Tag Archives: travel

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

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Yaquina Head got two visits from us during our stay in Oregon.  We were in Newport on one of our early days and headed up to see it.  Shortly after paying to get in to the park, the rain started to come down.  I did a quick recce of the place but rapidly became more interested in the interior of a warm car (which Nancy had wisely elected not to leave in the first place).  The entry was good for a few days so, with better weather forecast for later in the week, we decided to come back.

The weather dutifully obeyed and improved and we returned on our next trip to Newport.  When its not raining, things definitely take on a more appealing feel.  We wandered up to the lighthouse and took a look around it and out to see where some gray whales were passing by, if a little distant and happy to stay below the surface most of the time.

From the headland, there were stairs down to the beach which, when the tide was out (as it was while we were there), revealed a lot of rocky tidepools.  People were encouraged to explore the tidepools to see the wildlife that is within.  You could go quite a way across them but, given the number of creatures that were clinging to the rock surfaces, I was a bit reluctant to go trampling across them.  Instead, I maneuvered around on the edges where I could avoid crushing some poor creature.

Plenty of things were living in the pools.  While the crustaceans were everywhere, I was particularly drawn to the anemones.  The way in which they close up when out of the water, keep themselves damp internally and then open up once they are back under water is impressive.  They are also so varied in their colors.  They are quite the interesting creature.

Oregon Bridges

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The Pacific Coast Highway runs along the coast in Oregon and passes through some towns with big harbors.  Rather than head inland around the harbors, the highway crosses the entrance to some of these harbors over bridges.  The architecture of some of these bridges is pretty cool.  They have a bit of a deco feel to them.  Sadly, some of the details are best seen as you are driving over which limits the ability to get pictures.

Get a bit further away, though, and you can see the bridges and get some shots.  Sunset on the bridge at Waldport made for a good view.  The bridge at Newport was one we crossed a number of times.  I only got to shoot it on the morning we drove home.  A quick diversion down to the area near the brewery meant I could take a couple of pictures before getting on our way for the long drive home.

The Benefits of Lens Compression

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The stormy waves coming ashore in Yachats were providing some great splashes as they broke on the shore.  They would crash into the rocks and send spray high into the air.  If you were further along the shore and looked back at the people closer to the rocks, they would occasionally be silhouetted against the plume of spray.  The cool thing about shooting this with a long lens is that it looks as if they are almost being overwhelmed by the waves.  Get a bit closer and they are clearly a long way from the water and in no danger of getting wet (except for a bit of the mist if you are downwind of the impact point).

Thor’s Well

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The stretch of coastline in Oregon that we visited had plenty to do.  We had to scratch a few of the things we had thought about in order to do other things given the time available.  One of the things we didn’t get close to was Thor’s Well.  This is a hole in the rocks along the shore where the water can rush up from underneath.  You can get close to the hole but you have to be careful as this is the sort of thing that can overwhelm you if you are not careful.

We only got to watch this from the overlook along the highway.  The surf was running in quite strongly while we were there and the tides combined with it to provide a fair bit of action at the well.  Even so, from this distance, you didn’t get much of a sense of the power of the water.  If we go back, I will take the trail down there to get a closer look.

Night Waves

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After dinner one night in Yachats, I decided to go out and see what I could make of the waves crashing on the shore at night.  A number of lights were trained on the shoreline from the local properties so it wasn’t too dark out there.  Even so, it certainly wasn’t very light.  Time to test the low light capabilities of the cameras.  The fact I was going to get slow shutter speeds didn’t bother me particularly as I was interested to see the effects that I could get showing the motion of the waves.

Light levels were indeed better than I had anticipated and I was able to get a lot of shots that came out okay.  There was a good element of luck involved too.  Waves are horribly unpredictable.  If you see something good, you can almost guarantee it won’t do it again and, even if it does, it will be ages before the next set of waves comes in and, even then, the big wave will break differently.  Also, some of the shapes they make turn out to look good in the shot and others are just indistinct messes.  Nothing to do but hang around for a long time and try and lot of different shots and see which ones work.  This randomness is a little frustrating as you feel you should be able to do something to improve but, in this case, it is a case of being there.

Yachats Harbor

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We spent a few days in Yachats, Oregon between Christmas and New Year.  It was a nice opportunity to have a break, see some pretty scenery and relax.  Yachats itself has a nice harbor and, as you drive around the south side of the harbor, you can pull off onto a smaller road that runs parallel to the shore in amongst the many houses that have been built there.  You are on the opposite side to the town itself and the view across the water and the sand flats looks nice with the low winter sung angles.

Bembridge

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The view from the top of Culver Down is usually good (provided you aren’t in cloud) so we took a trip up there while I was visiting mum.  While there was a lot of rain and cloud coming through as a result of the storm system, there was also a fair bit of sun illuminating parts of the countryside when a gap in the clouds showed up.  From that location, you could see where the sun was running to.  Whether looking down at the windmill, across to the harbor or spotting the Ledge (a nasty rocky outcrop just below the surface of the sea that has claimed many an unlucky sailor), the light was interesting.  The rainbow certainly didn’t hurt either.

Bridge at Hecata Head

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Highway 101 passes Hecata Head and crosses a river before entering a tunnel through the cliffs.  The bridge is a pretty elegant structure.  Unfortunately, winter is not a good time to try and photograph it.  It is tucked in amongst the hills and the sun will only be on it when in the west and probably only in the middle of summer when it gets a lot further north.  I had to work with what we had in the shade.  Playing around with exposures and working with some HDR processing did allow me to bring a bit more punch to the shots which I felt represented more of what I actually saw while I was there.

Hecata Head Lighthouse

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Head south along the coast from Yachats and you have a steady stream of gorgeous locations.  One of these is Hecata Head.  The treacherous nature of this part of the Oregon coastline means a string of lighthouses were built at intervals to ensure coverage and Hecata Head was one of those locations.  The lighthouse is still there and it a popular tourist attraction.

You approach the lighthouse from the beach below, as would the original residents in the days when Highway 101 didn’t exist and boat access was the main way there.  The houses for the keeper and assistant keeper were halfway between the beach and the lighthouse itself.  The keeper’s house is now gone but the assistant keeper’s house is still there and is fully maintained.  You can rent it out for events if you wish.

The location of the lighthouse itself provides a commanding view of the coastline and out to sea.  Whales migrate along the coastline here and there were people keeping watch for them while we were there.  If you head a bit further south on the highway, you get to an overlook which allows you to see back to the lighthouse and you see just how rugged the location is.  I imagine building everything there was no small feat and neither was living there year round.