Road Trip Rainbow!

On my drive back to Truckee, California from Denver, Colorado a few days ago, I was treated to this beautiful sight. It was a looong drive and it was raining for most of it. As I was getting closer to the finish line, there was a break in the storm and I was saw this colorful scene that made me pull over and fire off a few photos. Shot near Mill City, in the north western area of Nevada.

Shot with a Canon R5 MarkII and a 24-105mm lens. It was a quick, handheld shot. The ISO was 200, the lens aperture was f/11, and the shutter speed was 1/250 of a second. A polarizing filter was used on the front of the lens. Polarizers can help bring out the color a bit more in rainbows, and can create a bit more contrast and depth in the clouds. I almost always carry a polarizing filter with me, even if I am going lightweight with one body and one lens.

Oh, and no road trip would be complete without a little "drama". Flat tire! Changed it and was back on the road in about 30 minutes.

Thank you for looking and I hope you all have a great and colorful day, with no flat tires!

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

You probably know by now that large fine art prints are always available of my images and can be shipped anywhere in the world. But did you know that phone cases are available as well? It's true! Many other photo products are also available... Here't the photo on my website: "Nevada Rainbow"

New Winter Themed Photography Exhibit

Scott Shots Photography has a new winter themed photography exhibit on display at the Pavilion at Truckee's Old Greenwood. Old Greenwood is a private golf resort community, so unfortunately, unless you are a homeowner there or a member of their Tahoe Mountain Club, you probably won't get to see this exhibit in person. No problem, I took a couple photos of my photos for you.

There are 12 winter themed photos on display, either framed or on canvas, all are available for purchasing. And as always, I have many more photos/prints available at Art Obsessions in Downtown Truckee and at the Vista Gallery in Kings Beach.

While we're on the theme of winter, I went ahead and put together a slideshow of a "few" images that were tagged with either the keyword winter or snow. Many more winter themed images can be found by using my website's search tool. Thanks for looking and I hope you have a great winter season!

-Scott Thompson

Winter Images gallery - Images by Scott Thompson

For the best slideshow viewing experience, click on the full screen icon. For more info about the image or purchasing info, click on an individual image. Large fine art prints, photo gift items, and digital downloads are available. 

New Lake Tahoe Photo Gallery added.

Yesterday I added a new photo gallery to my website. Well, actually I divided one gallery up into two galleries. I had a Lake Tahoe Sunsets and Sunrises gallery. Now I have a Lake Tahoe Sunsets Gallery and a separate Lake Tahoe Sunrises gallery. This is because I was getting too many images in the original gallery, a good problem to have. I've been out shooting even more Tahoe and Truckee sunrises lately, although it has been tough as the sunrise happens pretty early this time of year.  Please view the photos below for a few favorites. 

Here's a couple links to the new galleries:

Lake Tahoe Sunrise pictures

Lake Tahoe Sunset pictures

And here are some new Lake Tahoe sunrise photos and Tahoe fishing photos I've added to my website recently:

"Sunrise Fishing on Lake Tahoe 2" - This trolling fishing pole was photographed at sunrise on Lake Tahoe.  One of the motivating factors for getting up so early lately has been fishing. I have a good buddy with a fishing boat and I often get the invite. As you can see, fishing and photography go very nicely together. 

"Tahoe Fishing Boat at Sunrise" - This silhouette of a fishing boat and fishing poles was photographed at sunrise on Lake Tahoe.  The boat is my fishing buddy's boat and I have spent many hours fishing and taking pictures of Tahoe from it. The fishing boat was loaded with gear and coolers, and the silhouette worked great to hide it all. 

"Tahoe Sailboats at Sunrise" - These silhouettes of sailboats were photographed at sunrise on Lake Tahoe.  I captured this one from the dock, right as we were about to head out fishing for the day. 

"Sunrise at Lake Tahoe 7" - This sunrise was photographed from a boat on Lake Tahoe.  As we were heading out of the buoy zone, the boat was moving slow so I was able to capture a few photos of a fiery but near cloudless sunrise. 

"Sunrise at Lake Tahoe 6" - This sunrise was photographed from a boat on Lake Tahoe.   Taken at about the same time as the photo above, I zoomed out to the widest angle my 24-105 mm lens could go. I like this one a lot for the simple and abstract feel to it. 

I've previously written a bit of a "how to" when it comes to photography from a small fishing boat on Tahoe. You can view the post here:  Fishing and Photography on Lake Tahoe  If you have any technical questions about the subject, please feel free to ask in the comments area below. Thank you!

-Scott Thompson

The images above are available at Fine Art Prints, Gift Items, and as Stock Photography. Please click on an image to view it larger and for purchasing info. All of the Scott Shot's Tahoe area photographs can be found in the Lake Tahoe and Truckee Areas gallery collection. 

Total Lunar Eclipse on Winter Solstice photo 12-20-2010

It's late, my toes are still cold, but I got an incredible photo tonight of the Winter Solstice lunar eclipse. All day I thought I was going to see clouds and snow instead of the moon so I didn't bother leaving the house tonight. But I got lucky at the last minute, the clouds cleared, and I saw the whole eclipse happen from my driveway. I feel very lucky to have seen it as I have noticed on Twitter and Facebook that a lot of my photographer friends saw only clouds. It was the beautiful red color I had hoped to see. A pine tree made a good foreground and it helps show the actual color of the moon is indeed a reddish orange. Well, here it is:

"Total Lunar Eclipse on Winter Solstice 2" This very special total lunar eclipse was photographed on 12-20-2010 in the Tahoe Donner area of Truckee, CA. 

CLICK HERE to view print purchasing options or to license, download, and use the image right now.


UPDATE:

Wow, this image has gone viral and has quickly become the most viewed image on my website. A big THANK YOU to everyone who shared it or "liked" it.

I've been asked for the technical information on the shot, here it is:

Photographed at 11:52 pm pacific, on a Canon 5D Mark II with a 100-400 lens set to 400mm. The camera was on a tripod, using mirror lock up and a shutter release cable. Settings were ISO 800, aperture set to f16, and it was a 4 second exposure. I used a flash set to manual, full power, to light up the snowy pine tree a bit. Processed with Adobe Raw, with minimal and normal adjustments, the eclipsed moon really was that red.

Tip: I found that any exposure longer than 4 seconds did not work well. The moon moved too much and it looked blurry.

If you have any other questions about the photo, please feel free to ask!


More photos of the eclipse:

Lunar Eclipse on Winter Solstice Gallery - Images by Scott Thompson