Lake Tahoe Lupine Wildflowers at Night - ColorChallenge - Indigo Saturday
The Lake Tahoe area can have some amazing wildflower blooms. On big snow years, the meadows can be blanketed in purple or yellow. On smaller snow years, the lake level can drop, and things can get interesting...
Lupine wildflowers tend to do better on years that we get less snow. The shoreline around the lake gets exposed as the lake level lowers. Lupine love these type of conditions, when the lake level is high, their favorite spots get submerged and they do not grow. I have photographed the Lupine fields many times over the years, when they go big, it's hard to go wrong.
The year I shot this photo, 2016, we had something happen that I had not seen before. The lake level was fairly low, we had another huge bloom, and I got many cool lupine photos. I thought I had gotten my fill for the year but then... My photographer friend Tony's wife took their dogs for a walk in this area. She noticed that the lake level had just recently rose up quite a bit (due to snow melt in the surrounding mountains) and had partially submerged some of the Lupine on the edge of the shore. She texted him and I a snapshot of the scene and we both went out there the very next morning.
Tony and I had planned on shooting the sunrise but I woke up early and decided to go get some pre-dawn photos too. This was shot at 4:19 am on June 8, 2016. The faint Milky Way can be seen in the sky, Tahoe City can be seen along the shore in the distance. I have tagged the location using @steemitworldmap (look for the link in the comments below), it is just northeast of Tahoe City, California at Lake Forest Beach.
A Canon 5D Mark II was used and a 17-40mm lens, set at 17mm. My tripod and my shoes were in the water, it was cold but worth it. The exposure was 30 seconds long, luckily there was no breeze and Tahoe's water was perfectly still. I was at ISO 800 and an aperture of f4. A headlamp was used to light up the Lupine and foreground.
This is my entry for @czechglobalhosts' #ColorChallenge - Indigo Saturday. There is definitely some indigo colors going on in this one.
Thank you for looking and reading! Cheers!
Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
Wow, this is fantastic! And you are a PRO at light painting! I've done many attempts at this but they never come out properly exposed like this! But I'm guessing you have thousands of hours of practice be a photog as good as you are.
Thank you @nords! It always takes me many attempts at dialing in the light painting for each of these types of shots. I tend to hold the head lamp or flashlight in my hand and constantly move it. I also tend to move the light from the left side of the camera to the right side of the camera many times throughout the exposure so I don't end up with any harsh shadows. And I tend to only light up the close foreground briefly and I spend most of the exposure time lighting up flowers/objects in the distance. I hope that helps a bit. Happy shooting!
That sounds a lot like what I have tried (the constantly moving it from left side to right side of camera and painting background more). So I think I'm on the right track, just need to practice more at night :)
Definitely on the right track! I also review the image and adjust how long I light up certain areas. I usually shoot a dozen images or so before I'm happy with it. Have fun!
thanks for shearing..very nice photography..
Than you @jhonysins. I'll keep them coming...
Stunning photo! Thanks for explaining how you made this!
Thank you and no problem @keithboone! It's fun sharing these stories and tips.
If it's anything like Utah ... there isn't much snow here this year.
So sad here too. Last year the snow was above my second story window this time of year. This year we have a few patches of snow in the yard. I haven't bought a ski pass in a few years, of course I made the mistake of buying one this season...
Impressive colors and light painting! Resteemed!
Thank you so much @photofeed! I'm honored :) And I hope to post many more that will be resteem worthy...
This gorgeous shot goes to show that making the effort of waking up at an ungodly hour does pay off sometimes! Beautifully executed, Scott! :)
Thank you again @voyagesofcarla2! It can pay off indeed. I'm often in what I call "zombie mode" when I shoot pre-dawn, as long as I don't have to talk to anybody for the rest of the day, I can get up at 2 or 3 am.
this is really a stunning sight, thanks for sharing your friends, may you always succeed
Thank you @gaul! Nice photos on your blog too. Following and hope to see more from you...
This is STUUUUUUUNNNNINNG! Congrats!
Thank youuuuu @imalayvvm!
Congratulations, Your Post Has Been Added To The Steemit Worldmap!
Author link: http://steemitworldmap.com?author=scottshots
Post link: http://steemitworldmap.com?post=lake-tahoe-lupine-wildflowers-at-night-colorchallenge-indigo-saturday
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