Bonsai !!
Since we got back from Alaska, I had not been out photographing at all. I just had to get out this weekend. So up to Lake Tahoe I went for sunset on Friday night.
Bonsai Rock at Lake Tahoe was first made famous by photographer Elizabeth Carmel. Since her photo, everyone and their dog has attempted to photograph this semi-interesting rock sitting out in the waters of Lake Tahoe (very much like Eagle Falls overlooking Emerald Bay, which was first made famous by the late Galen Rowell). Bonsai Rock, however, is not marked on any map and thus, some have troubles finding it. Well, I found it easily enough, but to be perfectly honest, up until now, I have had no desire to go photograph Bonsai Rock. Probably, I have seen too many photos of it, and none of them (including Carmel’s) have given me an impression that this is an overwhelmingly interesting location. Certainly, Carmel’s is an excellent photograph (and others I have seen as well). But it does not have a “WOW” factor for me, as in “I absolutely must go see this place.” About the only thing that would make it a “WOW” for me would be if there were some amazingly spectacular sunset clouds hanging over the rock. Well …
As I arrived in Lake Tahoe a couple hours before sunset, I had no firm plan on where I wanted to shoot sunset. I had ideas, but they would depend on the weather situation once I arrived. Well, the weather situation was all stormy and overcast as I started to drive down from the summit towards the lake (this was not mentioned in the weather forecast, by the way). I quickly ruled out shooting sunset at Eagle Falls because of the overcast conditions (in hindsight, it actually might have been quite nice there). There was a bit of light over on the west side of the lake, though, so I decided to try to find a spot across the state line, on the east side looking across the lake. Thus, I came to Bonsai Rock. It didn’t seem horribly interesting after I scrambled down to the lake from the road. It is really just a big jumble of rocks all over the place. And it sure didn’t look like I would see any amazing sunset clouds either. The stormy overcast clouds had mysteriously vanished, and it was now completely clear. There were just a few light clouds across the lake. I thought it would be just an okay sunset, nothing spectacular. There was one other photographer down there, and he set up a couple hundred feet away from me, not shooting Bonsai Rock. By the time the sun sank behind the mountains, more clouds had appeared, just as mysteriously as when they initially vanished. Where did they come from? The sky lit up in color above Bonsai Rock, and for a full thirty minutes and more after the sun had set, we were treated to an absolutely incredible show, courtesy of God Almighty himself. The sky just kept getting redder and redder, and I thought the color would never dissipate. I just kept on clicking the shutter button. Finally, after 30 minutes, I could see the best of the show was done and the color faded away. But even after I packed up and started driving back towards South Lake Tahoe, it still remained very beautiful over the lake. It was an amazing evening.
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