Sardine Lake in Sierra County

Lower Sardine Lake in Sierra County, CA. A popular summer getaway spot. I had been trying to get a photo here for years and could never seem to get one that worked. People always ask me if I have a photo of this place, and year and after year I have had to say no. I had been coming here a couple times a year for a while and always end up leaving empty handed.

When I first started trying to get this, I could not decide if I wanted the boats in the shot or not. Every fall the boats get put away somewhere for the winter, then every spring they get put back out. I had someone ask me a few months ago if I had or could get a photo with the boats in it. So I thought, "maybe the boats add to the nostalgia of the place, so maybe I should have them in." So when summer came in a few months, I decided I would make this photo a top priority.

Summer had come, so I began to constantly check the cloud conditions in the area looking for my next opportunity. It looked like there was going to be lots of clouds over the weekend, so it seemed my opportunity had come. I made the 2.5 hour drive from my house through the long windy roads of highway 49, hoping today would be the day I finally left with something. 

I got there about an hour before sunset, walked around the lake, admiring all the happy families at their lakeside cabins, and tried to find a good spot to take this photo. I found my spot on top of a fallen tree in the lake. I stood on top of this tree for about a half an hour and waited for the sun to set. Just as the sun was about to dip below the horizon, it shined a soft beam onto the side of the Sierra Buttes, I thought to myself, "Oh I should shoot this too." After all my trips here throughout the years, I don't recall that ever happening. With just enough color and dramatic sky to compliment the light beams, it seemed I finally had my shot. After years of leaving with nothing, I finally had my photo of the Sierra Buttes from Lower Sardine Lake.