It was another glorious weekend at the coast as the search for the perfect beach house continues. I bagged the 365 day project last week because it was not bringing me joy and it was not making me a better photographer. And that meant I got to use my telephoto lens to get this shot.
I managed the first of what I hope to be many trips to the coast this year. It was warm and sunny in Brookings, unlike the Rogue Valley. Shot with the Lensbaby Sweet 50.
I’ve decided to have a summer of short road trips around Oregon as I am still not comfortable with getting on an airplane or joining a bus load of random travelers from around the country. So, I kicked it off this week with a couple of days at the coast. The Charleston Boat Basin is always a favorite photo destination. This trip I found calm winds and near perfect reflections. I was attracted to this scene because all the boats are blue. I softened it ever so slightly with a Chalk Smudge overlay in Topaz Impression.
I’ve been working on getting caught up with my Coast project book and this one from the November trip came up as a keeper. I was tired from driving all day and decided not to make the trek to Harris Beach for a classic coastal sunset picture but just strolled around the Harbor area as the sun was setting. Most of my pictures were a little too jumbled with boats to be effective but I like this one and the starburst effect just makes it that much better. Had to open the shadows and add some saturation to get the look I was after.
I’ve been promising you something else from the coast but when I looked at my images there were only about 5 using the Sweet 50 and none of them had the focus where I would have liked. But I persisted and processed this one with a faded look that kind of complements the blur using a Topaz Black and White Effects preset called Hand Tinted Chiffon. Hoping to find time for some new captures in the next couple of days.
Another beautiful sunset at the coast this week. In fact this one was right up there with the best I’ve ever seen. From the time this was shot as the sun was dipping below the horizon until about an hour later the sky just kept getting more and more colorful. I debated whether to post this one or one of the more colorful ones but I thought this one was more interesting with the sillouettes of the old piers.
I’ve been trying to catch up on processing my images from the coast project. This one was shot in May close to sunset using a strong neutral density filter to slow down the shutter speed and blur the action of the waves. Looking forward to another trip to the coast next week.
I spent some time in Yachats this week trying to capture the quintessential waves crashing on rocks picture. I have others that do a better job of capturing the shear energy of the the crashing waves. But this one, shot close to sunset with a high powered neutral density filter to force a slow shutter speed, was one of my favorites for the colors and the water flowing over the rock at the end of the splash while some splashing is misting out in the background. This one I would hang on my wall, the high energy one, while a good enough picture, I would not.
Between the weather, my schedule, and an arthritic hip I was afraid my Oregon Coast Project was going to fall apart in May. But, the stars aligned for a quick overnight trip to Brookings on the 30th and 31st and I was rewarded with a gorgeous sunset at Harris Beach.
I was experimenting with long exposures using a strong neutral density filter and got some great results.
I was about on the verge of thinking I would have to bag the Oregon Coast project because the weather has been so bad I couldn’t get over there in February. But a very brief window of fair weather followed by a warm weather system allowed be to get to Coos Bay for a couple of days. The first day started out well but by sunset the clouds were so thick there was no color to be had. The next day was characterized by steady rain. I had chosen Coos Bay on purpose for the variety of indoor activities. I got soaked getting from my car to the Marine Life Center in Charleston but as luck would have it, it stopped raining for a few minutes just as I was leaving so I had a chance to photograph in the Boat Basin, one of my favorite places to shoot. There was a boat with a load of fish that had the attention of some seagulls so there were plenty flying around. So, once again proving that half of photography is being in the right place at the right time. I treated this image with an impressionistic painting filter followed by a texture effect for a painterly look that somehow makes the weather look a lot better than it was.