The Bonsai Rock is a public secret to many in the area. It’s about 10 minutes bush-whacking below the cliff on Highway 28 at Lake Tahoe. Many tourists feel uncomfortable to take this detour climbing down this small 100 ft cliff to the rock beach. Most of the time only photographers would care enough to go through the hassle to come to this type of places. That often gives you a few pleasant conversation while waiting and working on your shootings. In a way this is a perfect place to retreat from all the noises from tourists for a while.

I remember first came down here a few year back. Since this is uncharted on most maps I have to drive back and forth along the highway trying to pin down this place. After my first visit it has become a must-visit for me coming to Tahoe. As beautiful as this place can be, somewhat snapping a good photo here is a bit of a challenge. A sunset photo requires you to shoot straight into sunlight with a very dark foreground. The dynamic range easily go beyond 16 or even 20 stops. You also need the weather to cooperate as it is often not as tame as most of the coastal area in California.

This is my first winter visit to the rock. Operating your vehicle that close to unfenced cliffs under a snowing day would make most feeling really uncomfortable. I am somewhat lucky the weather and roads finally got cleared after a significant snow storm passing (though temperature at night was close to 0 degree still). The sky was quite amazing with all the hue coming out of  diffraction. As it turns out this is one of my best work for the place. It was quite worth of the wait despite the freezing weather.