Monday, June 16, 2008

Loop Around Lake Tahoe

Summer is approaching to Lake Tahoe. Since a few weeks ago, the days have been beautiful. Flowers are blooming in the meadows, and the grounds are covered up with fresh greens. Time to explore the lake!

Lake Tahoe is 22 miles long, north to south, 12 miles wide, and it’s 72 miles around the shoreline. It’s a large lake; I can’t see the entire lake from the shore.

My photographer friend Sand visited from San Diego, and we were driving around the lake clockwise for one beautiful afternoon. We drove trough the famous Emerald Bay, stopped by several scenic points, and drove along Truckee River to the town of Truckee. The colors of the lake were amazing under the sun! It’s deep blue, and there are also many shade of emerald green – some parts of the shore are like tropical beaches.

I like the boulders along the northeast shore. It’s a typical Lake Tahoe image whish you’ll see on brochure or postcards.

We chose Zephyr Cove for a sunset photo location. We arrived there a couple of hours early, still sun bursting at the time; we picked a spot, and set up a camera… and waited for a sunset that was supposed be beautiful.

I shot a nice silhouette of 2 young men on the boulder in the lake, talking to a family on the beach, and of course having a nice conversation with Sand… and more waiting.

Finally, after 8 pm, the sun almost touching the mountain ranges over the lake. I was ready for the perfect shot. However, the sun was setting under the clouds just above the mountain peaks. It painted a little bit orange but most of the sky was gray. After waiting for a few hours, I was disappointed of the sunset. We can’t control Mother Nature; we just have to see what nature offers each day. This is a most challenging part of nature photography.
In a cold winter, I was waiting for a spectacular sunrise in a snow shower 3 mornings in a row, but the sun had never come out those mornings!

Another time, I was waiting for a sunrise in the mist; I thought the sun would never come out and almost gave up. Then, there was the sun through the fog, and it lit up the cliff. The shot was on of my best works. You never know until the moment.