Lake Tahoe has two faces: a winter side where skiers congregate from all over to enjoy the soft puffy powder, and a summer side where azure blue waters draw vacationers to an aquatic bliss.
Which face do you enjoy?
Lake Tahoe
CA USA
Above Eagle Falls
The draw of Emerald bay in Lake Tahoe is its unique setting: a large bay in an even larger lake, ringed by mountains and thick pine forests. It used to be one of my favorite haunts when I lived in California, for, in the right light, it offered remarkable opportunities for hiking and photography.
Emerald Bay State Park
CA USA
Winding down to winter
As the colorful fall slowly slips into the grey gloominess of winter in the Pacific Northwest, I often look back at the archives of the summer wonderlands of the country to help tide things over until the next blast of sun. Not only does it help with the Seasonal Affectiveness Disorder, it also gives me something to look forward to for the next year.
I found this grey gloominess to be a challenging change as I moved from California to the PNW. While it makes the summer ever so glorious, I miss the ability to go outside year-round as I did in the Golden state. While I can still enjoy quiet winter moments in the snowy woodlands of Cascadia, it quite doesn't compare to the stimulating freedom that the southwest offered.
It is time for another winter here. So here is a blast from the past summer: the crystal clear sparkling waters of Lake Tahoe
Sand Harbor State Park
NV USA
Sunrise spectacle at Lake Tahoe
A early fall weekend found me on the shores of Lake Tahoe. Being the tail end of the travel season, the tourist crowd had all but melted away, leaving behind the place of solitude in what was once a throbbing hub of outdoor activity.
As I woke up for sunrise, my eyes spied the correct features in clouds, along with the break in the eastern horizon, thereby setting up for a very colorful sunrise. And I dashed over to Eagle falls, where I had hoped to capture the gush of the falls glowing deep red in the morning light.
The one thing I did not realize was that waterfalls don't exactly gush in fall - they dwindle to a trickle. I hence had to settle for the next best thing - capturing reflections in the small pools remaining behind. And despite that compromise, I was awestruck by the colors and the unique landscape in front of me. The transition from deep reds to orange to yellow as the whole scene lit up was a landscape photographer's delight.
Lake Tahoe
CA USA
Sunset at Bonsai Rock
Ever since I had first seen images of the Bonsai Rock in Lake Tahoe, I was taken away by the location and the context of where it was: imagine a granite boulder smoothed by eons of water erosion resting on the shore of a azure blue lake surrounded by snow-capped peaks. And then imagine tiny sprigs of life taking root on the nooks and crevices of this tiny boulder. That is the spectacle of Bonsai Rock.
At first glance from the road, it may not have been much, but as I scrambled my way on the rocky shoreline down to the water-level, the profile of the bonsai rock grew even more predominant and striking. While the scene and the setting was perfect, the sky, on the other hand, was just bland. I strapped on a Blue-and-Gold Polarizer to add some unearthly colors to this scene, resulting in this exposure above.
Surreal reflections and colorful sunsets will have to wait another day.
Sand Harbor State Park
NV USA