Scott Shots Photography Blog. Follow the adventures of Truckee / Tahoe, CA photographer Scott Thompson. Photographs, locations, advice, how to's, QandA's
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 years ago, shortly after I had moved to Truckee, my family went for a hike with some friends to Sagehen Meadows. The hike there was nice but the meadow was incredible. It was filled with purple camas wildflowers surrounded by green pine trees. I knew I would have to go back some time with my camera.
In 2005 I went back with my Canon EOS3 film camera and captured the image below. It was an incredible year for the camas. I was very happy with the image I got but when I eventually made the switch to digital photography, I really wanted to capture the sea of purple again.
"Camas at Sagehen Meadow"
I have gone back to this meadow just about every spring since and unfortunately, it has never been quite as incredible. Some recent years, there has barely been any purple at all. But that changed this year! Sagehen Meadows was once again exploding with color! And this time I had my Canon 5D MarkII to capture the images in a resolution that could be printed big enough to do the scene justice. Below are a couple photos I captured recently (as well at the image at the top of this blog post).
"Sagehen Meadows Sunrise 3" - These Camas wildflowers were photographed at sunrise in Sagehen Meadows, near Truckee, California.
"Snowy Sagehen Meadows 2" - This field of Camas wildflowers was photographed during a snow storm at Sagehen Meadows, near Truckee, California.
Sagehen Meadows is next to Saghen Creek, on the west side of Stampede Reservoir, just outside of Truckee, California. Many people have asked me recently were the meadow is so I'll spill the beans. Here is a link to information on the hiking trail to the meadow: http://sagehen.ucnrs.org/Documents/Lower_Sagehen_Creek_Loop_Trail.pdf I will also tell you that there is a way to 4x4 on a dirt road to the location, but there are many forks in the road and it would be hard to explain without showing, sorry.
The camas have already peaked this year but you can still see some purple out there. We recieved a couple inches of snow in the meadow a few days ago and unfortunately, that did some damage to the flower petals so it's not quite as photogenic as it was. But even when the camas aren't blooming, it's still a great place for a hike so get on out there!
Here is a slideshow of images I've shot over the years. All of the images are available as large limited edition prints, printed by me personally. Thanks for looking!
Occasionally I get phone calls or emails from people asking me where they should photograph Lake Tahoe. They are usually only up here for a few days while on vacation and don't have a lot of time to explore. I tend to recommend the "must see" and easy locations like Emerald Bay or Sand Harbor. But there are also some great areas around the lake if you are willing to go on short hikes.
Lake Tahoe's East shore has many short hike areas that are great for photography, one of my favorites is the Chimney Beach, Secret Cove, Whale Beach area. This is about a mile of shoreline that has tons of granite boulders, beautiful pine tree covered points, and aqua blue waters.
If you only have a little bit of time to photograph the area, I would recommend getting there in the early morning but not too early. The area is popular for hanging out on the beaches, people start showing up in the morning (disclaimer: Secret Cove and Whale Beach are clothing optional). But... if you get there too early, the sun is behind a big mountain and everything is in the shade. The aqua, emerald colors in the water really only show up well when the sun is shining on the water. Here is a link to a google map showing Chimney Beach and it's parking area: http://goo.gl/maps/ns1dA
Must have camera gear for the area would be a wide angle lens and a polarizing filter. The wide angle views are stunning and the polarizer will help you cut through the glare on the surface of the lake and capture Tahoe's famous blue, aqua, emerald, and green waters.
Below is a slideshow of images I've captured from the area. Prints, photo gift items, and digital downloads are available. Here is a link to these images on my website where they can be viewed larger and purchased: Tahoe Photos Gallery. If you have any additional questions about the area, please don't hesitate to ask in the comments section below.
A Photography Adventure at Lake Aloha in Tahoe's Desolalation Wilderness.
"Desolation Wilderness Sign 1"
Last Friday, I headed out to Tahoe's Desolation Wilderness again. This time with Tony Spiker of SpikerPhotography.com, he and his wife also own the Vista Gallery in Tahoe Vista. Our destination was beautiful Lake Aloha. I had been there a couple weeks earlier on a big backpacking trip with my son and some friends (see previous blog post HERE). Although I got some great photos that trip, I wasn't 100% focused on photography like I planned on being during the Lake Aloha trip with Tony.
We started backpacking from Echo Lakes fairly early in the day and after a nice healthy climb, we made it to Lake Aloha in great time. We had both decided to bring our tripods instead of tents so setting up camp wasn't much work at all. The food was hung in a nearby tree and the photo fun began.
Lake Aloha is an incredibly photogenic lake. There are tons of dead trees, boulders, and small islands in the water. The shoreline has plenty of trails along it, there is also plenty of easy access to higher mountain peaks where you can get a great view of the lake from above.
"Lake Aloha 4" - Photograph of Lake Aloha in the Tahoe Desolation Wilderness..
"Wildflowers at Lake Aloha 2" - These pink wildflowers were photographed at Lake Aloha in the Tahoe Desolation Wilderness.
After getting some nice daytime photos, we took a break and Tony taught me how to fly fish. I'm a fishing fool but I had never fly fished before, and what a perfect setting to learn. Although we didn't catch any fish, I did catch this nice photo below. Thanks Tony for showing me how to cast, now, how am I going to convince my wife I need to spend the money on a new rod and reel???
"Fly Fishing at Lake Aloha" - Photograph of Tony Spiker of www.SpikerPhotography.com fly fishing at Lake Aloha in the Tahoe Desolation Wilderness.
The late afternoon light at Lake Aloha was great so the photography fun started back up. I had a lot of fun shooting more dead trees and including the sun in the photo:
"Lake Aloha 12" - Photograph of dead trees at Lake Aloha in the Tahoe Desolation Wilderness.
When it was time to shoot sunset, the few clouds that we did have had disappeared. But we still got lucky with a nice alpen glow that gave us purple and pink skies in one direction, and golden orange and blue skies in the other. Again, the dead trees in the middle of the water gave us very unique looking photo opportunities.
"Lake Aloha Sunset 6" - Photograph of Lake Aloha at sunset in the Tahoe Desolation Wilderness.
As the sky started getting darker, we decided to do some light painting. Tony had brought his giant flashlight that works great for this kind of fun. During long exposures, he would shine the light on the dead stumps and trees to "paint" them with light. The flashlight puts off a much warmer color than a camera flash does and gives the image a great look.
"Lake Aloha Sunset 8" - Photograph of dead trees and stumps in Lake Aloha at sunset in the Tahoe Desolation Wilderness. A flashlight was used to "light paint" the stumps during a long exposure.
We kept on shooting long after sunset. The moon was fairly bright that night and lit up the landscape very nicely. I took quite a few 20+ minute photographs, getting a interestingly lit landscape with a bit of star trails in the sky. My last photo was just after 11 p.m., then I crawled into my sleeping bag exhausted but happy.
"Lake Aloha at Night" - A long exposure photograph lit by the moon of Lake Aloha in the Tahoe Desolation Wilderness..
I woke up at 4:45 a.m. to shoot the sunrise but unfortunately it wasn't very interesting at all so I crawled back into my sleeping back and got a couple more hours of sleep before heading back down the mountain.
Some items I would highly recommend bringing when doing a backpacking photography trip to Lake Aloha are:
A quality big backpack. You'll need plenty of space for photo gear, camping gear, and food.
One camera body. Skip the backup body or large battery grip. Lighter is better.
A Tripod. I didn't bring one my first time to Lake Aloha and regretted it. It's more important than a tent in my opinion.
A camera flash and possibly a big flashlight.
Bug spray and sun block. There is no shortage of mosquitoes or sunshine at Lake Aloha.
A food bag and a rope, or a bear proof food bin. The little ground critters are more of a problem than the bears in my opinion, they'll chew a hole through your backpack fast to get to the trail mix as I learned my first time out. Get your food hanging in a tree as soon as you arrive.
A good water purifier. The climb to Lake Aloha takes a lot out of you. Clean natural springs can be found in the area at certain times of the year, but you should definitely have a filter pump, SteriPEN, or iodine tablets ready to go.
If you ever make it out to Lake Aloha or Desolation Wilderness, I'd love to see your photos. Please leave a link in my comments area. Here's a slide show of more photos I got on this recent trip. Enjoy!
The images above are available as large and small fine art prints, gift items, and as stock photography. Click on an individual image for a larger view and purchasing information.
"Snowy Sierra Tavern 1" - This snow scene of the Sierra Tavern and Commercial Row was photographed in historic Downtown Truckee, CA.
Historic Downtown Truckee in the Tahoe area of California is a great spot for photography, but it is often skipped by photographers visiting Tahoe who head for the big lake instead. Downtown Truckee is about a 15-20 minute drive from Lake Tahoe and can provide many styles of photos in a small, walkable area.
"Snowy Truckee River 1" - This foggy and snowy scene of the Truckee River was photographed from the bridge near West River St. in Downtown Truckee, CA.
"Downtown Truckee Tracks 2"- These railroad tracks were photographed in Downtown Truckee, in the early morning.
Commercial Row in Downtown Truckee has a great deal of history to it, here's a link to a walking map that points out historic locations. I'm not a historian but you can find many great stories about Truckee's history at TruckeeHistory.org/history. Many of the buildings in Truckee have an old western feel to them and are very photogenic. Truckee has recently improved it's sidewalks and walking around for photos is very easy, even after snow storms.
Downtown Truckee can also provide you with photos of an old diner and a classic Flying A gas station replica that is now a clothing store. The Christmas Holiday season is a great time to visit as most of Downtown Truckee gets decorated in twinkling Christmas lights. You might even get lucky and photograph a snow covered Christmas tree or snowy candy cane if the weather cooperates. Trains in Downtown Truckee are a regular sighting and are often stopped or going slow, perfect for photography. If you happen to take a helicopter or airplane ride for some Truckee aerial photography, the downtown area can be very photogenic by air as well.
So the next time you visit Lake Tahoe for photography, be sure to take a little trip into Truckee, you wont be disappointed. And if the lighting happens to not be that great, stop into one of our many restaurants or bars where you can get "motivated" and wait for the lighting to improve...
Please enjoy this slide show below of even more Downtown Truckee photography (and the surrounding area). If you have any questions about the location of a photo or how it was shot, don't hesitate to ask in the comments section below. Thank you.
All the images above are available as large fine art prints, gift items, and to license, download, and use as stock photography. Click on an image for a larger view and purchasing information.
Please visit Art Obsessions art gallery when you visit Downtown Truckee, where you can view and purchase Scott Thompson's prints of Downtown Truckee and the Tahoe area.
Last night I shot a fiery sunset out at Lake Tahoe. I went to a spot that I feel is one of the best and easiest places to get a good photo of Lake Tahoe, the popular vista point on HWY 431 or Mount Rose Highway. This spot provides a spectacular view for taking photos just steps from your car. From HWY 28 in Incline Village at the lake, take HWY 431 toward Reno. About a couple miles up the hill you will see a sign warning you that the scenic view is close, you can't miss the pull off.
"Sunset at Lake Tahoe 16" - This orange and yellow sunset at Lake Tahoe was photographed from the vista point on Hwy 431, or Mount Rose Highway.
Photos from the designated viewing area are great but I prefer the view from a little lower. If you're careful, you can climb down the rocks and get to an area with less trees blocking your view. Be careful if you do this, a fall would be bad.
If you have a wide angle lens, you should be able to get a photo of the entire lake. But I tend to prefer to zoom in a bit on the Crystal Bay California / Nevada state line point. The photo below was shot with a Canon 5D MarkII and a 24-105 mm lens, set to 105.
"Sunset at Lake Tahoe 18" - This orange and yellow sunset at Lake Tahoe was photographed from the vista point on Hwy 431, or Mount Rose Highway.
Please enjoy this slide show if images below that were shot from the HWY 431 vista point. (Not all of them were shot last night.)
All of the images above are available as large and small fine art prints, printed by Scott Thompson personally. Also available as gift items and to download and use as stock photography right now. Click on an image for more info.
