Journeys›Photograph

A Quiet Fourth of July on Donner Lake

·Truckee, California, United States·#summer#lake life#fourth of july#truckee#fireworks#donner lake
A lake with mountains in the background, jet skis on the water, and bright sunbeams reflecting on the surface.

The days leading into the Fourth of July weekend here in Truckee were pretty standard for early summer. The sun was bright and high over Donner Lake, and it seemed like everyone was out on the water. From the shore, you could see the wakes from boats and jet skis crisscrossing the lake all afternoon until the sun started to dip behind the mountains.

The light gets hazy and soft in the evenings. As dusk settled in for the holiday, boats gathered on the water and people found spots along the shoreline to wait for the fireworks show. It's a familiar ritual.

I tried to get some shots of the display, balancing my camera to brace for the long exposures. It's always a challenge shooting in the dark, and a lot of the images came out as just abstract trails of light as I moved the camera. Still, a few turned out, capturing the quick bursts of color against the silhouette of the mountains before the smoke rolled in. It was a calm, simple way to watch the holiday pass.

A lake surrounded by forested, snow-capped mountains under a clear sky, with jet skis on the water.A wide blue lake with a small boat, dark forested mountains, and snow-capped peaks beneath a light blue sky.Five people in three small boats watch fireworks explode over a lake at night, framed by dark mountains.Fireworks burst over a dark lake with reflections and blurred lights against a shadowy mountain range at dusk.Streaky purple and gold fireworks illuminate a dark lake with reflections and silhouetted mountains.Dark night landscape with mountains silhouetted against the sky, illuminated by long, sweeping golden light trails and firework explosions.A red fireworks display illuminates a dark night sky above a body of water with mountains in the background.Golden fireworks explode over a dark lake with silhouetted mountains and distant town lights reflecting on the water.

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