Oregon Coast, Part 1
The camera gets a workout during a four-day trip from Seattle to San Francisco
This is the first in a four-part series of “Visual Stories” detailing a photography trip from Seattle to San Francisco in September. The first two parts include photos from the Oregon Coast (one set in black and white, one in color); the last two will feature Northern California and the Redwood Forest. The stories will be published each Wednesday through November 19.
It was briefly a dilemma.
Earlier this year, my wife and I happily accepted an invitation to the September 20 wedding of a dear friend’s daughter north of Seattle. Neither of us had been to the city — the site of our honeymoon in the summer of 1996 (!) — in several years, and we wanted to go back to the Pacific Northwest.
Then two conferences, one with Jill in Las Vegas (Sept. 4-7) and a second solo in Anaheim from Sept. 11-14, popped up, followed by a third Sept. 15-16 in Washington, D.C. on the heels of a redeye flight. After a tough post-COVID period on the commercial side of my business, the events were a welcome salve to my wallet.
The dilemma: Attending and shooting those events and flying to Seattle three days later meant I’d have to go cross country three times in seven or eight days. It was doable but difficult; that is, unless I could convince my wife to spend some extra time with me on the West Coast.
Fortunately, she agreed, with the money earned from the earlier conferences helping to pay for the adventure. The result was a photography trip that had long been on my bucket list — a four-day, 940-mile drive on the 101 and the 1 that included two full days on the Oregon Coast.
Natural Coastline Wonders
Two days in Oregon is not enough to capture the beauty of what you see in a constant series of natural coastline wonders. The continuous stopping and starting meant our days were long — 310 miles from Seattle to Newport took 11 hours on the first day; 217 from Newport to Smith River, Calif. took nine hours on the second.
The weather was perfect — no rain, comfortable temperatures, and limited clouds — but the clear skies meant I was dealing with some intense sun, especially in the midday hours.
When shooting landscapes or urban scenes, I’m not thinking about whether an image will be best in color or black and white. Those decisions generally are made when I start post-production, and are based on general instinct, nothing else.
Here are more black and whites that were captured in a dozen stops over two days:
If you’ve made it this far, thanks for taking a look at my work. All of these photos — and lots more where these came from — are available for purchase. Look for Part 2 of this series next Wednesday.
I spent almost 15 years in Oregon, and even now miss the ability to drive to that magnificent coast for a day or just a sunset. Thank you for the reminders of what I consider my "chosen home", the place that I put down roots and found myself. The place where I healed, learned to live without fear, and eventually learned to love again.
If you even make a trip back, touch base and I'll give you the inside scoop on some lesser known but equally glorious places that are a day trip away if you stay in Portland.
I love the light in the state park images. Absolutely gorgeous. I could lay down in any of those images :) Thanks for these!