Morning Grace
An unexpected December morning at Bonsai Rock, Lake Tahoe
Sometimes the photographs that mean the most are the ones you never expected to make.
It was a Tuesday morning in December, and I wanted to get out and photograph Lake Tahoe before starting my regular workday. I knew it would be a bit of a race against the clock, but when I woke around 5:30 that morning, I checked the weather and a few webcams around the lake. I was hoping there might be some fog.
There was at least a chance.
So instead of rolling over and going back to sleep, I got out of bed, gathered my gear and headed for Lake Tahoe.
Not Quite What I Was Hoping For
By about 6:40 a.m., I was driving alongside the lake and could already tell that the fog I'd hoped for wasn't there.
For a moment, that was disappointing. But I was already getting close to my destination at Bonsai Rock, so I figured I might as well continue. If nothing else, it could be a morning of scouting and practicing compositions for a photograph I might come back and make another day.
From the parking area, getting down to Bonsai Rock is a relatively short hike, but it's also fairly steep. Once I reached lake level, I set down my camera bag and started looking around for a scene that spoke to me.
The lake was incredibly calm. There was virtually no wind, and although it was December, the morning was cool rather than bitterly cold. Everything had a quiet blue-gray quality to it. I remember thinking that if nothing happened with the light, perhaps the scene might work nicely as a black-and-white photograph.
Eventually I found a composition I liked, a balance between the rocks in the foreground, Bonsai Rock and mountains in the distance.
I set up my tripod and camera.
At that point, I thought I was simply practicing.
I had no idea what was about to happen.
The First Hint
About two minutes before sunrise, the sky in the distance began to change.
The blue and gray slowly gave way to warmer color, and the horizon started to glow.
Then I noticed something else.
A faint rainbow was beginning to form along the left side of my composition.
At first it was subtle. I was excited just to have it there and thought it might add a nice little touch to the photograph I was already working on.
But over the next few minutes, everything changed.
The rainbow began to grow.
And grow.
What started as an extremely short prelude suddenly became a full-on grand finale.
A brilliant rainbow stretched across the entire sky over Lake Tahoe, with hints of a second rainbow appearing above it. The warm sunrise illuminated the clouds and reflected across the perfectly calm water.
I could hardly believe what I was watching.
Don't Mess This Up
As spectacular as the scene was, part of my brain immediately switched into photographer mode.
Check the exposure.
Check the focus.
Check the composition.
Take another frame.
Review it.
Check everything again.
I kept looking at the back of the camera because I wanted to make absolutely certain I was capturing what was unfolding in front of me accurately. Opportunities like this don't come with a second chance.
At the same time, I wanted to share what I was seeing.
I knew my wife was probably still asleep, but I sent her a quick video anyway. I also sent one to my friend Ken, knowing there was a good chance he was out photographing that morning too, out at Point Reyes.
Mostly, though, I just stood there amazed.
Within minutes, a morning that I thought might amount to nothing more than scouting compositions had become one of the most memorable mornings I've ever had behind a camera.
Why “Morning Grace”
Looking back, there are several points that morning when this photograph could easily never have happened.
I could have stayed in bed.
When I saw there was no fog over Lake Tahoe, I could have turned around.
I could have decided there wasn't enough happening and headed home to start my workday.
Instead, I kept going.
And I am incredibly thankful that I did.
I believe mornings like this are more than simply being lucky enough to stand in the right place at the right time. I am grateful to God for putting me in a position that morning to witness, and photograph, something so extraordinary.
The rainbow didn't last long. The spectacular light came and went in a matter of minutes.
But I was there.
That's the reason this photograph could only have one name:
Morning Grace.
Morning Grace - Bonsai Rock, Lake Tahoe
Morning Grace is available as a fine-art print in several sizes and finishes.