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.

About the Author

Colby Brown

Colby Brown is a photographer, photo educator and author that specializes in landscape, travel and wildlife photography. His photographic portfolio spans the four corners of the globe and all 7 continents. He has worked as a photo instructor for National Geographic and founded The Giving Lens, an organization that blends photo education with support for various non-governmental organizations (NGO) and causes around the world, such as child education, clean drinking water projects, and women’s rights.

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Upcoming Photo Workshop Adventures...

Northern Lights over the Vik Church at Colby Brown's Iceland Winter Photo Workshop

Iceland Winter Photo Workshop – Ice Caves & Auroras

March 3rd – 10th, 2025

Winter in Iceland is one of those unique experiences that everyone should have at least once in their life. With this workshop, we will focus our time on the South of Iceland, focusing our time on Ice Caves, Northern Lights, and glaciers, but we will also photograph a number of waterfalls such as Gullfoss, Bruarfoss, Seljalandsfoss, Skogarfoss and more.

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.

Costa Rica Wildlife Photography Workshop

January 7th – 15th, 2026

Join me next January in one of the most biologically diverse countries on the planet, Costa Rica, where we will spend 9 days photographing toucans, macaws, rare frogs, snakes, sloths, anteaters and much more.

Dolomites Photography Workshop

October 18th – 25th, 2025

Come join us on an adventure of a lifetime to the amazing Italian Dolomites. We will photograph and explore incredible mountain peaks, beautiful reflected lakes and gorgeous fall colors as we move throughout one of the most impressive mountain ranges in the world.