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

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

This Morning Along An Icy Donner Lake Shoreline

The temperature was 15°F at my place this morning. And I could see from my living room window that there was a little bit of ice on the surface of Donner Lake, along the shoreline. So I took a little walk with the camera, to see what I could find... Success!!! There were actually many little scenes like this with air bubbles trapped in the thin layer of ice on the surface of Donner Lake. I took quite a few photos. But this one happened to be my favorite, one of the last photos I shot. I've seen bubbles trapped in the ice many times, but in my opinion, it looks best when the ice is very thin, clear, and not too thick. Just like this!

"Donner Lake Morning 28"

Shot with a Canon R5 MarkII and a 15-35mm lens, set at 30mm. It was a handheld shot, no tripod. The ISO was 400, the shutter speed was 1/100 of a second with the lens image stabilizer on, and the lens aperture was f/22. A nice small aperture created the best depth of field I could get. The mountains and were still a bit out of focus despite the small aperture, because the camera was very close to the surface of the ice. Oh, and my boots were in the ice/water and I had water up over my shoelaces. Fortunately, they are quality boots and my socks did not get wet. 😁

This photo would make a very nice large print, I envision it looking best above a desk in an office. A peaceful scene to look at when feeling stressed out about all the office work that needs to be done.

Thank you for looking and I hope you all have a great weekend!

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

This Morning's Icy Donner Lake Sunrise

I try to bring my camera with me most places, even when I plan on just leaving it in the car. I really didn't have any plans to shoot this morning when I headed out to meet up with some friends for coffee. But wouldn't you know..... Sunrise ended up being a nice one so I pulled over along Donner Lake and shot this cool scene along the shoreline of Donner Lake, here in Truckee, California.

"Donner Lake Sunrise 56" (Available as prints on my website)

Shot with a Canon R5 Mark II and a 24-105mm lens, set at 24mm. The shutter speed was 1/100 of a second since it was a handheld shot, no tripod. The lens aperture was f/22, nice and small in order to get the best depth of field possible and to try to get the foreground and background in focus. And an ISO of 8,000, a high ISO was needed and a healthy amount of noise reduction was needed in post processing.

No selfies or video clips. This was a quick shoot, a few photos were shot, then I jumped back in my car and headed to my destination. But I'm happy with the unexpected shot that I got!

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

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.TruckeeTahoePhotos.com

New Icy Abstract Photos

It's been a while since we've gotten any fresh snow here in Truckee, California. We have a little in the forecast and I'm hoping to get some new winter wonderland shots soon... However, when the weather conditions are cold and dry like they have been lately, we can often get some really cool patterns in the ice on the surface of local lakes.

Yesterday, I had some time in the morning to take a little walk along the shore of Donner Lake. These angular patterns were all along the shoreline. I was digging it, so I shot it! Simple yet kind of wild looking. What do you think? Do you like this look?

Prints available through my Donner Lake Photo Gallery. Thanks for looking!

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

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

Video: Milky Way Photoshoot Adventure

I finally put together the little video that I shot while out photographing the Milky Way a few days ago. I already shared the photo HERE, but this video gives you a behind the scenes look and few tips from the shoot.

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

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography

www.TruckeeTahoePhotos.com

Another "Cool" Morning at Donner Lake

I went out for a short stroll with the camera and some turmeric tea this morning. The camera was almost left at home... But I'm glad I decided to grab it at the last minute, because of this cool scene! There was a thin layer of ice on Donner Lake here in Truckee, California. But in this small area, the ice had broken up and piled up, creating sharp looking, jagged pieces of ice that looked rather photogenic to me. So I set down the hot tea and went to work getting some cool photos!

Shot with the Canon 5DR R and a 16-35mm lens, set at 16mm. The camera's ISO was 200, the shutter speed was 1/200 of a second, and the lens aperture was f/16. Shot handheld, no tripod or lens filters.

Instead of shooting a quick selfie as I often do, I decided to make a short video...

Thanks for looking, and I hope you all have a cool day too!!!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.ScottShotsPhoto.com

Abstract Photos Of Awesome Ice

It was foggy yesterday morning here at Donner Lake in Truckee, California. But after a while, it started to clear up so I grabbed my camera and walked across the street to see if I could get any cool photos of the lake with a bit of the fog on it. When I got to the shoreline, I noticed something even cooler...

There was a bit of ice, but it wasn't your normal frozen surface. There was wild unusual triangular patterns all over it. The fog was nice, but I spent most of my time shooting icy abstracts instead.

These were all shot with the Canon 5DS R, which is a 50.6 megapixel DSLR. If desired, I could print these up huge. I kind of think these first three images would look very nice on a big wall somewhere...

These next two wider angle photos of the ice aren't bad either. I just like those first three a bit better.

And here's what I originally had in mind. The lake's surface was very still, the early morning sun made the color of the boulders look very warm, and the fog brought it all together to make a very calming serene shot.

Another beautiful morning in Truckee!!! I hope you are all haveing a great weekend too.

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.ScottShotsPhoto.com

Snowy Shoot At Donner Lake

Yes... I got out yet again on the cross-country skis recently at Donner Lake, here in Truckee, California. I try to get out a few times a week for exercise and to enjoy the Great OutDoors. And of course, I almost always bring the Canon camera with me.

I wasn't really expecting to shoot much. There was some strong winds with the snowstorm the night before, so most of the snow wasn't looking perfect in the trees, the wind tends to knock it off of the pine needles, it falls onto the soft snow on the ground, and it leaves a less than perfect look. However, out at the lake shore, away from the trees, the snow was still looking nice and smooth. The sun was out so we had bright whites, a bit of blue sky, and some dynamic looking clouds. It all motivated me to actually take the camera out of my backpack and get some cool shots!

These below were all shot handheld with the Canon 5DS R and a 24-105mm lens. No lens filters, flash, or tripod were used.

I thought I was done shooting and was on my way back to the cross-country ski trail when I stumbled upon these icicles. They had the perfect background so I got the camera back out, and went back to work. Yes, I said work... These will all be on my website soon, available as large and small fine art prints. I also offer image licensing of my images, high resolution versions can be purchased and downloaded through my website, and used in publications or in a business's printed and online marketing efforts.

Thanks for looking and I hope you all had some great outdoor time today as well!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.ScottShotsPhoto.com

A Cool Look To Donner Lake

There was a break in a big snowstorm recently. It had been dumping all day, a decent amount of snow piled up fast. I took the opportunity to make some tea, grab the camera, and walk across the street to Donner Lake in order to enjoy a little outdoor time.

When I got to the lake, I was surprised and pleased to see these cone shaped snow covered rocks! The cone look made them a bit unique compared to most snow covered rocks. Also, the lake was coated with a slushy slurpy layer of snow. The whole scene looked kind of surreal so I fired off many photos and even waited around until sunset, with hopes for a fiery colorful sky.

Sunset did not fire off quite like I had hoped, but there was still a bit of warmth to the clouds. It was beautiful out!

These were all shot with the Canon 5DS R and a 24-105mm lens. All handheld, no tripod or lens filters. The camera settings varied but the shutter was always 1/200 of a second. I like using a fast shutter speed when shooting handheld in order to ensure that the image will be nice and sharp if I print it up big.

The image above was looking to the east, the image below was looking to the west toward Donner Summit.

Okay, this was weird... I found this hole below with a little feather floating in it. I have no idea how it formed, or if the feather had something to do with the snow not sticking there. But it looked very interesting and was very photo worthy.

As you can see above, the snow on the surface of the lake was more of a slushy slurpee and not frozen solid. I tried going out with the camera again this morning for a sunrise shoot, but the slush had melted and the scene was no longer really photo-worthy in my opinion (see the photo below).

It was a fun photoshoot yesterday! I spent a lot of time out there walking up and down the shoreline. I shot many different compositions, but these were my favorites.

Oh! And earlier in the day, while running errands, I saw this Tesla Cybertruck in the wild! I've seen one driving around town before, but this was the first time seeing it in a snowstorm. I've been told Teslas handle the snow fairly well with their all wheel drive. This one had cables on the rear tires, so it was probably driving like a tank, no slipping and sliding.

Thanks for looking and I hope you all had a great weekend too!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.ScottShotsPhoto.com

Edit: Here's a Youtube Short with the photos.