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
Renewing my interest in mobile photography!
I’m just back from Portland, OR where I shot only with my iPhone 12 Pro. Even in lower light, this camera is delivering some stellar images. Check them out!
I’m just back from a quick trip up to Portland, OR - and all I had was my iPhone!
Years ago, I shot with my iPhone all the time. I mean ALL THE TIME. I loved it. I always had it with me, of course, so I shot away with it. Eventually I ended up with an iPhone 7, which at the time I thought was great (this was 4+ years ago when I got the iPhone 7). After a while though, I just felt like the image quality was not up to par for me, unless it was in pretty great lighting. Time after time, I would look at the images, zoom in, and be disappointed. Eventually I just quit shooting with it altogether.
A few months ago, I upgraded to the iPhone 12 Pro (yes, I know the 13 just came out, but I had to get a new phone at the time, and couldn’t wait). I had read so much about the advancements in the camera, and I couldn’t wait to try it out. It’s just so much better than what I had (granted, it’s several years worth of advancements, but still). I have been pretty much blown away with how good the camera is.
So when this trip to Portland came up - and knowing I had limited free time to go shoot - I decided to forego my usual Sony stuff and just shoot on the go with my iPhone. It also happened to be peak Fall season, so there were lots of amazing colors in the trees, and additionally we were able to visit several different parts of town, so I ended up shooting quite a bit!
The thing that impressed me the most is how well it performs in low light. Now to be clear, it doesn’t compare to my full frame Sony in that regard, but still it does a pretty darn good job. The images look amazingly crisp to my eyes, and I am quite happy about that! And of course, this has renewed my interest in mobile photography, which is great fun! I’ve missed it. It’s good to be back at it! And now I will be using my iPhone much more often when I am out shooting!
And as far as editing goes, I edited all of these photos in Luminar AI. Just a few quick adjustments is all it takes!
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!
The day ends in Bandon
A stunner of a sunset in Bandon, OR from a few years ago…I still remember it vividly!
This was an incredible sunset in Bandon, Oregon!
We had arrived late in the afternoon and settled into our room, before heading out for a quick bite. I knew I had a little time before sunset, but of course I didn’t want to be rushed coming back and getting my gear. Luckily our hotel was across the street from this location. It doesn’t get much easier than that!
The light started out ok but as you can see it really just exploded on me and turned out to be an amazing sunset. Don’t you love it when that happens?
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!
Those crazy Oregon sunsets
A sunset that goes down in the record books for me...from Bandon, Oregon
A stunning display of color and light in Bandon, Oregon
I absolutely love Oregon, and specifically the coastal towns that offers such incredible vistas. Luckily, I've also had my share of incredible sunsets there, too, such as this one from Bandon. Bandon is a very small town far along the southern coast, but it's well worth a visit for the incredible scenery along the beach in the area. There are these massive sea stacks here and there and you can literally wander for hours exploring and photographing them. So awesome!
Burnout in Oregon
A stunning sunset along the southern Oregon coastline...
Capturing the last light on the Oregon coast!
Sunset is always fun to shoot, even when the light stinks. But of course it's WAY better when you get some gorgeous light, and doubly so when you are somewhere beautiful like along the Oregon coast.
I grabbed this one while in Bandon, OR down along the souther coastline. It's an amazing stretch well worth visiting at least once. There are these incredible seastacks that jut out of the earth, sort of reaching for the sky. They are water and weather beaten and just gorgeous.
Moonrise in Bandon
Capturing the moon, the sun, and the night sky at all the same time...
Here's something I rarely ever do...
I almost never shoot after dark, and rarely have the opportunity to capture the night sky. So when we were in Oregon this past summer, I took advantage of a great opportunity.
We were in Bandon, which is a tiny little coastal town. I spent my time capturing all the amazing rocks along the coast and generally just having fun. But when night came, I was back in the hotel room and chilling. Then I looked outside and saw the moon coming up. I knew I had to shoot a little bit more.
So I grabbed my gear and stepped out onto the balcony. I took quite a few shots but felt this was the best one. The moon is rising and casting a glow down on Face Rock, while you can see the last gasp of sunlight on the horizon. Pretty cool stuff. I may have to do this more often!
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!
