Heavenly Light
This image was taken in December, 2012 in a forest preserve near South Lake Tahoe. This was one of those images that took me about 30 separate shots to catch my...
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This image was taken in December, 2012 in a forest preserve near South Lake Tahoe. This was one of those images that took me about 30 separate shots to catch my favorite.
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Feb, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in a forest near Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe. It was between Christmas & New Year's.Time
It was an early morning - maybe 7a. I'd been walking through the forest for a while, taking lovely photos here & there. When I started making my way back to the entrance, I could see the sun peeking through the copse of trees. The wind kicked up a little bit & snow fell from the branches, highlighting the sun's rays shining through the trees. I stood there for several minutes, snapping pictures at each gust of wind. When I got home & looked through the photos, this was the masterpiece I found.Lighting
I always love seeing the sun's rays shining down, but am not always sure how to capture that moment. Thankfully, the snow & wind helped me out this particular time.Equipment
This was shot on a Canon Rebel EOS T3i, with a 18-55mm lens. No other equipment was used.Inspiration
Being out in nature before most people are up for the day, & seeing the lovely snow collected on the trees was what originally inspired me to walk through the forest to take photos. The sun's rays, wind, & snow falling provided the "A-HA!" moment.Editing
I did a little bit of cropping to frame the sun shining through the falling snow, & punched the color of the trees & sky just a little bit. There was no other processing done to this image.In my camera bag
My bag consists of my Canon Rebel EOS T3i body, the 18-55mm lens, a 55-250mm lens, a 2.5X telephoto lens 58mm, & a Kenko Extension Tube in varying sizes (12mm, 20mm, & 36mm). I also carry a second, fully-charged battery, 2-3 extra memory cards, & my tripod. Plus a bottle of water & maybe a snack for myself, depending on how long I plan to be out & about.Feedback
The best advice I can give is patience. Of course, the time of year & time of day are key to capturing a photo with snow like this, but once you've got your location, it's all a waiting game. I must've taken 30 or more shots of this area that morning, trying to capture the feeling I had being there. But either I snapped the shutter too late, too soon, or the framing wasn't right. But, had I walked away in frustration, I wouldn't have succeeded in capturing this breathtaking scene.
