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I have many more to post from my trip to the Southwest, yet for a change of pace here's one I hadn't gotten around to posting from my visit to the Oregon Coast last Autumn. The mix of clouds, sun and high surf that day was awesome. This was taken on the beach shortly before the sun set. As always, thank you for the views and faves and I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week! :-)
After a day to restore body and bike, 63-mile ride from Bandon to Gold Beach. A beautiful day along the coast. Caught up with fellow cyclists that I met in Pacific City.
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I take a lot of enjoyment in the simple, quiet scenes that can be found out there. Drama can be good for sure: pounding surf, vibrant sunsets, crazy weather, etc. But I am probably more happy in a silent snowy forest or on a mountain with the stars swinging quietly overhead or a stretch of open beach painted with a few simple colors. And then a pinhole. The simplest camera I own. Perfect for such moments in many many ways.
Even with the moon about to set over the horizon on the Pacific Ocean, the sky was full of stars, and Haystack Rock and The Needles just offshore at Cannon Beach, Oregon seemed to magically glow from the light reflecting off the water.
We've had a discussion for a while.....would we live in the forest or would we choose to live by the sea? The forest provides such diversity but the energy, mystery and healing power of the sea is undeniable. We cannot decide so we live between the two!
We're gearing up for some coastal time in the near future, so here's a few from earlier this year.
Image made with my Innova 6x9 Pinhole. Five of five.
After a day to restore body and bike, 63-mile ride from Bandon to Gold Beach. A beautiful day along the coast. Caught up with fellow cyclists that I met in Pacific City.
Cannon Beach, OR
I have so many photos to catch up on, to process, but here is a photo from last weekend at one of my favorite places along the Oregon coast.
A landscape photograph of Haystack Rock and the Pacific Ocean on an Autumn morning at Cannon Beach, Oregon.
Haystack Rock and neighbouring Needles are located at Cannon Beach on the North Coast of Oregon. The rock is 235 feet high and attracts large beach crowds including myself and many other tripod carrying photographers.
We arrived at this popular viewpoint soon after the passing of a cold front... It only lasted a while, but I loved the way the clouds lined up before they started dissipating... In addition, the nearby stacks are just beginning to get the benefit of some sunlight while Haystack Rock in the background is still gloomy and dark... Hope you enjoy it!
"... I dream to be an artist. I pray that someday, if I work with enough care, if I am very very lucky, I will make ... a work of art. Call me an artist then, and I will answer." --The Princess Bride
I consider myself a photographer...stop. Not a fine art photographer, nor a master, or a photographic genius. Not a savant or a guru. I guess if you pressed me I might label myself as a landscape photographer, but only hesitantly as I am reluctant to confine the definition of my photography so. Simply put, I make pictures, therefore I am a photographer.
The words art and artist are tricky titles to apply, there is a lot of gray area. I try not to think too long about what is art and what is not, it really is not usually that relevant to what I do. I shall say though that I believe art is not something one does haphazardly or on occasion. Just because you smear paint on a canvas, does not necessarily make you an artist, nor does one's ability to press a shutter button.
The mild rant aside, recognition as an artist, is not what drives me. I do not actually dream of being an artist. What I do dream of is being a teacher, or at least someone who facilitates the spread of ideas and knowledge, specifically relating to photography. There is little that is more rewarding than sharing an image like this and seeing it excite (rather than impress) others. Knowing they will go out and incorporate those ideas into their own personal vision of the world, which will have just become that much wider because of the new inclusion of perspectives. Then knowing they in turn will share those visions and ideas back again with the rest of us. That to me is a much richer reward than any list of accolades.
To speak a bit of the technique used to create this image, I first saw this idea demonstrated by the photographer Ted Orland. I was visiting Yosemite and happened to stop in at the Ansel Adams Gallery where Ted had an amazing photo of Mono Lake done in this style. His photo was a lightning bolt to my imagination and not too long after seeing his image, I found myself standing along this stretch of the Oregon coast hoping for a nice sunset. It was an amazing afternoon, and I spent it up on the cliffs reading The Princess Bride and taking photos, but I was certain the sunset was going to fizzle because of the layers of clouds on the horizon. Sure enough the sun sank behind the thick band of clouds and the sky started to gray out so I hiked down off of the cliffs and figured I would linger on the beach...just in case. The sun reached the horizon and the burst through the thin layer of clouds there, lighting up everything for about 10 minutes. I double-timed it far enough down the beach so the sun was not behind the cliffs and close enough to Haystack Rock to photograph. Before I left I shot this panoramic with almost an entire roll of film through my Holga. The final photo ended up being the product of eleven separate shots scanned and layered together in Photoshop. It is an interesting technique, and an excellent way to burn film. But it is fun, and it has allowed me to find yet another way to see and capture some of the amazing things I see in life.
Left Seaside for Tillamook, today. Started out nice and sunny, but ended up in a torrential storm, 25 mph headwind, and a flat 5 miles from my destination!
Soaked and cold. Definitely my worst day so far.
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2 black oystercatchers and a couple of seagulls stand on a rock with the surf starting to come in.
Haystack Rock, Canon Beach, Oregon, USA
We were disappointed to see this view completely fogged in on our trip down the Oregon coast, but the weather was better on the way back,.
Although it's beautiful, this is really not an easy place to photograph at night. Some dark-sky regulations in recent years have made it easier to shoot than before, but washing the foreground free from sodium-vapor-tinted light pollution isn't easy.
In short, I probably spent way too much time on this thing, but hey, that's how it goes, you know?
Thanks for checking it out!
I have been lucky to have had some pleasant trips to the coast this past year. This is from one we made back in May. More and more, that northern section of Cannon Beach is becoming my favorite stop along that particular stretch of coast. Lots of beach grass to play in, relatively few crowds - even on sunny days, and random strangers willing to share a campfire and marshmallows.
The grass, the sun and Cannon Beach. Three things that I always enjoy together. Although, I admit I would trade them for the mountain, the snow and the quiet at this moment. ;-)
Please click here to view this large!
This picture was shot on a tripod with three exposures (-2..0..+2 EV). I used Photomatix to create the HDR with tone mapping and detail enhanced. I increased the overall saturation with Hue/Saturation in Photoshop. Curve adjustment to increase the overall contrast. 1 layer mask in soft light mode at 50% gray, using brush tool to lighten and darken some areas of the image, to bring out details. Used Nik Sharpener Pro to sharpen image.
I know I was tagged. But I still have not found a cool SP of me yet. Anyway, to change things around a bit, I'm giving a break to uploading images of Singapore (which I have many more), and upload something closer to home instead. May I present Cannon Beach bathed in the morning sun? Presented in full HDR!
And have a fantastic weekend everyone!
To view my other HDR images, click here.
Of the many moods of the coast, this is one of the quieter and gentler ones. A casual breeze lazily stirring the beach grass under a pleasantly cerulean sky, while the surf froths and foams in as easy-going a manner as ocean surf can manage. And then the moon makes her graceful entrance, just because this was the place to be on this particular evening.