeping an eye on the sky, and wouldn't you know, I saw one! It was an incredibly bright and vibrant rainbow, I happen to be driving along Donner Lake, here in Truckee, California when it popped out. As usual, I had my camera with me so I pulled over, slapped a polarizing filter on the front of my lens, ran out to the shore, and started shooting. I ran because experience has taught me that rainbows can disappear fast. I've seen them before, got all set up, only to have them fade away right before I start clicking.

Shot with a Canon R5 MarkII and a 24-105mm lens. ISO 400, the lens aperture was f/13, and the shutter speed was 1/200 of a second. Again, a polarizing filter was on the front of the lens. They help bring out the color a bit more in rainbows. But be careful with them, they can also make rainbows disappear if the polarizer is not adjusted properly. Handheld shot, I was rushing and didn't grab the tripod or have time to set it up.

As always, prints and photo products available on my website www.TruckeeTahoePhotos.com.

Thank you for looking, and I hope you all have a beautiful day out there!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.TruckeeTahoePhotos.com - Art
Scott Shots Photography - Services