Great and Easy Location for Lake Tahoe Photos - HWY 431, Mount Rose Highway

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.)

-Scott Thompson

Photos from the 431 Mount Rose Highway - Images by Scott Thompson

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.  

New Memorial Point, Lake Tahoe Photos

This morning I woke up at 3:45 am and drove to Memorial Point on the North East shore of Lake Tahoe. Memorial Point is a great place to photograph boulders. There is plenty of easy free parking and there are stairs and trails down to the lake from the parking lot. Getting to the lake in the dark to set up for a sunrise shot is not a problem as long as you have a flashlight. 

I knew the full moon would be setting in the West right around sunrise so it was a good opportunity for some interesting photos. Unfortunately the moon set behind the mountains and clouds right before the sky turned pink but I'm still fortunate to have captured some pretty cool moments at the lake:

"Full Moon over Lake Tahoe 7" - These snow covered boulders and full moon were photographed in the early morning near Memorial Point, Lake Tahoe. 

"Tahoe Boulders at Sunrise 17"- These boulders were photographed at sunrise near Memorial Point, Lake Tahoe.

Here's a slide show with a few more photos from this morning's Lake Tahoe shoot. Click the full screen icon for the best viewing experience:

Memorial Point, Lake Tahoe - Images by Scott Thompson

The photos above are all available as large and small fine art prints, gift items, and to license and use as stock photography right now. Click on an image for more info.

Frozen Prosser Reservoir Photos

This winter has been a very interesting one for the weather up here in Truckee / Tahoe, California. Actually, it might be more "uninteresting". We have had very little snow compared to usual years. I was hoping to have many more new snow scene photos by now but so far, it's been all about shooting ice. 

Prosser Creek Reservoir is a little lake near my house that usually freezes over in the winter. It usually has a very short ice skating season, if any,  because the snow usually covers the ice pretty quickly. With very little snow at the ski resorts and no snow at most of the frozen small lakes, many locals have been enjoying an incredible ice skating season up here. I've been taking advantage of the ice by getting some pretty cool photos of it.

Here's a couple I got of ice skaters and mountain bikers on the Ice. Yes, mountain bikers. They came right off a trail and enjoyed an unusual experience for the area:

"Ice Skaters and Bikers on Prosser Reservoir 1" - These ice skaters and mountain bikers were photographed on a frozen Prosser Reservoir, Truckee.

"Mountain Bikers on Prosser Reservoir" - These mountain bikers were photographed riding on ice at Prosser Reservoir, Truckee.

And here's a couple beauties I'm proud of. Thank you Mother Nature for working with me:

"Rock on Prosser Reservoir Sunset" - Sunset photograph of a rock sitting on top of an icy frozen Prosser Reservoir in Truckee, CA.

"Frozen Prosser Reservoir Sunset 4" - A colorful sunset photograph of an icy frozen over Prosser Reservoir in Truckee, CA.

Please enjoy this slide show below of all the icy frozen over Prosser Creek Reservoir photos that I've got this year, so far...  Most of the images are available as large fine art prints, photo gift items, and to license, download and use as stock photography. Click on an individual image to see a larger version, and click "buy photo" for purchasing options. 

Thank you and enjoy!

-Scott Thompson

Frozen Prosser Reservoir - Images by Scott Thompson

10 Best Photos of 2011 by Scott Thompson

It's that time of year again, where I look back and review the best images I shot over the last 365 days. 2011 was a great year for my photography business. I kept very busy shooting for clients, exhibiting in art galleries, and I added a ton of photos to the virtual galleries on my website. 

Last year I posted my best photos of 2010 and it was a very popular post. So, here are what I feel to be my ten best photos of 2011:

1)  This is a classic view of Donner Lake in the town of Truckee, California where I live. The alpenglow was incredible that evening, it was also incredibly cold shooting it:

"Alpenglow at Donner Lake 2" - This alpenglow was photographed above Donner Lake and Truckee, CA.

2)  I sell out of a gallery in Reno called the River Gallery. Every third Saturday of the month they participate in the downtown Wine Walk and I can usually be found at the gallery helping out.  Sometimes after the event I'll take a walk with my camera and have some fun:

"Downtown Reno 4" - This Reno, The Biggest Little City in the World sign was photographed in Reno, Nevada at sunset. The effect was obtained in camera by long exposure mixed with intentional camera movement.

3)  For a little while in 2011, I exhibited at a gallery in Marin, CA. I traveled there a few times for gallery events and I got this photo during one of the trips of a bridge I have fond childhood memories of.  Here's a previous blog post about the shoot - Golden Gate Bridge photos

"Golden Gate Bridge Sunrise 1" - Photograph of San Francisco's famous Golden Gate Bridge at sunrise. San Francisco can be seen in the distance.

4)  I had been out fishing all day with no real photos to speak of. But on my drive home, I pulled over and got lucky with this soft sunset on Lake Tahoe. My boot got soaked while I was lying down to shoot it but it was so worth it:

"Lake Tahoe Pebbles" - These pebbles were photographed at sunset just north of Idlewild, Lake Tahoe, CA.

5)  Captain Pete invited me onto his fishing boat many times this year and I got many great photos from the boat. But this one of the sunrise and a fishing pole is my favorite from the boat: 

"Sunrise Fishing on Lake Tahoe 2" - This trolling fishing pole was photographed at sunrise on Lake Tahoe.

6)  Everyone that sees this photo thinks it's the famous Bonsai Rock, but it's not. I found this little bonsai like tree on a boulder near Speedboat Beach. I actually got tons of great photos from my kayak in the area, here's more about Speedboat Beach on a previous blog post -  Speedboat Beach Boulders Photography

"Tahoe Boulders at Sunrise 13" - These boulders and bonsai like pine tree were photographed at sunrise near Speedboat Beach, Lake Tahoe. Photographed from a kayak.

7)  I got to experience a first this year and photographed from a hot air balloon for the organizers of the Great Reno Balloon Race. It was incredible! Here is a fun tilt shift photo I got that makes the Reno homes and the balloon look like toys. More info about this shoot can be found on this previous blog post - 2011 Great Reno Balloon Race photos

"Balloon Over Reno 2" - This hot air balloon was photographed over Reno, Nevada during the 2011 Great Reno Balloon Race. The "toy" like effect was achieved using a tilt-shift lens.

8)  And again, I got to experience another first in 2011. This time, I got to shoot from a tiny experimental class seaplane with the door removed.  A happy client decided to bonus me by flying me over Truckee and Tahoe for some photography fun. Fannette Island in Emerald Bay has been shot thousands and thousands of times but rarely do you get to see it from this angle. More about this incredible adventure can be found on this previous blog post: Lake Tahoe and Truckee Aerial Photography

"Fannette Island, Lake Tahoe Aerial" - Photograph of Fannette Island in Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe. Shot from an amphibious seaplane with the door removed. The "Tea House" can be easily seen in the photo.

9)  In 2010, I got a photo of the eclipse that happened on the winter solstice. It was incredibly popular and went viral. This year, I got a photo of the December lunar eclipse over Downtown Truckee, CA.  It didn't go as viral but I actually liked the image a lot better:

"Lunar Eclipse over Downtown Truckee, CA. 2" - Photograph of the December 10th, 2011 lunar eclipse over Downtown Truckee, California.

10)  This photo is part of an ongoing abstract series titled "Beauty at the Bottom". The series consists of photos of bottles, shot right down the mouths of the bottles. I added many new photos to the series in 2011 but this one is my favorite new one of a Partida tequila bottle. More about how this series was created can be found on this previous blog post - Beauty at the Bottom photos

"Beauty at the Bottom: Tequila Sunrise 6" - This is a photograph of a tequila bottle, shot right down inside the mouth of the bottle.

Well, there you have it, my best photos of 2011.  I hope you enjoyed them and I hope you stay connected so you can see what I'm up to in 2012.  Please look for me on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Google+.  Happy New Year!!!

-Scott Thompson

The photos above are available as fine art prints, gift items, and to license and download as stock photography. Please click on an image for a larger view and purchasing options.