Next stop: Oregon!
Some thoughts and photos from a late summer trip to Oregon, as well as some upcoming plans for a return visit.
We are heading back to Oregon, where we will spend the week of Thanksgiving. I’m so excited!
I have loved Oregon since my first visit, which was back in 2001. Since then, I have been probably 10 times, maybe more. Some business, some pleasure - but it’s always enjoyable, camera or not. This time, I will be taking a camera and will get some time to photograph Portland as well as along the coast a bit.
I’m really looking forward to spending some time walking the streets of Portland with my camera. Despite many visits, I’ve never really had much time to photograph the city. Then after that I will be along the coast, where I have taken a LOT of photos - and of course I will be getting more on this trip. The Oregon coastline is my favorite place in the US - it’s just so beautiful and peaceful there. Oh, and it’s photogenic too, of course.
Today’s post contains a number of shots I captured on my last visit to the Oregon coast, which was back in August of this year. I’m not sure if I will get the same vibrant and beautiful light on this trip, since I haven’t been there during this time of year before. But of course I am hopeful. And regardless, it’s beautiful even if it’s a bit drab and overcast. I will find out soon enough!
Sunset next to Haystack Rock, at Cannon Beach
This was sunrise one morning - so glad I got up!
Lovely light to end another day on Cannon Beach
Oregon - Still my Favorite State
I’m just back from a trip to Oregon, and I captured some beautiful shots while I was there. This is a little teaser of coming attractions - all shot with my new iPhone 12 Pro!
I just love Oregon, and can’t seem to get enough of it.
Arriving into PDX during a stunning sunset
We just returned from a trip to Oregon. It was part business and part fun, so it wasn’t entirely a photo trip, but of course I was able to squeeze in a little camera time here and there. Although we spent a fair amount of time in Portland, I didn’t really shoot there. I enjoy that city, but for me the main draw to Oregon, photographically speaking, is the coastline and the waterfalls. Basically, nature itself. I am often in cities, and I love to shoot them, but when I get a chance to spend time in nature and photograph it, I’m in.
We spent a few days down in Cannon Beach in the early part of the trip, along the northern coastline. This is my favorite spot in the entire United States. I find the rocky coastline and tide pools essentially irresistible. Every time I visit, regardless of the weather, I come home with some beautiful photographs. Add in the sense of serenity and calm from wandering along the coast, and it just can’t be beat. That was on the front end of the trip.
Sunrise in Arch Cape, just south of Cannon Beach
Sunrise on Cannon Beach
Tidepools are just awesome!!
Then, we were in Portland the rest of the time, but did spend one long afternoon/early evening hiking and shooting along the Columbia River Gorge, east of Portland. This is home to a long list of beautiful waterfalls - something I love to shoot - and is well worth a visit if you have the time (it’s about 45 minutes from downtown Portland).
A view over the Columbia River Gorge
I haven’t had time to really dig into my photos yet, so all of these were taken with my newest camera - the iPhone 12 Pro. My old iPhone 7 was really falling apart (I had it for over 4 years), so right before this trip I upgraded to the 12 Pro and WOW what a difference in that camera. I can’t believe I waited this long to upgrade, but I am glad that I finally did. I will be sorting through my “real” photos (taken with my Sony gear) here soon, and those will start appearing on my Flickr page and likely in some YouTube videos, but for now I leave you with a few iPhone shots.
Thanks for stopping by and see you again soon!
Looking down on Cannon Beach
An aerial view of Cannon Beach, OR…such a beautiful stretch of coastline.
I really don’t fly my drone very much these days, and keep thinking that I might just sell it. We will see. But my suspicion is that if I get back into it, I may be able to get a smaller drone that is just as good, if not better. Regardless, that’s not what you cam here for. :-) This was captured while flying over Cannon Beach, OR which is just a stunning location, airborne or on the ground. It’s just about my favorite spot in the US.
Haystack Rock
Haystack Rock, on the beach in Cannon Beach, OR…
I have so many pictures from Cannon Beach, Oregon. I’ve been lucky enough to visit a few times, because this part of Oregon may be my favorite place in the US. It’s just so beautiful and there is something about being next to the Pacific Ocean, with these amazing sea stacks dotted along the coastline. It’s hard to get anything else done, because I just want to be out with my camera all day!
Haystack Rock sunset
A lovely sunset at Haystack Rock, in Cannon Beach, Oregon…
I absolutely adore Cannon Beach, Oregon - even though it’s a touristy little town. It still has a hold over me. Part of it is the quaint and small nature of it, and the bigger more obvious part is the incredible natural scenery that lies just a stone’s throw from their main street. The beauty is Haystack Rock, and it’s the subject of many of my photos over the course of my multiple visits to the area. In this shot, I went for a long exposure using my 10 stop filter, shooting pretty much straight into the sun. I wasn’t sure if it would result in an image worth keeping, but I’m pretty happy with the result!
Sunset in Oregon
A lovely sunset in Oregon…
Such amazing light out there in Oregon! I do love Oregon, especially the coastline around the Cannon Beach area. I have been there a few times and always come away with photos that I a proud of. This was taken on the beach down below the viewing platform at Ecola State Park. Just another example of that amazing light out in Oregon…
Last light in Oregon
Lovely last light along the Oregon coast…
I absolutely adore Oregon, it is my favorite state in the US. It’s just so beautiful, and in particular the coast around Cannon Beach is just stunning. I have shot there many times, and hope to shoot it many more times in the future. It never gets old.
Golden hour at Haystack Rock
A long exposure late one afternoon along the Oregon coast…
Ah, the beauty of the Oregon coast!
I so love the coastline of Oregon - it's my favorite spot in the US. I've visited the little town of Cannon Beach so many times that I have lost count, and of course that also means that I have a TON of photos of Haystack Rock. How can you NOT photograph that thing??
This photo is from our last visit there, which was last summer (sadly, coming up on a year now). We spent about 10 days in this area and I was snapping away quite happily. One afternoon I decided to try something a little different though, and went with a long exposure using my 10 stop filter. Using that filter allowed me to really drag the shutter here, getting a total exposure time on this one of 34 seconds.
This also gave me the benefit of those streaking clouds and that silky smooth water, two things that I love capturing when using filters like the 10 stop. If you don't have a set, give it a try, it's quite fun!
The Beauty of the Oregon Coast
The Beauty of the Oregon Coast - my first true drone travel video. This is a combination of my favorite drone video clips from my visit to Oregon. Let me know how it looks!
Here's my first full-length drone travel video!
While I was in Oregon this summer, I took the opportunity to get my drone up in the air as much as possible. Part of this was because I was learning to fly it, and the other (bigger) part was just that it's so incredibly beautiful there. I just had to take some video.
So I fly it several times, tried a lot of different things, and ended up with some nice video clips of these beautiful locations. Now that I am home and had the time to work on them, I decided to put it all together into a "travel movie" sort of thing. It's about 2 minutes long.
I smushed together a bunch of different clips, added some music, and I was done. (Ok, in reality I spent a lot of time on it, switching clips around, deleting parts of some clips, etc). This is my first time to do something like this, and I admit to not being really skilled at video capture and creation just yet, but I will keep working on it.
Nonetheless, I wanted to share this video because it demonstrates the beauty of a place that I love. I hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I enjoyed creating it. Thanks for watching!
Sunset over Cannon Beach - a drone video
A little video snippet from a recent drone flight along Cannon Beach, OR...
I'm working on this whole video thing! :-)
I've been having a lot of fun flying my drone around. It gives me some interesting perspectives on things (er, over things HA!). One thing in particular that I love is taking video with it. While my video capture and editing skills are still pretty nascent, I am getting there and will keep at it. It's certainly a learning curve but I'm having fun.
While we were in Oregon, I flew a bit around Cannon Beach at sunset. It's just a gorgeous place and the light was pretty nice, too. So here's a video showing just what I'm talking about. Enjoy!
Haystack Rock from my drone
An aerial shot from Cannon Beach, OR during a stunning sunset...
I'm having fun with my drone! It's a new an interesting bit of fun for me!
I've had this drone for a couple of months now and although I haven't been shooting with it a lot, I am definitely getting a better feel for how to use it well. I still have much to learn and experiment with, but I thought I would share this photo today. I captured it during a lovely sunset in Cannon Beach, OR. The aerial perspective is just so fun and unique. I suspect there will be a lot more drone work showing up here on the blog!
Strolling through sunset
A couple strolls along the beach at sunset...
I captured this on Cannon Beach in Oregon last week.
I love Oregon and along the coastline in Cannon Beach is my favorite part of this beautiful state. I have had so much great light here, such as this sunset last week. I was out shooting long exposures at Haystack Rock when I realized that the light was much better behind me. :-)
I turn around and started walking away from the rock, and this couple was sort of walking along near me at about the same speed. I would speed up a little to get a clear shot and then by the time I got the tripod set up and ready, they were in the shot. So, I quite trying to exclude them an instead made them the subject of the shot. Worked out pretty well in my opinion!
One of my favorite sunsets
An incredible display of light one evening along the Oregon coastline...
This one was a stunner!
I have mentioned here many times my love for Oregon, and in particular the coastline in and around Cannon Beach. There is just so much natural beauty in that area that you almost can't believe it. It seems unfair that one place should get so much. But, they have it and we don't, so do yourself a favor and go visit. I'm getting teary-eyed just thinking about it.
This was our last night there on that trip (well over a year ago now), and like every night there I was hoping for some decent light. Looks like I got it, right? ;-)
Afternoon at Arch Cape
A pair of photos from an afternoon stroll on the beach in Arch Cape, Oregon...
Still working through Oregon photos. ;-)
We spent a chunk of the Summer of 2015 in Oregon, and I came home with about 9,000 photos. I will probably be working through them for years, which is ok by me. I love diving back into the library and seeing what awaits. It's sort of like a virtual return to the wonderful spots we saw.
If you haven't been to Oregon, I highly recommend a visit at least once. Especially along the coastline, which is stunningly beautiful, you can really enjoy nature and capture some fabulous shots. In fact, I put a list together here on the blog if you want to check it out.
Top Photo Spots On The Oregon Coast
I have been fortunate enough to visit there several times, and always enjoy it. It feels like you are in a movie or something...just so much natural beauty. Today I share a pair of photos I captured on the beach at Arch Cape, Oregon one afternoon. It's a tiny little hamlet just outside of Cannon Beach, and since we stayed in this area we were on this beach almost daily. Good times.
Cotton candy sunset
A lovely, cotton-candy cloud-filled sunset from Oregon. Don't you love it when this happens?
A quick pic from my big trip to Oregon last summer - a beauty of a sunset along the beach in Arch Cape, OR!
This was one of those sunsets that just happens when you least expect it. We were doing our usual walk along the beach at sunset, taking the dog out and just enjoying the beauty of the area. Clouds are always present, which means I have my camera with me all the time. On this evening, the light changed and it all came together in an instant - and I fired away like crazy!