In mid June I will be taking a trip up the Oregon coast from Just N. of the California and Oregon border to Seattle. I am looking for some recommendations on what to shoot, where and what time of day for this trip. I know there are a lot of sea stacks that I would like to shoot in the evening as well as morning for the lighthouse's. Any other recommendations that I should include in my should not miss category?
Hi Tim,
I did part of the Oregon coast last year and so I've got a few suggestions.
I went from Bandon, Oregon up through Newport along the coast before heading inland back to route 5, so that's the section I'll comment on. I've done bits of the Northern coast earlier (Seaside, which is quite nice) but during my pre-trip research, having to fit everything into a week, I decided to zero in on this section even though I'm sure there are other very worthy parts of the coast to visit/photograph as well.
First off is Bandon. Do yourself a favor and book a room at the Sunset Motel in Bandon - it will cost you a bit, but you get a motel that (depending on which building you stay in) has seriously nice, comfortable rooms, and most importantly, beach access to the best sea stacks in the entire area. The road where the motel is on is up on a cliff, and no matter where you are along the sea-stack section, you'll be needing to find beach access down a set of stairs somewhere. The two options near the most prevalent sea stacks are at the public access at the overlook on the cliff near Face Rock, and the private (motel access) directly across from the Sunset. The distance between the two on the road is maybe 3/8 of a mile, give or take. Once you get out of your car and look over down at the beach, you'll have absolutely no trouble figuring out what you'll be doing photographically for a while - when you see what lies below you on the beach in terms of sea stacks, you'll likely have to retract your jaw from the ground and wipe the drool from your face. Seriously - this is one of those places where, once you see what you'll have to work with, will raise your heart rate and make you wish you brought a few extra 4gig CF cards for sure. There are a LOT of options if you're a sea stack fan, and I'd strongly suggest you plan on spending as much time here as you can. This is not a one day and done place, mostly because a: the weather is highly unpredictable and you may get fog/cloud issues for a day or two that completely cover up everything and you need to be able to have the option to wait it out, and b: the area is ripe with photographic opportunities. Personally I found Bandon Beach to be one of my very favorite places I've ever visited. While I'm far from the world traveler many on this site are, I've been to many of the famous national parks, most of the Maine coast, parts of Northwest British Columbia as well as Norway, and Bandon is way on up my personal "top list" for certain. I guess what I might be trying to say is that a lot of places you "know about" - via the internet age you can pretty much have an idea of any of the big national parks and other photography "destinations" and thus not much is a surprise - the "oh, wow" factor, while still obviously present when you see a place in real life instead of online is still there, but perhaps it's been diminished a bit. Bandon was an "oh, wow" place for sure.
In terms of shooting times, get yourself a tide table (or search online) and also research the sunset and sunrise for the area and factor in what the tide is going to be doing at those times. Ideally (I think) you'll want to be shooting the sunset and sunrise peak times when the tide is heading out and is already rather low - this gives you more of the beach to use for reflections and that sort of thing. Sunset, and most importantly - just after the sun goes down - is a prime time, but don't ignore the sunrise either. I got some nice pre-sunrise shots to go along with my post-sunset shots, and if you're in the Sunset (Motel), it's not a bad walk down the (steep) steps to get to the beach and then take off in the direction of your choice to shoot. Once the sun starts to come up a bit, if the tide is out, is the time to be poking about the tide pools. However, the odds of you running into 100% complete fog cover are far higher in the morning than at sunset. As an additional note: the wind here can be FIERCE - if you're expecting to use a wimpy tripod or something, forget it - this is serious support system territory and you'll also be dealing with quite a bit of sea spray. The wind will also deposit a ton of sea-grime on your car and I'd strongly suggest carrying a small artist paintbrush, some canned air, and a roll of paper towels with windex as you'll be *constantly* cleaning your camera and lenses and the odds of you becoming a master windshield cleaning expert each day are very high.
In terms of lighthouses, you've got the Coquille River Light lighthouse in Bandon, but it's a small one and while cute, doesn't really compare to the bigger ones up the coast. Don't skip "Old Town Bandon" though - it's small and quaint, but a nice place to visit during the day while you're waiting out the prime shooting times.
Up the coast heading North, You might want to stop at the Umpqua River Light - nestled in and around a lot of stuff it's not an easy lighthouse to photograph, but it's worth the visit to see it's unique (and huge) fresnel lens for certain.
Going further north your next destination might be Florence. Here you have some access to the Oregon Dunes, and if you're a lighthouse fan, you'll definitely want to check out the very famous and oft photographed Heceta Head lighthouse. There's a nice (if over done) spot right off the highway to take a longer shot (think 135-200mm) of the lighthouse before you get there - right after the sea lion caves, and you can get a tour of the lighthouse and climb most of the way up the stairs. I'd spend my time around the lighthouse and maybe head to the dunes if you're so inclined. I must say though that the whole Florence area just didn't have the charm of Bandon or some places further up the coast - it was nice, but I wasn't blown away with it - outside of the lighthouse, which is really pretty, I'd rather be in other areas of Oregon.
Further north the next area where you'll want to set anchor, so to speak, is Newport. I love Newport - just to the south of it you've got Seal Rock State Park - a definite place to stop (at low tide) for certain - both sunrise and sunset opportunities here, and in Newport you've got the Yaquina Bay Bridge which is just stunning, the Newport harbor, the Newport Aquarium (a tiny bit overrated but absolutely worth a visit), and then just slightly north of Newport, IMO one of the best lighthouses in the USA, the Yaquina Head Light, which recently was restored and if you get a tour, you can walk all the way up. Note that there is a smaller Yaquina Bay lighthouse near Newport harbor which isn't as compelling - the big daddy is the Yaquina Head light a bit north - absolutely stop here and try to get some early morning as well as sunset shots here. I might be in the minority on this opinion, but Yaquina Head eclipsed the more famous Heceta Head lighthouse for me, but seriously, both of these are excellent lighthouses that still use the magnificent old school Fresnel lamps (a lot of the Maine lighthouses, for example, have the old buildings obviously but use just an airport beacon as the light - not as authentic an experience I guess).
As an aside, one thing you might want to look at as you travel is the series of bridges that Conde B. Mccullough built along hwy 101 - research his bridge list on google and you'll see you will certainly be crossing a few. The Yaquina bay bridge is a shining example of a masters art and the next time I go back when I have more time, I certainly intend to photograph it.
Bottom line is: the Oregon coast is hugely photogenic, and there is more to shoot there than you'll have time for. While a lot of folks think only of sunset because it's a west coast beach, don't ignore sunrise, absolutely get/research the tide tables, be aware the wind can be *insane* out there, protect (and clean) your gear and have a great time. Hopefully some others will fill you in on the other aspects of your planned trip that I didn't include.
-m
