Category: Oregon Coast

Charleston Boat Basin

Sailboats

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.

Day 77- Shore Acres Pond

Pond

My office was being taken over by watercolor stuff so I decided I needed to carve out a dedicated space for painting. Since I never dine at the dining room table and it has become a catch all for Cody’s junk I decided it was time to rearrange a bit to create a painting nook instead of an eating nook. Consequently, I am going to skate on the coast photos (at least) one more time. My first trip around shore acres I was carrying only the camera and Velvet 85. I quickly realized I was going to need a wider angle to capture the beauty of the variety of rhododendrons and the reflections in the pond. So, I went back to the car and got the Velvet 56 and 28. The 28 turned out to be too wide for this scene but the 56 was just right. I do wish I had taken a step to the right to get a little more separation between the cranes. Always something.

Once more from Matthew Fox:

There is art everywhere in the universe; there is wisdom everywhere in the universe. One more reason for psyche and cosmos to come together again — to bring art and wisdom alive once more.

Day 76 – Fishing Floats

Floats

One more from the coast trip. I’ve been to the Charleston Marina many times but I’m usually looking at the boats. I was just about to put Cody back in the car when I spotted this wall of old fishing floats crying out to be photographed. So, Cody got a reprieve and we met a Corgi lover in the bargain.

And from Matthew Fox:

The artist is to the community or body politic what the liver is to the human body: a cleanser and recycler of waste and toxins.

Day 74 – Shore Acres

ShoreAcres

It’s been a long day of driving and photographing. But the highlight of the day was visiting Shore Acres Gardens. I’ve never been there before when the Rhododendrons were in bloom and all I can say is Wow, just Wow. I tried to chose the photo that best told the story. I was working with my Lensbaby Velvets so yes the focus is a little soft. That is intentional. But like the Rhodies in front and the color around the little caretaker’s cottage. I also like the mist filtering through.

So, Matthew Fox is downstairs and I am tired so I turn today to Julia Cameron who is close at hand:

Allowing art to move through us without impediment means resigning as its author. The work must be allowed to author itself, to take on the shapes and colors that it prefers.

Harbor Sunset

HarborSunset

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.

Floats

Floats

I decided to take a little break after finishing the 100 days project. But the Oregon Coast Project is still in play so I made the trip to Brookings last week. I have to say the weather was fantastic. I found these floats piled up at the Harbor and loved the colors and random assortment. I just put together a calendar for next year and this was my choice for November. Now I just have to finish the book highlighting the pictures, and of course go back one more time in December. I’ve already decided next years project will be Redwoods National Park. But I’m thinking every six weeks or so instead of every month…we’ll see.

Day 84 – Footprint

FootprintI was a

I was a little hard pressed for something to post today. Many photos were taken but none with lensbaby lenses. Just didn’t have the right subjects for that. So, I had to turn back to yesterday’s beach walk as there hasn’t been time for a beach walk today. Lot’s of eating though…  Anyway, I processed this in Nik Silver efex pro using the Film Noir filter. I’m afraid it looks a little more creepy than artistic but hey, Halloween is coming.

Day 83 – Feather

Feather

This has been one of the slowest paced Road Scholar trips I’ve ever been on. Which is a good thing because it means I have time to go for walks on the beach and post pictures in between lectures and field trips. The weather has improved significantly so I got in a walk this morning before lunch and after our lesson about salmon and albacore tuna. We’re going out for dinner tonight so I wanted to get an image posted before our wine tasting lesson coming up in a half hour. Feathers on the beach are one of my favorite things. I really love what the sweet 50 did with the grains of sand on this shot. In post processing I added clarity, vibrance and a touch of saturation, also a high pass filter to bring out the detail in the feather.

Day 82 – Mushroom

Mushroom

We had a very short walk in the forest this afternoon but I was overwhelmed with the selection of mushrooms available for photographing. Many had flat tops but this one with the pointy top was my fav. I opened the shadows and bumped up the exposure a little. Then added a high pass filter. I may have to go back on Friday with the big girl camera and have more fun with mushrooms.