I realized I never posted this photo from last week's sunrise photo shoot at Donner Lake in Truckee, California. I posted a video about it HERE but this is a clickable photo that can be viewed large and the camera settings are below.
Donner Lake is a favorite "go-to" spot for me since it is less than a 10-minute drive from my house. It has provided many photo opportunities over the years. I had initially wanted to shoot another location on this morning but that didn't work out so I was able to rush over to the lake to capture this beauty.
click image to view large
This was shot on a Canon 5DS R with a 16-35mm lens set at 16mm. A polarizing filter was used to bring out more color to the sky. A graduated neutral density filter was used in order to darken the sky and balance the exposure. A Lee Big Stopper filter was also used which darkens the whole scene a lot (10 stops) and allowed me to have a 241-second long exposure. The long exposure created the streaky smeared look to the clouds and it helped make the water look glassy smooth. The ISO was 200 and the aperture was f5.
Sidenote: I'm heading out backpacking again this weekend!!! Some friends and I will be going to Paradise Lake, probably my favorite little lake around here. It's only a 7-mile hike so I won't be too tired at camp. The camera gear will, of course, be going with me...
Do you have any fun photo/video related plans for this weekend?
Thank you for looking, watching, and reading!
Scott Thompson
Scott Shots Photography
Click to view my Dynamic Steemians Discord channel. Feel free to ask me photo related questions there: