This is the second in a four-part series of “Visual Stories” detailing a photography trip from Seattle to San Francisco in September. The first two parts (Part 1 is here) 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. Look for the next two parts of the series on November 12 and November 19.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever done that drive before, but it’s nothing short of amazing. Your camera is gonna get such a workout.”
Truer words have never been said. Or in this case, written.
They came in a DM from Kevin Alexander, an Oregon native and publisher of the great music Substack “On Repeat Records,” before I embarked on a four-day photography trip with my wife down the coast and into Northern California in September. We drove more than 500 miles from Seattle to the California border in two days, stopping at more than a dozen places for me to take photos.
As mentioned in Part 1 of this series, two days is not enough to capture the beauty of what you see in this natural coastline wonder. But I tried.
Part 2 focuses on some of the color images that were captured. 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.
Two photos in this set are similar to images I’ve also published in black and white because I couldn’t decide which looked best.
Enjoy! And let me know what you think in the comments.
If you’ve made it this far, thanks for taking a look at my work. All photos here and in this series are available for purchase. Come back next week to take a tour through my eyes of Northern California.
Thanks for the kind words and shout- and for sharing your photos of the coast. It's not easy doing justice to this part of world!
Your photos are absolutely gorgeous - both the colour and the b&w in Part 1.
I know a lot of photographers hate clear blue skies and prefer b&w, but I love the colour ones - particularly the first one and the mist at Heceta Head Lighthouse - wonderful!