I like to give me those little photographic self assignments, to keep my creative juices flowing. Like when I was enjoying a Pacific sunset at Oregon’s Cannon Beach the other day. When I was capturing beach emotions.
After another two intense workdays in the Pacific Northwest I’m heading home today, currently at Chicago O’Hare Airport for my connecting flight to Munich. Just enough time to share a photograph of a magic ocean sunset taken at Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast this past Sunday.
Throwing another image of the Heceta Head Lighthouse (see yesterday’s post with the photographs from below and across here) at you doesn’t really do justice to the splendid day I spent yesterday on the Oregon coast. I enjoyed sunshine, pristine beaches, colorful towns and saw about twenty Grey Whales from the shore.
It was a long trip from Nuremberg across the big ocean to Portland earlier this week. A total of 27 hours travel time. Followed by two days of intense work. But I treated myself to weekend trip to the Oregon Coast, leaving the office in time to arrive for sunset at the Heceta Head Lighthouse near Yachats.
My Saturday spent at the coast of the great Pacific Ocean wasn’t all that bad. There was magic in the early morning, and there was magic at the end of the day. It started with a magnificent rainbow, that appeared out of nowhere behind the rugged shoreline of Depoe Bay when the sun came up behind the hills. I captured it with my iPhone Xs. I did have my Olympus PEN-F with the 12-40mm F/2.8 with me, but the 12mm wasn’t wide enough to capture the rainbow in its entirety. So I reverted to my iPhone for a panoramic shot. I got lucky that I even captured a crashing wave while panning. Where there is a rainbow there is also rain. It was the first time, but not the last on this day, that I got thoroughly soaked. The early bird got really wet before getting back to the place where I was staying.
Sunset Lighthouse | 2018 | Yaquina Head
Also the last photo of the day I took with the iPhone. Image quality has become so good, that I don’t bother shooting several photos for a panoramic view with my cam and stitching them later in Lightroom. I simply use my phone with one easy pan. When taking this last photo of the day with the magic evening light behind Newport’s Yaquina Head Lighthouse, I was once more thoroughly wet, as I got caught by a passing intense shower while being down below at the tide pools below the cliffs.
I have to admit there were not too many days of my photographic career where the first and last images of the day where similar memorable. Obviously, there where plenty more photos taken during my day on the coast, but this is for another post.
Depoe Bay – Oregon | 2018 | 1/80 sec – f/16 – ISO 640 – 40mm
Okay, maybe the title is a bit exaggerated – it was only the last sunset of November. But a dramatic one for sure. After a day full of Oregon liquid sunshine and a nasty drive from Portland to the coast I just made it to Depoe Bay about 30 minutes prior to sunset. And after all that heavy rain the sky amazingly cleared for a few minutes, just as I got to the coast. I snapped away with two cameras, the OM-D E-M1 with the 40-150mm F/2.8 and the PEN-F with the 12-40mm F/2.8. With the heavy wind, plenty of salt and water in the air I was glad I had two bodies and didn’t need to change lenses in those conditions. After 15 minutes all hell broke loose with a thundershower with another downpour and hail. Before it cleared the sun was down and the last day of November was lost in a wet, dark night. For a few more photos continue after the jump… Continue reading “The last sunset”→
After leaving the Oregon Coast, the next stop of our summer family vacation in the Pacific Northwest was Crater Lake. Established already in 1902, Crater Lake is the fifth-oldest national park in the United States and also Oregon’s only national park. For some more information and more photographs of this jewel, continue after the jump…. Continue reading “PNW Explored – Crater Lake”→
Mount Olympus | 1/1600 sec – f/7,1 – ISO 200 – 150mm
Our summer tour through the Pacific Northwest continued with a trip to the Olympic Peninsula, west of Seattle. We have set up camp for two nights in a Bed&Breakfast in Port Townsend, from where we visit the mountainous part of Olympic National Park, then headed to the West for a night in Kalaloch at the Lodge, for a stunning Pacific Ocean sunset and trips to the only rainforests of the northern hemisphere. For a bit more info and some photos continue after the jump… Continue reading “PNW Explored – Olympic Peninsula”→
Mt. Rainier from Sunrise Road | 1/200 sec – f/14 – ISO 200 – 14mm
Continuing with our explorations of the Pacific Northwest, we left Seattle early in the morning for a day trip to Mt. Rainier National Park, which is a good two and a half hour drive via Enumclaw and Greenwater. Famous American conservationist John Muir once said: “Of all the fire mountains which like beacons, once blazed along the Pacific Coast, Mount Rainier is the noblest.” For more photos of the majestic stratovolcano and the surrounding National Park, continue after the jump…Continue reading “PNW Explored – Mt. Rainier National Park”→
Day 2 of our family summer trip through the Pacific Northwest had us venturing through the Emerald City. Seattle is a beautiful city. Contrary to popular belief, it is actually a quite sunny city, as also during my fourth visit I was kissed by the sun that brought out Seattle’s amazing colors. But see for yourself after the jump…. Continue reading “PNW Explored – Colorful Seattle”→
We started our summer adventure into the Pacific Northwest with a maritime adventure, a whale watching tour out of Anacortes on Fidalgo Island, about 90 minutes by car north of Seattle. I have already done this tour over Memorial Day weekend (read the post here), and already back then I had decided to bring the family during summer vacation. The whale watch tour starting at 4pm in the afternoon was a four and a half hour trip on a larger boat. Obviously, nothing ever is promised when viewing wildlife (we learned this during many hours driving through the African bush without seeing as much as a hair of an animal). But we all were thoroughly exited, and were not disappointed. For our Orca experience continue after the jump… Continue reading “PNW Explored – San Juan Whale watching”→