Lake tahoe

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So this was a fail. But I thought it would be a good idea to share it with you.

It did not occur to me that while we were out camping, we would see stars. I don’t know why. It’s just something that completely slipped my mind. I think I was too worried about the actual camping part to even consider anything else.

So after the sunset on our first day in the woods, I was kicking myself for not bringing my 14mm lens. It’s so much faster and I specifically bought it to take more night images like this. *Facepalm x2* So I tried to do best with what I had.

My camera settings for this image is F4.0 at 13 seconds and ISO 5000 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm. I did not have a tripod with me so I did my best by balancing the camera on this big log we were sitting on. I think the colors are really cool in the image. I just wish it were sharper and I know I could have done that with my 14mm.

Oh well. Next time!

Which will be soon because Andrew and I will be traveling to Norway next week! I can’t wait. Neither one of us have been there before and I’m really looking forward to capturing the fjords, waterfalls and the night sky! Don’t worry though, my 14mm is the first lens I’ll be packing in my camera bag. We’ve booked places to stay that right along the water and am really looking forward to just checking out the scenery. I’ve been on pinterest like a madwoman planning out this trip and reading other people’s experiences. I couldn’t sleep the other night because I was just so excited. So if you’ve been to Norway, please let me know. I’d love for any tips or advice.

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This image was taken about 30 minutes after I captured this one. The sun came out and was hitting the trees very nicely. By this point, Andrew and I had driven around Emerald Bay so that we were facing west and the sun was just over my right shoulder.

As I mentioned in my last blog post, Andrew and I woke up really early to capture this image. 4 am west coast time so about 7am east coast time which isn’t so bad if you put it in terms of time zones, however by this point we were already adjusted to the west coast time. When I told my family the night before what time Andrew and I were planning on waking up and to go take pictures, they seemed pretty shocked. To be honest, people in general are shocked when I tell them what time I wake up to go take pictures. If you had told college-age me that I would be waking up that early, I’d be shocked too. But at this point I’m used to it. And when we’re home, Andrew usually wakes up early too. I don’t make him wake up early with me when were traveling but he’s just a good supportive husband who wants to make sure I’ll be ok so he’ll come with me too <3

But it’s funny because soon after we came home from this trip, Andrew and I went to a conference to listen to Robert Herjavec (among other people) speak. He talked about how he’s an early riser just so he can get things done before he has to go to work. Everyone thought he was crazy too. But the funny part of it was when he said people would ask him, “but aren’t you tired?” And then Robert said, “of course I’m tired! But I gotta get it done!” LOL so true Robert, so true!

If you ever get the opportunity to see Robert speak, I’d highly recommend it. He was funny, entertaining and inspiring.

My camera settings for this image is F7.1 at 1/100th of a second at ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

 

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We didn’t spend time at Donner Lake. Just a quick pull over to stretch our legs and check out the scene. At this point I was just excited to be out in nature.

The whole time we were there, this was the only really cloudy day that we got. It even rained a little bit which made slightly nervous about the idea of mosquitos waiting for us on top of the mountain but everything ended up being perfect.

By the way, thank you so much for all the birthday wishes yesterday! I had a fantastic day of just doing whatever I wanted to do. Andrew and I went out to eat dinner and had the best seafood ever. This past weekend, I celebrated with my girlfriends and other than that my birthday has been real low key this year. I kinda almost forgot about it because we just got back from the west coast and as soon as I got back, I started preparing for our next trip. Our next trip is in less than two weeks and I can’t even tell you how excited I am for it. There will definietly be a lot more nature images coming your way.

This past year was one of the best ever. Never would have I imagined that I would write and publish a book, work with the Trust for the National Mall for the Ball for the Mall or even have my work in the gift stores at the National Mall. I was able to see my images in various publications and multiple business’ walls and everything is just so exciting. So thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way or even has taken the time out to view my images. I appreciate you!

My camera settings for this image is F7.1 at 1/320th of a second at ISO 500 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

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This was my very first time camping. And when I say camping, I mean real camping. No running water, no bathrooms, sleeping outside in the wilderness, as real as it’s going to get. To be honest, I was a little nervous. Sleeping on the ground never really interested me much, plus I hate getting mosquito bites.

Luckily we went with my sister-in-law’s family who had experience camping and they were super prepared. Like they brought burners so we had hot food for every meal, 2 water filtration systems, and even a shovel so we could dig poop holes. I KNOW RIGHT! WE HAD TO DIG HOLES TO POOP IN!!!! It was so the bears couldn’t smell us. I’m still so grateful Andrew came with us last minute on this trip. He shoveled all my poop holes. I just had to cover them when I was done with my business.

I also thought I’d be super uncomfortable not being able to shower for 2 nights. But in the end, the non-showering part wasn’t even that bad. LOL.

But every morning I woke up to views like this. No alarm clock needed. Just woke up with the sun woke up. And it was totally worth it. Would I go again? I dunnooooo. Maybe in a couple of years. The experience was great and all but it just made me appreciate a mattress so much more. Side note, the elevation was so high that there weren’t even any mosquitos 🙂 Double win!

I’m glad we did it though! Here’s a group shot of us right before we were about to hike back down the trail. We would spend nights sitting on this tree trunk talking and looking up at the stars, so I thought it was an appropriate place for us to take our last group shot.

My camera settings were F7.1 at 1/320th of a second at ISO 160 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.

 

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We spent 4 nights in Lake Tahoe, 2 nights were spent camping while the other 2 were in my sister-in-law’s sister’s cabin.  It was my first time going as an adult. I had been before when I was much younger. I don’t remember much about it except we went for a ski trip. To be honest I just remember sitting on bus coming home from skiing and being super hot in my snowsuit. That was pretty much it. So it was basically my first time visiting. And it was Andrew’s very first time visiting too!

Driving around the lake we were both so surprised how built on the area is. I guess I’m just used to Lake Anna where there’s not much around and you have to drive like 30 minutes to the nearest grocery store. As opposed to Lake Tahoe where there’s a Taco Bell right across the street!

On our last day in Tahoe, Andrew and I woke up around 4am to drive from North to South Tahoe. I wanted to catch the sunrise from Emerald Bay and I was really hoping the water was going to be that aqua blue that you see in the pictures on pinterest. Unfortunately I think it only turns that color in the afternoon time. Something about how the sun hits the water or something like that. Oh well, I still love how this turned out. Funny enough, everyday except the first day that we were in Tahoe was a cloudless sky. In the end, I think it worked for this image because it’s all about the simplicity and the contrasting colors. I also love the sailboats that are docked by the shore. So cute!

My camera settings for this image is F4 at 1/1000th of a second ISO 400 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.