This was taken roughly an hour after my earlier shot of the Milky Way above Emerald Bay in South Lake Tahoe. As the sky continued to grow brighter, Tom and I, and several other photographers by this point, began jockeying for position to begin shooting a very promising looking sunrise. The majority of the photographers chose one of three spots and pretty much stuck with it through the golden hour, but I simply found it impossible to stay in one spot for longer than 5 or 10 minutes. So if you were shooting in South Lake Tahoe on Feb 19, I was the one buzzing around between the overlook on the Western side, the pullout directly South of the lake, and Eagle Falls. Most of the color disappeared inside of 15 minutes, but I did manage to grab SOME color in all three spots.

Following 4 hours of solid shooting, we headed off to grab a well earned breakfast (we had just driven up to Big Sur, shot through the night in San Francisco and were now shooting the sunrise in Lake Tahoe) at Jack in the Box and then we were off to find Bonzai Rock on what turned out to be an absolutely glorious day at Lake Tahoe. We paid for our manic shooting schedule in spades on the 9 hour drive back to Laguna Beach, but it was definitely worth it. So much so that we ended up trying it again to catch a snow storm in Tahoe roughly a week later. Tahoe seems like an awfully long way from Orange County, but between the sunrise and the snowstorm, both Tom and I felt it was worth it and you can bet we'll be back as soon as we get a chance.


William McIntosh Photography

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Tags:   Emerald Bay Lake Tahoe Sunrise Nikkor 14-24 2.8

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Bansai Trip #5 took place over February 18 and 19 and included racing up the 5 and cutting across to Garrapata to shoot the lilies, sneaking onto Coast Guard property to shoot the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, shooting the Golden Gate Bridge as the low clouds moved back in at 1 AM, and a bleary eyed, very cold drive up highway 50 to Lake Tahoe where we shot Emerald Bay and several other spots before driving some 9 hours or so back to Orange County. (It probably would have been closer to 8 hours if Tom hadn't gotten pulled over by the CHP just outside of Bishop.)

As we pulled into Lake Tahoe, I was hoping that we would be able to shoot the Milky Way over Emerald Bay as Stellarium had forecasted 4 AM as the time the Milky Way would rise in the East. When we pulled up at 4:15 and began shooting it took awhile for our eyes to adjust. It was only after we looked at our LCD screens that we realized that there were a few scattered high clouds overhead catching the light of the different towns around the lake in addition to the Milky Way, creating an eerie glow. Rather than being bummed about the clouds, I immediately liked the look the clouds and light created and both Tom and I spent the next four hours or so shooting from different locations around the Bay. The clouds eventually lit up for a very decent sunrise giving way to a gorgeous day at Lake Tahoe. I was more than pleased with what we were able to shoot over 36 hours, but when the alarm went off the next morning at 5:45 AM...it really made me wonder if I could pull that off again. It was definitely worth it, but I need to make sure I don't try the sleep deprivation thing right before a work day if I ever try this again.

(Nikon D800 & Nikkor 14-24. Single exposure shot at ISO 1250, f 2.8 for 44 seconds.)

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I've just returned from a quick jaunt through four states which included stops in Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco/Half Moon Bay, and finally, just a couple of days ago, Page Arizona. My kids were off at camp this week, so it gave me the perfect excuse to get outside of Orange County for some quality time with my camera. Emerald Bay has been high on my list since I made the trip up there a couple years ago in February only to find that they shut that entire corner of the lake down during the Winter due to threat of avalanches. I had high hopes that I would be arriving just as a storm was breaking up on June 24, but when I arrived, the storm didn't break up, and I ended up sitting in my car in the pouring rain as the sunset came and went.

I woke up at 3:30 AM the following morning, and after a quick look at the radar, I was positive I would see a decent sunrise. When I arrived at 4:30, it was still raining. Again, sunrise came and went and there was no break in the clouds. I just sat there under my umbrella starring at the flat gray sky sharing the moment with a few hundred mosquitoes. I finally gave up around 6:30 and drove in to town to drown my sorrows in a couple of breakfast jacks at the local Jack in the Box. But just as I drove into the parking lot, I glanced up and noticed that the sun was beginning to break through the clouds. I immediately headed back to Emerald Bay and arrived just as the clouds parted just enough for a few shafts of light to make it through. I shot for about 15 minutes, after which the sun disappeared again, and from what I could see on the satellite, did not re-appear for the rest of the day. I was then off to San Francisco which turned out to be a bust as the marine layer rolled in much too deeply to get any shots from Hawk Hill. I did, however, have better luck in Page Arizona and I hope to get to those shots when I return from my trip to Virginia.

I'll definitely be back to Emerald Bay in the next couple of years as I think this little corner of Lake Tahoe is one of the most gorgeous spots in the country.

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Tags:   Lake Tahoe Emerald Bay Sunrise Storm Nikon D4 Nikkor 14-24

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I came home very disappointed last year after only seeing two or three clouds over the four days I was shooting in the Sierras. This year, I was not expecting much better as most of the Summer storms don't move in until July or August. So was was shocked when I looked at the forecast and saw a 90 percent chance of rain over two days up in Tahoe during the last week of June. The thing that made this particular storm even more remarkable was that it wasn't a monsoonal storm with thunderclouds blowing up from Arizona. This was a very late cold front which had drifted down from the Gulf of Alaska which was something more typical for February than the first full week of Summer. In fact, I think they set a new record for rainfall over the two days I was shooting in Tahoe. So I was thrilled about the clouds this year....right up until the storm parked itself over the lake and refused to move. The sunlight that you see in this shot is literally the ONLY sun I saw over the two days that I was there, and I finally gave up and set off for San Francisco shortly after taking this shot. I had to admit that I felt like an idiot up there waiting around in the pouring rain. When I pulled the car around and parked for this shot, there was only one other photographer who was crazy enough to be there at that hour and both of us shot like maniacs for 5 minutes before the sun disappeared again. After something like four hours of sitting in the rain above Emerald Bay over two days, I was very grateful for this little patch of sunlight.

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Tags:   Lake Tahoe Emerald Bay Storm Sunrise Rain Nikkor 14-24 2.8 HDR

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Where to begin with this particular shot?

I suppose it all started when Tom and I decided to head up to Yosemite to catch what might have been the only decent snowfall of the year on the valley floor. A decent storm was rolling through the area and the snow level was due to drop to 3500 feet over night. So off we went. Except...when we got to Yosemite, there was no snow, and as we looked at the updated weather forecasts, the call for snow went literally from 100% down to 50% down to 30%., all within about an hour! Realizing that we weren't going to get any snow and that the sunset was a bust, I almost absently muttered "Hey....looks like Tahoe is getting some snow" as I looked sadly at the radar.

Then Tom and I looked at each other. We each had that manic look in our eyes. No one in their right mind would consider driving another 5 hours up to Tahoe with the off chance that the storm would break in time for a snowy sunrise. So...I guess it's a good thing that Tom and I aren't in our right minds. I've been dying to get a snow covered shot of Emerald Cove ever since I was shut out three years ago when they closed hwy 89 due to avalanche danger. At this point, I was convinced that they ALWAYS shut down the South end of the road around Emerald Bay every time that snow fell from the sky...just to be safe. But after scouting quickly for some shots, we found that I was completely wrong and that there was a very good chance that the road would be open.

Long story short, we were putting the snow cables on the tires at around 2 AM, and by 4:30 AM, we rolled into the parking area above Emerald Cove with 6 inches of new snow after pulling over for a quick nap. The wind had picked up at this point, and I found out in a hurry that my jacket wasn't really made to keep out the cold. During my first two trips to the overlook during blue hour, I couldn't stop shaking long enough to look through the view finder. The fact that snow flurries kept blowing into the lens didn't help either.

By sunrise, the wind died down, but the clouds refused to break. We were just thinking we were completely out of luck when a rift in the clouds appeared and then a huge break in the clouds erupted above us and we shot like crazy for another hour.

Then it was off to breakfast where we tried to figure out where we would shoot next as thick clouds had rolled back in and it looked like they weren't going anywhere. Almost absently I muttered "I bet that it's raining in Death Valley."

(To be continued)

Tags:   Emerald Bay Winter Snow Lake Tahoe Sunrise Nikkor 14-24, 2.8

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