Flying Above Lake Tahoe - For #WaterWednesday

Photographing Lake Tahoe from ground level is great, but shooting the lake from the air is even better!

I photographed this from a helicopter with the door removed. It was on the way to a commercial photo shoot where I was going to be photographing a silver mine in Nevada from the air. I figured I needed to "warm up" the camera on the way to the silver mine. Glad I did...

Lake Tahoe Aerial 5click to view large

I usually have a big print of this image available at the Vista Gallery in Kings Beach, Lake Tahoe. People there have told me more than once that this looks like an abstract painting. The different layers of color to the water are caused by different depths of the lake.

If you would like to shoot a similar image to this, you will need to charter a local helicopter ride. Unfortunately it appears that the company I used is no longer in business so I can't personally recommend one. This shot was taken over the South Lake Tahoe area. While up in the air, I would also recommend checking out Emerald Bay. That is another area where I have shot some pretty cool aerials.

When shooting from a helicopter or small plane, you will need to be sure to use a fast shutter speed. This was shot at 1/1000 of a second. It was shot on a Canon 5D MarkII with a 24-105mm lens set at 24mm, the ISO was 400 and the aperture was f5. When shooting handheld in these conditions, it is best to turn off your lens stabilization and just shoot at a fast shutter speed.

Thank you for looking and reading!

Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography

For @shadalene's #naturephotocontest #waterwednesday
And for @photocontests #landscapephotography
Lake Tahoe Aerial 5 on my website HERE