New Lake Tahoe Underwater Photographs - Prints Available

Lake Tahoe's east shore can provide some great underwater photography opportunities, especially in the summer when it's warm and easier. I shot these this summer in the Secret Cove and Whale Beach areas. Please enjoy this glimpse at a bit of Tahoe paradise.

"Boulders Under Lake Tahoe 10" - Underwater photograph of minnows and boulders taken while swimming at Whale Beach, Lake Tahoe.

"Boulders Under Lake Tahoe 3" - Underwater photograph taken while swimming near Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe.

"Boulders Under Lake Tahoe 8" - Underwater photograph taken while swimming at Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe.

"Boulders Under Lake Tahoe 9" - Underwater photograph of minnows and boulders taken while swimming at Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe.

"Boulders Under Lake Tahoe 4" - Underwater photograph taken while swimming at Secret Cove, Lake Tahoe.

If you would like to see video footage of me capturing these photos and talking more about the shoot, please visit my vlog here:  https://steemit.com/vlog/@scottshots/koevcpw2

These photos are available as large fine art prints, printed by me personally. Click on the text below an image to view it on my website, click "add to cart" for prices. Thank you!

-Scott Thompson

Great Place to Photograph Lake Tahoe

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. 

-Scott Thompson

ScottShotsPhoto.com

Photos from the Cushing Classic at Squaw Valley, 2012

"Cushing Classic at Squaw Valley 23" - Photograph of a skier crossing
a pond during the Cushing Classic at Squaw Valley, USA.

This past weekend brought an end to the 2011/2012 ski season at Squaw Valley USA. My son skis and I snowboard there almost every Sunday in the winter. It's one of the reasons we moved to the Tahoe area. 

This closing weekend was also the famous Cushing Classic pond crossing. An event where skiers and snowboards dress in silly costumes and attempt to ski across Lake Cushing (it's more of a pond than lake). 

I was there with my friends and family and wasn't planning on working, but I brought my camera just in case. We ended up getting a great spot to sit, thanks to my wife, so I got the camera out of the bag. I'm glad I did, as I got a ton of fun and funny photos of a very entertaining event. 

Below is a slideshow of the Cushing Classic. If it looks like fun, be sure to check it out next spring!

-Scott Thompson

Cushing Classic at Squaw Valley, 2012 - Images by Scott Thompson

The images above are available as prints or to license as editorial photography. Click on an image for more info. 

Boulders on Lake Tahoe, new photos from my kayak near Speedboat Beach.

"Kayak on a Tahoe Boulder 2" - Scott Thompson's tandem kayak parked on a boulder near Speedboat Beach, Lake Tahoe. Two stand up paddle boarders can be seen in the distance.

I love shooting photos of Lake Tahoe from my kayak. One of the best areas for this is the Speedboat Beach area in North Lake Tahoe, near the California and Nevada boarder. The boulders and beauty there provide for some incredibly peaceful moments as well as stunning photos.

You can access Speedboat Beach with a car. There is a small amount of public parking and a path to a small public beach. But dragging a kayak down the path and stairs can be a big challenge, and on high lake level years like this year, there really isn't much of a public beach. I find the easiest way to access the area is to park and launch at the Kings Beach boat launch and paddle for about 10-15 minutes to Speedboat beach. 

You can't miss the boulders, they're everywhere, some more photogenic than others.  I tend to get there before sunrise and my small headlamp is plenty strong enough to locate a good spot to catch the colors of the sunrise. From the kayak, I shoot sunrises handheld with no tripod so a high ISO is a must, usually around 800 with a wide aperture. A good camera like my Canon 5D MarkII can handle high ISOs decently, but I also tend to use a bit of Photoshop's noise reduction to clean the images up a touch. 

"Tahoe Boulders at Sunrise 7" - These orange, black, and grey boulders were photographed at sunrise from a kayak near Speedboat Beach, Lake Tahoe. A light amount of flash was used to get a good exposure of the boulders. 

I have previously written a bit of a "how to" on kayak photography so I won't go into too many details on that. You can find that post here: My Kayak, What a Great Photography Tool. 

The colors and shapes of the boulders out near Speedboat beach can really vary. But I love the bright orange colors on this boulder pile. Although some of the boulders along the shore can be photographed by foot, a kayak or boat is always required to get out to this pile. The oranges and blues go so nicely together:

"Boulders on Lake Tahoe 18" - These orange, black, and grey boulders were photographed in the early morning near Speedboat Beach, Lake Tahoe.

Getting in close on the colorful boulders can also provide some fun abstract photos:

"Tahoe Boulder Abstract 1" - This abstract images is a photograph of a boulder near Speedboat Beach, Lake Tahoe. 

The lake level can really vary year to year and can really change the look of the area. With this year's high waters, I have been able to get into some areas and get photos that I could not last year. Bonsai Rock is a famous spot on Lake Tahoe for photography but I found this little bonsai like pine tree (below) near Speedboat Beach. I don't think the boulder made an "island" for it last year but I could be wrong. 

"Bonsai Tree on Lake Tahoe Boulder 2" - This little pine tree on a island boulder was photographed near Speedboat Beach, Lake Tahoe.

Don't just stop at Speedboat Beach and call it a day. If you keep on paddling along the shore a bit, you actually cross the California / Nevada boarder. No, you can't actually tell this from the water but here's a Google maps view.  There are some really cool boulders out there but they are on a point so the waters can be a little rougher, especially later in the morning when more motor boats pass close by. A higher shutter speed will be necessary for handheld shots there. Here's one from that area:

"Boulders on Lake Tahoe 24" - These boulders were photographed in the morning near Speedboat Beach, Lake Tahoe.

Those are some of my favorites from my recent trip out to Speedboat Beach. But please enjoy this slide show below of many photographs from that area. Thank you!

-Scott Thompson

Speedboat Beach Area Boulders - Images by Scott Thompson

The Boulders on Lake Tahoe images above are available for purchase as large fine art prints, gift items, and as stock photography. Please click on an image for purchasing information.