Emerald Bay at Sunrise in Lake Tahoe, California

Sunrise over Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe

Growing up in California, I was very fortunate to have a family house in Tahoe. As a child I remember building forts in the woods behind our house and jumping in the beautiful yet chilly water that makes up Lake Tahoe. As a photographer, this area of California is amazing. One of my favorite locations is Emerald Bay, located near the south end of the lake. While extremely popular for visitors and photographers alike, there are still plenty of opportunities for unique compositions if you look hard enough. While I usually prefer dramatic skies, the clean feel of this image is what I enjoy the most.

Emerald Bay at Sunrise in Lake Tahoe, California
“Leaving Emerald Bay” – Lake Tahoe, California 2009

Image Information:
CAMERA: Canon 5D Mark II
LENS: Canon 24-70 2.8L
ISO: 200
EXPOSURE: f / 9.0 at 1/125 Sec

Post Processing:
I balanced the light reflecting off the water with the sky by using Lightroom’s local adjustments (brush) as well as the split toning feature. I cleaned up a few ripples in the lake via content aware in Photoshop and then slightly enhanced the color of the image using +Nik Software‘s Viveza 2.

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Upcoming Photo Workshop Adventures...

A glowing sunset with a Rhino photographed on Great Migration Wildlife Photo Safari in Kenya with Colby Brown

The Great Migration – Kenya Wildlife Photo Safari

August 10th – 21st, 2025
 
Join us for an adventure of a lifetime to Kenya, home to both Amboseli and the Masai Mara National Parks as we photograph the Big Five in addition to the incredible migration of wildebeest and zebras crossing the Mara River.

Bolivia Astro Photography Workshop

February 18th – 24th, 2026
 
Join me in Bolivia for an incredible adventure focuses on astro, landscape and wildlife photography as we explore the famous Salar de Uyuni with its glass like reflections as well as the high-altitude lagunas full of a variety of different species of Flamingos.

Patagonia Photography Workshop Adventure

April 6th – 15th, 2026
 
Patagonia is one of the most wild, beautiful & dramatic mountain ranges on the planet. We split our time between the incredible Torres del Paine National Park in Southern Chile and Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina, home to both Cerro Torre and Mt. Fitz Roy.

Enjoy a Cerro Torre Sunrise at the Patagonia Photography Workshop Adventure with Colby Brown

Patagonia Photo Workshop – Argentina Edition

April 14th – 23rd, 2024
 
Patagonia is one of the most wild, beautiful & dramatic mountain ranges on the planet. We split our time between the incredible Torres del Paine National Park in Southern Chile and Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina, home to both Cerro Torre and Mt. Fitz Roy.

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