Top 10 photos of 2024

2024 has been a busy, productive, and great year! I purchased a new camera and a variety of lenses a few months ago, a Canon R5 Mark II. I've really been enjoying the new gear, both for commercial photography work, and for the landscape photography that is my true passion. The images are incredibly sharp, and I really like the reduced digital noise at higher ISOs.

Quite a few new landscape photos were shot. I just went through them all and decided that these are my top 10 favorites of the year. Not necessarily the most popular shots, but images that I personally like best. Let me know what one is your favorite!

Top 10 Photos of 2024, In the order they were shot:

"Icy Donner Lake 3" - Photograph of a ice and frost along the shoreline of Donner Lake in Truckee, California.

"Snowy Truckee River 14" - Snowy morning photograph of the Truckee River, in Downtown Truckee, California.

"Milky Way Above Donner Lake 7" - Nighttime photograph of the Milky Way above Rainbow Bridge and Donner Lake, in Truckee, California.

"Downtown Truckee 109" - Spring photograph after a storm of a snowy Downtown Truckee, California.

"Northern Lights Over Truckee 1" - Photograph of the aurora borealis, or Norther Lights, over Donner Lake and Truckee, California.

"Sunset at Boca Reservoir 10" - Sunset photograph of a beautiful sunset and it's reflection at Boca Reservoir in Truckee, California.

"Aspens Above Lake Tahoe 20" - Sunset photograph of yellow and orange aspen trees in the Fall at a grove above Lake Tahoe.

"Black Bear at Taylor Creek 6" - This black bear was photographed with a Kokanee Salmon in it's mouth at Taylor Creek in South Lake Tahoe.

"Downtown Truckee 117" - Photograph of a Christmas Tree and the Train Depot in Downtown Truckee, California.

"Donner Lake Morning 25" - Early morning photograph of fog in the trees and it's reflection at Donner Lake in Truckee, California.

There you have it. Many more photos were shot that I loved, but these were my favorite. Again, which one is your favorite? Thank you for looking and cheers to 2025!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.TruckeeTahoePhotos.com

All of these are available as fine art prints, gift items, or to license as stock photography.

My Top Ten Photos Of 2023 - Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! It's that time of year where I like to look back at the photos I've shot this past year, and choose my top ten favorites. These aren't necessarily the crowd favorites or the ones that got the most attention on social medias. These are the images that stick out to me as being special and that I'm especially proud of.

1. "Donner Lake Sunrise 47"
I really like how smooth the snow is in this shot. It's a very popular area and capturing it with no footprints or ski/snowboard tracks is rare. The sunrise was a great one and the arcs of the bridge, shadow, and car on the road all came together to create a great look.

2. "Old Hwy 40 At Night 3"
Yes, I've shot this location a few time in the past, but not with the Milky Way over Donner Lake. It was a cold evening, but totally worth it!

3. "Sunrise at Paradise Lake 5"
From a backpacking adventure to Paradise Lake, a favorite little local lake of mine. The water was perfectly smooth, the sunrise was a nice one, and the red leaves on the plants all made it a "keeper"!

4 - "Donner Lake in Autumn 27"
I shot a ton of photos of Donner Lake this fall. Well... I now live across the street from the lake! It makes it "easy" to get out there when the light is looking perfect. I really like the reflection of the yellow Cottonwood trees in this shot.

5. "Donner Lake Sunset 72"
Yup, another Donner Lake shoreline shot! The sunset fired off big time, it was one of my favorite shows of the year.

6. "Donner Lake in Autumn 32"
Did I mention that I shot a ton of Donner Lake photos this fall??? Fall colors, mixed with the low fog on the water, and a nice sunburst... Bam! This one was incredibly popular with the locals on other social medias.

7. "Lake Tahoe 5"
Alright... This one was genuinely my favorite photo of the year. It was a fairly simple shot. But it was a case of being at the right spot, at the right time. I was fishing from a boat, enjoying this view, when I got out the camera for a quick photo. This image is the new "cover image" on my website www.ScottShotsPhoto.com.

8 - "Icy Abstract 6"
A super cool photo... We've had some cold days this winter, but not a lot of snowy ones. This means there has been a lot of ice built up along the streams and creeks. I really like the composition of this macro shot. It would look "cool" printed up extra large and hanging on a wall.

9. "Sunset at Lake Tahoe 54"
It's hard to go wrong with a Lake Tahoe sunset photo. This recent sunset was particularly beautiful and serene. Another one that was incredibly popular with the locals on social media.

10 - "Donner Lake Sunset 74"
And #10, just made it onto the list! Shot 12-29-23. I love the rock spiral. The sunset was nice, but the spiral makes it a unique photo.

All of these images are available as large (and small) fine art prints on my website in the "Recent Work Gallery". Here's a SLIDESHOW of the images. Each image above is numbered, I'm curious, which is your favorite???

Thank you for looking. I hope you all had a great 2023. Cheers to 2024! Happy New Year!!!!!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.ScottShotsPhoto.com

My Top 10 Tahoe Area Photos of 2020

I shot many photo this year but I do believe it was a lot less than last year. Print sales have been great and I now sell out of two galleries. Art Obsessions in Reno, Nevada and Art Truckee in Downtown Truckee, California.  Despite this year's challenges, things have been going pretty well.

Here are my favorite top 10 images that I shot in 2020, in the order that they were shot:

 

1. I'll start with a couple puppy photos. It's not my usual subject matter but early in the year my family brought this little guy home and wow, has he taken up a lot of time... We love him and he's modeled for me many times now.

1. "Puppy in Snowy Sagehen Meadows 5" - Photograph of a Golden Retriever puppy "Quill" playing in the snow and Camas wildflowers at Sagehen Meadows, a little north of Truckee, California.

 

2. Here's another shot of Quill below. This image ended up as a cover shot on the August 2020 issue of Tahoe Weekly.

2. "Puppy Above Lake Tahoe 2" - Photograph of Golden Retriever puppy "Quill" above Lake Tahoe.

3. Boca Reservoir is a nearby spot that I brought the pup to many times over the spring and summer. This year, the little lupine wildflowers at the lake bloomed bigger than I had ever seen at the reservoir. Add and nice sunset and BAM! I love this shot.

3. "Lupine at Boca Reservoir Sunset 3" - Photograph of Lupine wildflowers growing along the shore at Boca Reservoir in Truckee, California.

 

4. I am very excited about a new art gallery in Reno, Nevada that I am selling prints out of, Art Obsessions.  I know, Reno is technically not Tahoe, but it my nearest city where I do much of my shopping. 

It was a tough year for my friends to open a gallery... but the new shopping center and gallery are looking great and all the restaurants and other shops should be open in a few months. The photo below is the Rancharrah mansion, it is the "backdrop" to the shopping center, you can see the mansion from the shopping center's courtyard.

4. "Rancharrah Sunset 2" - Sunset photograph of the famous Rancharrah mansion in Reno, Nevada.

5. I love this Nevada shaped horse corral, it is located very near the Art Obsessions gallery. In fact, this sunset shot below was shot on the same evening as the Rancharrah sunset photo above. I was able to hop in the car and drive up to this spot before the amazing colors of this sunset disappeared. Downtown Reno can be seen in the distant left and the Rancharrah mansion can be seen in the right of the photo.

5. "Reno, Nevada Sunset 1" - Photograph of a Nevada shaped horse corral and Reno, Nevada shot at sunset.

 

6. I had a lot of fun with shooting abstracts in Reno and Truckee this year. This is a new temporary neon sign in Truckee that made for a great subject matter.

6. "Truckee Lights 1" - Photograph of the Truckee sign outside of Moody's Bistro Bar and Beats in Downtown Truckee, California. The abstract effect was obtained in camera by long exposure mixed with intentional camera movement.

7. Yup, I also had fun shooting abstracts of the fall colors up here in the Tahoe area. This one was my favorite of what I captured. My son wanted a canvas print of this one for his college dorm. Done, it looks great as a print!

7. "Autumn Abstract 1" - Photograph of Aspen trees at Paige Meadows, near Lake Tahoe in the fall. The abstract effect is achieved by intentional camera movement while hand holding the camera.

8. This is a spot I've driven by many many times over the last 18 years. I finally stopped and got some photos of it this fall. I'm glad I did! This one is another one that should look great as a very large print.

8. "Truckee River in Autumn 32" - Photograph of the Truckee River in the fall, shot off of Hwy 80, in California, just west of Nevada.

9. Fall is a great time of year for photography. The yellow and orange foliage makes for attention grabbing subject matter. Mix that with a little fresh snow and YES! I love how this photo turned out. The contrasting colors really make my eyes happy.

9. "Donner Lake in Autumn 15" - Photograph of fall foliage, snow, and a dock along the shore of Donner Lake in Truckee, California.

10. I'm finishing off the top ten list with this snowy Christmas photo in Downtown Truckee, California. It's an incredible location for photography during the holidays, Truckee really goes all out with the lights. It's tricky shooting in these kind of heavy snowy conditions but so worth it when you get a shot like the one below.

10. "Snowy Christmas Tree in Truckee 12" - Photograph of a snow-covered Christmas tree at night, during a snowstorm, in Historic Downtown Truckee, California.

Thank you for checking out my top 10 photos of 2020 list. I know it's been a tough year for many people, I hope you were all able to have a few highlights and beautiful moments in order to make things a bit easier. 

Happy Hew Year and Cheers to 2021!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.ScottShotsPhoto.com

Large canvas and metal prints are available of the images above. The images can be found on my website by clicking on the photos above. Click "add to cart" for a pricelist.

Prints can also be seen and purchased at the following locations:

• Art Obsessions art gallery in Reno, Nevada
• Art Truckee in Downtown Truckee, CA
  
• Glenshire Pizza Company in Truckee, CA
• The Lift in Truckee, CA
• The Pub in Truckee, CA

My Top 10 Tahoe Area Photos of 2019

It's that time of year again! Always an interesting time of year for me, when I look back on all the Tahoe area photos I've shot in the last year and I choose my favorite 10. I shot many photos this year and I had a tough time narrowing it down to 10, a good problem to have.


Here they are, in order that they were shot:

1. "Eagle Falls At Emerald Bay 10" - Sunrise photograph at an icy Eagle Falls above Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe. 

Please click on the images for a larger view and click "add to cart" for a print price list.

2. "Sagehen Meadows Sunset 4" - Photograph of a vibrant sunset above Camas wildflowers and Stampede Reservoir at Sagehen Meadows.

3. "Sunset at Lake Tahoe 45" - Photograph of an orange sunset above Lake Tahoe and tiny white wildflowers growing among the boulders at Sand Harbor. 

4. "Lightning at Lake Tahoe 1" - Photograph of a lightning strike at Lake Tahoe, shot from the lifeguard chair at Sand Harbor, shortly after sunset.

5. "Fireworks at Donner Lake 5" - Photograph of the July 4th, 2019 fireworks show above Donner Lake in Truckee, California.

6. "Old Hwy 40 At Night" - Stitched panoramic photograph of Truckee, California and traffic on Old Hwy 40. Shot during the mass exodus after the 4th of July fireworks. The Milky Way can be seen in the sky above Donner Summit.

This photo above is my favorite photo of the year. I love how the heavy traffic lit up the road and mountainside and how Donner Summit almost looks like a volcano with the Milky Way shooting out of it. It was an unplanned shot but I'm glad I was there at the right place and right time.

7. "Downtown Truckee 67" Photograph of Historic Downtown Truckee shot at sunset from near the Cottonwood restaurant.

8. "Spawning Kokanee Salmon 1" - Underwater photograph of red Kokanee Salmon spawning in a Tahoe area river.

9. "Sunrise at Rainbow Bridge 5" - This fiery sunrise was photographed at Rainbow Bridge, also called Donner Summit Bridge, above Donner Lake and Truckee, California.

10. "Emerald Bay in Autumn 2" - Sunrise photograph of fall foliage above Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe.

Thank you for checking out my favorite Tahoe area photos of the year. I hope to have many more for you to check out in 2020. Cheers to the New Year!!!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
www.ScottShotsPhoto.com


Large prints of the above images are available for ordering at www.ScottShotsPhoto.com. Simply click on an image and then click "add to cart" on an image, the print price list will pop up. Thank you!

My Top 10 Tahoe Area Photos of 2017

Looking back at my top 10 post from last year, I realized that 2017 was very similar to 2016 for Scott Shot Photography. Again, I was incredibly busy with shooting virtual tours and commercial photography. And again I was incredibly lucky to photograph many amazing Tahoe area landscape scenes. It was again very hard to narrow the choice down to 10. (To see all of my favorites over the last year, I would suggest scrolling through my facebook or instagram pages.)

Near the end of 2016 I purchased a new camera, the Canon 5DS R. I have absolutely loved using this camera for all of my photos in 2017. The 50.6 megapixel image sensor helps produce incredibly detailed and sharp large prints. I have also been using Lee lens filters this year and I'm a huge fan of being able to use a polarizer with graduated neutral density filters. An underwater housing for the Canon was also added to my tool kit and that has opened up a whole new realm of creative possibilities. It's been a fun year using all this new equipment.

So what are my top 10 Tahoe area photos? Here they are below. These images and more are available to view, purchase, and order at the Vista Gallery in Kings Beach (Lake Tahoe), at Word After Word Bookshop in Downtown Truckee, California, and at my website www.ScottShotsPhoto.com. Thank you for looking!

My Top 10 Tahoe Area Photos of 2017

(In order they were shot. Click on the photos for a larger view and purchasing info.)

1.   Truckee is where I have lived with my wife and son for the past 15 years. I love this town. Historic Downtown Truckee is the center of activity and has provided me with many beautiful small town scenes over the years. This photo was shot from near The Cottonwood restaurant a favorite view spot of mine. 

"Downtown Truckee 26" - Photograph of a snowy historic Downtown Truckee, shot in the morning after a big snow storm.

2.   Kings Beach, Lake Tahoe is a great place to hang out at in the Summer and enjoy the warm sun and sand. But it's not usually the first place I think of when I grab my camera gear and head out. This day I did decide to shoot the icy shoreline along Kings Beach and boy was I glad I did. It's not the usual big granite boulders and aqua blue water look. However the long exposure, cool tones and warm tones, and the ice and water all came together to give a unique and interesting look to Lake Tahoe. 

"Icy Tahoe Shoreline" - Photograph of any icy frozen shoreline in Kings Beach, Lake Tahoe. Shot just after sunset.

3.   Bonsai Rock.... If you are a fan of Lake Tahoe photos or you follow any Tahoe photo social media pages, you've seen thousands of images of this rock with it's tiny trees on top. It's very difficult to get a unique look. But I think I nailed it with this combination of snow, stormy clouds, super clear water, and a sun setting on the horizon. What do you think?

"Bonsai Rock Sunset 7" - Sunset photograph of the famous Bonsai Rock, coated in snow at Lake Tahoe.

4.   Rainbow Bridge, or Old Hwy 40 Bridge, is another regular location for many photographers. I have many photos of the bridge but this was a new look I decided to try. A car driving on the road during a long exposure is what made the streaking lights. That and the big moon really make this shot come alive.

"Full Moon above Donner Lake 6" - Photograph shot just after sunset of the full moon rising above Donner Lake and Rainbow Bridge in Truckee, California.

5.   Thunderbird Lodge, on the east shore of Lake Tahoe, isn't easy to get access to but photographing it from a kayak can be very rewarding. There is a lot of subject matter along the lodge's shoreline,  this little lighthouse at the property was where I decided to stay for sunset. An underwater housing on the camera let me partially submerge the camera so the lens was right on the surface. The fiery sunset reflecting on Tahoe made this worth the paddle back to Sand Harbor in the dark.

"Thunderbird Lighthouse at Sunset 1" - Photograph of the Thunderbird Lighthouse on the east shore of Lake Tahoe.

6.    Eagle Falls and Emerald Bay. Yes, another location overshot by visiting and local photographers alike. How to get a "unique" shot here...?  I visited this location with photographer Tony Spiker and we both decided panoramic photos would be a nice look with the strong flow of stream right above the falls. It was a challenge staying out of each other's photos but fun. This is a nearly 180 degree view and you can see up the stream on the right. Multiple vertical images stitched together is how I get this look, this one can be printed huge.

"Eagle Falls at Emerald Bay 3" - Photograph taken at sunset of Eagle Falls and Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe.

7.   Donner Summit is a favorite nearby spot of mine, even if I'm just going for a hike and don't expect to shoot anything. While exploring peaks and views, I realized this spot was special as it showed a good amount of Old Hwy 40. This photo was tricky to produce. Capturing multiple long exposures with cars driving on the road took patience and multiple tries. Photoshop struggled with my normal panoramic stitching method so I had to use a specialized stitching program called PTGui to get the whole road lit up. I'm patting myself on the back for this job well done...

"Full Moon Above Donner Lake 8" - Stitched panoramic photograph of a full moon rising above Hwy 80, Donner Lake, Truckee, Old Hwy40, and Rainbow Bridge.

8.  Yes, another stitched panoramic photo. Panoramic photos get requested and purchased so many times at the Vista Gallery (where I sell my prints) that I have been trying to add more to my archive.  This Lake Tahoe east shore scene was another great addition. Shooting a wide angle lens vertically helps get an ultra wide and interesting look.

"Tahoe Boulders at Sunset 18" - Stitched panoramic photograph of boulders at Hidden Beach, Lake Tahoe. Photographed at sunset with fall colors in the foreground.

 9.   The Fall colors were great this year. I had many other Autumn shots that almost made this top 10 list but the oranges and yellows in this one really grabbed my eye's attention, so bright and vibrant. I used two flash units to light up the tree in the foreground, otherwise it would have been a silhouette. 

"Donner Lake Sunrise 17" - Sunrise photograph of a vibrant orange sunrise, a dock, and a bush with Fall colors at Donner Lake in Truckee, California.

10.  I told you I have many photos of Rainbow Bridge... It's only about a 20 minute drive from my house so sunrises aren't too difficult for me to capture here. This is a classic view of the bridge but the beautiful sunrise, fog over Donner Lake, and light snow on the ground all came together to create a unique scene that I am very happy with. 

"Sunrise at Rainbow Bridge 3" - Photograph of a vibrant sunrise at Rainbow Bridge above Truckee and Donner Lake (under the fog).

Thank you for checking out my top ten 2017 Tahoe area photos! If you have any questions about any of them, please comment on this post below. Check back again next year, hopefully my top 10 will be even better...

-Scott Thompson

Full screen slideshow of the images (best viewed on a large monitor) -   https://scottshotsphoto.photoshelter.com/embed?type=slideshow&G_ID=G0000gCA3430ktQw#

Large limited edition prints, gift items, and image licensing of the photos are available.