hiking

Lilly Lake

Posted by Snob on June 17, 2017

Posted in: Landscape, Nature, Travel. Tagged: Canon 5DsR, Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II, Glen Alpine Falls, hiking, Lake Tahoe, Lily Lake, manfrotto, Mountains, Nature, panorama, tokina 16-28mm f/2.8, Trees. 2 Comments

Lily Lake

Several weekends ago while Chasing the Sunset over Glen Alpine Falls, I took a break for a late lunch snack a little further upstream at Lily Lake. It was so relaxing to just sit there and take it all in, all of this magnificence, all to myself. No cell phone reception forced me to unplug from technology that has so much invaded every aspect of our lives.

Taking a break from chasing the sunset at Little Lake.

We’ve had record rain and snowfall this year so I wondered what this lake would look like with a little less water – perhaps more like a bog?? I made a note to revisit it later in the summer. Maybe with waders on? An inflatable dingy/boat? A shot from the middle would be beautiful.

I did take a fem moments to give the scene a good photographic treatment. I have yet to process the ultra high resolution panorama, but judging from the looks of these quick and rough shots, it should be a real treat to look at when it is ready. It will most likely be available in very Limited Edition print.

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The California Drought – Folsom lake in retrospect

Posted by Snob on December 16, 2016

Posted in: Nature, News, Travel. Tagged: california, drought, folsom, Folsom Lake, Folsom lake reservoir, hiking, lake, rain, severe drought, water, water conservation, water shortage. Leave a comment

It just hit me that almost exactly two years ago today, I was exploring the Folsom lake bed, and I wasn’t in scuba gear. The water levels were so low, what was once a vast lake was reduced to a large puddle. It was at that moment that I truly appreciated how dire the water supply situation had gotten here in California. It was one thing to read and hear about it and another thing to see it in person. I often contemplated through the following year, if we did not get some serious rain for another year, we would experience a catastrophe the likes of which we have never seen before.

Fortunately for us the drought finally started to let up that year. This year we are seeing record rains, but more importantly, corresponding snow packs. The chart to the left is courtesy of the fine folks at the California Department of Water Resources Data Exchange Center. It has been raining heavily all day today and most of this week, yet most folks now just seem to be very grateful overall, myself included. It is yet another one of the many journeys my photography has taken me on.

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe

Posted by Snob on September 8, 2015

Posted in: Canon 7D Mark II, Landscape, Nature, Travel. Tagged: Canon 7D Mark II, canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, Emerald Bay, hiking, Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Panoramic, panoramic. Leave a comment

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe Panoramic – Canon 7D Mark II + EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe Panoramic – Canon 7D Mark II + EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

Happy Labor Day! I just noticed I have not posted in over a month. I haven’t been gone, just busy. August was a busy month. All my spare time went into photographic endeavors and creative projects. Now that I have some time, I intend to catch up.

I spent last weekend around the Lake Tahoe area. One of my favorite spots to visit is Emerald Bay. I traveled light this time as I drove my roadster. I packed just my 7D Marl II and EF-S 17-55mm, a great all around, extremely versatile workhorse camera system. The weather was perfect that weekend, apart from the overall windy conditions which disturbed the surface of the lake, causing more waves than usual. This got in the way of those sublime sunset shots.

Non-the-less I was still able to get some amazing shots while hiking Emerald Bay. Have you visited Lake Tahoe?? What’s your favorite spot?

Emerald Bay

Always remember to look back while hiking

Emerald Bay

The hike down into the Emerald Bay

Down by the bay

The California Drought – Folsom Lake

Posted by Snob on December 17, 2014

Posted in: canon 5D mark III, Landscape, Nature. Tagged: california, drought, folsom, Folsom Lake, Folsom lake reservoir, hiking, lake, rain, severe drought, water, water conservation, water shortage. 3 Comments

Folsom Lake at one of it’s lowest levels.

For several years now California has been experiencing a severe drought. So severe that earlier this year the Governor as well as state agencies implemented various water conservation measures. The citizens also stepped forward to help alleviate the grave water shortage. I like many just stopped watering my landscape and let it die out. I eventually removed the lawn on my quarter acre property because honestly it did not make any sense whatsoever. It also slashed my water bill in half which means more resources for photography! Yay! …LOL.

Like many, I didn’t fully grasp the gravity of the water shortage we are facing until I took a hike to the bottom of the Folsom lake reservoir with my good friend and fellow photo geek, Sasha January of this year. It was a eye opening excursion. I was blown away by the fact that I could take a leisurely stroll on the lake bed where several years ago I was boating with friends and enjoying summer on the lake. The water level dropped so low we were able to explore old gold mining settlements and ponder a piece of this great state’s history.

Finally this winter we have been getting rain most days of the week with little sunny breaks on the weekends. We are still far from where we need to be (as far as rainfall) to get out of the drought, but we are most grateful. I thought now would be a great time to look back in retrospect and post about it. See the California Drought page for updates. I also found this Insightful NASA Report. Below are some choice shots from that excursion.