Leon Turnbull Photography

Well my sunrise shooting plan did not come together this weekend as I had hoped.

I initially thought I would go up to Lake Tahoe for sunrise and I was all set on doing that. However, on my way back home Friday night from Cameron Park, I noticed it was very foggy, especially in Cameron Park. I came up with a second idea, that being to shoot fog in the North Fork American canyon in the morning. That sounded like a better plan to me than go up to Lake Tahoe. It was closer to home too, and that meant I could sleep in a little bit more. That’s always a good plan.

I was hoping there would be fog in the North Fork American canyon down by Yankee Jim’s bridge in Colfax. As I drove up in the morning though, it wasn’t very foggy at all. There was a little bit as I drove through Auburn, and that was all. As I drove down Yankee Jim Rd., I noticed a little bit of fog, but it was high above the river. It was certainly not what I was hoping for. I realized my sunrise shot was a bust. Too late to go anywhere else. Oh well. I did take a shot of the river with the high fog, and I kinda like it, so I will post that one later.

All was not lost, however. I wanted to get back to Shirttail Creek Falls to get a better photo, and here I am in the area, so off I went. I drove by Devils Falls with nary a glance. I did look at it, but I did not get out of my car. It was not flowing too well, and I already have some good shots of this waterfall. Shirttail Creek Falls is just up the road, then down a steep bank to the creek. It is very tricky to get a decent view of this waterfall. You have to scramble out on a narrow, slippery ledge, with a steep drop-off down to the creek. I did this extremely carefully, as I was afraid of losing my footing on the slippery dirt and rocks. That would not have been pretty. Then I had to carefully set up my tripod and camera to take the shot. Not an easy task on that ledge, but I managed.