A few of us RMNPers are considering a trip to the Pacific Northwest )Oregon and NoCal only) the first week of June... anyone have some suggestions for shooting locations?
We're flying into Portland and are considering shooting in/around the following locations:
- Columbia River Gorge - especially waterfalls
- Oregon Cost (from Cannon Beach working down south)
- Redwood parks along 101/Redwood Highway south of Crescent City CA
- Maybe Willamette Valley
Any suggestions (and sample pics if possible) would be greatly appreciated!
Nat - the Gorge waterfall area should be in it's peak then - I am sure you won't be disappointed there. I'm spending the week previous to yours up there so I can fill you in a little better during that week. You can check out my WWW below for what is around.. some of the images are recent and mostly from last year.
I would watch the weather and use that as a guide as to where to go. If overcast hit the Gorge, Silver Falls SP, Redwoods, etc., if sunny/partly cloudy head for the coast.
BTW, your Lightroom 2 book is excellent.
P.S. I'm in Washington so take my advice with a grain of salt.
My website www.cafields.com has many Columbia Gorge photos and also many Gorge waterfalls (under the NW Waterfalls section) for examples. There are some maps there also.
- Oregon Coast (from Cannon Beach working down south)
I would highly recommend a stop at Cape Kiwanda at Pacific City. Take some time and hike the cape for some great photo-op locations. The hike is short, but the opportunities are plentiful in all weather conditions. Many examples are on my website under the NW Coast > Cape Kiwanda section.
I'm a frequent lurker here and thought I'd jump in to throw in my .02 cents. Hope this helps.
"I'm a travelin man and I've made a lot of stops" does that line sound familiar? Just back from NZ and now bound for PNW..I'm envious but yet I can't wait to see your images. Have a fun trip Nat.
I am conducting a a workshop in the gorge & coast ( www.macroandmore.com) the 1st week in June. I scheduled the coast June 6-7. There are really LOW tides early AM---great for tide pools. I'll be at Seal Rock State Park--a great tide pool area on Sunday Am ( -2' tide I think )
Seal ock SP is just south or Newport and is really great for tide pool photography. Look for us!
JG
Posted by Sean Bagshaw on May 13, 2009 at 12:52 PM
Hi Nat - sounds like it will be a great trip. To check out some of my sample picks you can go to my site (www.OutdoorExposurePhoto.com) and enter any of your locations into the search tool.
For the Redwoods, don't miss Stout Grove and the other groves in Jedediah Smith Park just north of Crescent City.
I would also recommend getting Greg Vaughn's Photographing Oregon guide book, which I just posted about in the PNWNP forum above your post.
Posted by Laurie Wendt on May 14, 2009 at 12:07 AM
Hi Nat,
Glad to see you and Monte made it back from NZ all right.
I just returned from a visit to Oregon in April. I visited Latourell Falls and Multnomah Falls. Tried to hike to Wahclella Falls but the parking lot was full. Seems like a really popular hike. You might want to get there early or late to get a parking spot. Note that some of the locations require a Northwest Forest Pass. I thought Elowah Falls and the Eagle Creek Trail with Punch Bowl Falls looked nice but I didn't have time to check them out . A good website for pictures and descriptions of the waterfalls is http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/nws/
I really liked Silver Falls State Park located south of Portland near Salem.
Along the coast I liked Charleston Harbor. I noticed a lot of the local fisherman going into the Sea Basket Restaurant for lunch and thought they must know where the good food was and sure enough it was fantastic! If in that area, Shore Acres State Park was interesting. Bandon Beach has lots of sea stacks, best place to park for beach access is Face Rock viewpoint. Near Brookings is Harris Beach and Whaleshead Beach, more sea stacks. I liked Whaleshead Beach more, fewer people with unleashed dogs at sunrise and sunset. The viewpoints along Samuel Boardman State Park are wonderful. Most require a short hike to get to. A good map is http://www.oregonstateparks.org/images/pdf/boardman.pdf
If you've never flown into the Portland airport be aware that there aren't many gas stations around the airport to fill the rental car. Sorry no pictures processed yet.
Have a great trip.
For the most part, I'm just going to concur with what others have said already, but I'll add a few comments.
In the Columbia River Gorge, if it’s blue sky sunny you can still work the waterfalls effectively by shooting early in the morning or late afternoon when they’ll likely be in shade with the sun below ridgelines. One of your nights you might want to try for the view of the Gorge and Vista House at Crown Point from Women’s Forum Park near the community of Corbett. Get there 1+ hour before sunset. If it looks like the sun is just going to set into clouds, sit and enjoy the view anyway and don’t give up – many times the setting sun pops under those clouds over Portland/Vancouver and the light hitting Crown Point is gorgeous (pun intended). You might also consider doing a loop from Portland to Mount Hood to Hood River Valley to Columbia River Gorge and back to Portland. Mount Hood from Trillium Lake at dawn and from Lost Lake at sunset are classic shots.
On the coast, definitely try the view from the main viewpoint in Ecola State Park looking south along the coast to Cannon Beach. In summer the sun sets far enough north that your subject is the coastline view because the sun will set beyond Ecola Point; if you want the sunset itself, go to Indian Beach (also in Ecola State Park), or the Tolovana Park area of Cannon Beach to silhouette Haystack Rock and The Needles against the setting sun. The Ecola Point view is also nice at sunrise.
On the central coast you’ll find many great locations for lighthouses, tide pools, sea stacks, sandy beaches and rocky, driftwood strewn coves at Newport (especially the Yaquina Head area), Seal Rock State Park, Yachats, Cape Perpetua and Heceta Head. In the Oregon Dunes NRA your best bet for getting clean dunes without ATV tracks is at the Umpqua Dunes area near the town of Lakeside. USFS campground Eel Creek is next to the trailhead.
Further south on the coast, the Sunset Bay - Shore Acres - Cape Arago complex of state parks offers tidepools, surf crashing on sandstone cliffs and a formal garden. Sea Stacks at Bandon Beach are not to be missed, especially at sunset; easiest access is at Face Rock State Wayside. More great sea stacks, beaches and coves continuing south through Cape Sebastian and the Samuel Boardman State Scenic Corridor of Hwy 101.
In the Redwoods, your timing should be good for the Rhododendrons blooming. In addition to Stout Grove, just across Hwy 199 from Jed Smith State Park is a nice trail through Simpson Grove. Damnation Creek Trail in Del Norte Redwoods can be very good if the rhodies are blooming. Another favorite is Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park - some awesome trees along the old scenic highway just north of there, and a resident herd of Roosevelt Elk in the meadows at the campground.
Early June is a really nice time to be photographing in the Pacific Northwest, but make sure you're prepared for just about any kind of weather. I'm sure you'll have a great trip!
Discussion
8 repliesWe're flying into Portland and are considering shooting in/around the following locations:
- Columbia River Gorge - especially waterfalls
- Oregon Cost (from Cannon Beach working down south)
- Redwood parks along 101/Redwood Highway south of Crescent City CA
- Maybe Willamette Valley
Any suggestions (and sample pics if possible) would be greatly appreciated!
BTW, your Lightroom 2 book is excellent.
P.S. I'm in Washington so take my advice with a grain of salt.
My website www.cafields.com has many Columbia Gorge photos and also many Gorge waterfalls (under the NW Waterfalls section) for examples. There are some maps there also.
- Oregon Coast (from Cannon Beach working down south)
I would highly recommend a stop at Cape Kiwanda at Pacific City. Take some time and hike the cape for some great photo-op locations. The hike is short, but the opportunities are plentiful in all weather conditions. Many examples are on my website under the NW Coast > Cape Kiwanda section.
I'm a frequent lurker here and thought I'd jump in to throw in my .02 cents. Hope this helps.
Have a great time!
CA Fields
Jack
Seal ock SP is just south or Newport and is really great for tide pool photography. Look for us!
JG
For the Redwoods, don't miss Stout Grove and the other groves in Jedediah Smith Park just north of Crescent City.
I would also recommend getting Greg Vaughn's Photographing Oregon guide book, which I just posted about in the PNWNP forum above your post.
Glad to see you and Monte made it back from NZ all right.
I just returned from a visit to Oregon in April. I visited Latourell Falls and Multnomah Falls. Tried to hike to Wahclella Falls but the parking lot was full. Seems like a really popular hike. You might want to get there early or late to get a parking spot. Note that some of the locations require a Northwest Forest Pass. I thought Elowah Falls and the Eagle Creek Trail with Punch Bowl Falls looked nice but I didn't have time to check them out . A good website for pictures and descriptions of the waterfalls is http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/nws/
I really liked Silver Falls State Park located south of Portland near Salem.
Along the coast I liked Charleston Harbor. I noticed a lot of the local fisherman going into the Sea Basket Restaurant for lunch and thought they must know where the good food was and sure enough it was fantastic! If in that area, Shore Acres State Park was interesting. Bandon Beach has lots of sea stacks, best place to park for beach access is Face Rock viewpoint. Near Brookings is Harris Beach and Whaleshead Beach, more sea stacks. I liked Whaleshead Beach more, fewer people with unleashed dogs at sunrise and sunset. The viewpoints along Samuel Boardman State Park are wonderful. Most require a short hike to get to. A good map is http://www.oregonstateparks.org/images/pdf/boardman.pdf
If you've never flown into the Portland airport be aware that there aren't many gas stations around the airport to fill the rental car. Sorry no pictures processed yet.
Have a great trip.
In the Columbia River Gorge, if it’s blue sky sunny you can still work the waterfalls effectively by shooting early in the morning or late afternoon when they’ll likely be in shade with the sun below ridgelines. One of your nights you might want to try for the view of the Gorge and Vista House at Crown Point from Women’s Forum Park near the community of Corbett. Get there 1+ hour before sunset. If it looks like the sun is just going to set into clouds, sit and enjoy the view anyway and don’t give up – many times the setting sun pops under those clouds over Portland/Vancouver and the light hitting Crown Point is gorgeous (pun intended). You might also consider doing a loop from Portland to Mount Hood to Hood River Valley to Columbia River Gorge and back to Portland. Mount Hood from Trillium Lake at dawn and from Lost Lake at sunset are classic shots.
On the coast, definitely try the view from the main viewpoint in Ecola State Park looking south along the coast to Cannon Beach. In summer the sun sets far enough north that your subject is the coastline view because the sun will set beyond Ecola Point; if you want the sunset itself, go to Indian Beach (also in Ecola State Park), or the Tolovana Park area of Cannon Beach to silhouette Haystack Rock and The Needles against the setting sun. The Ecola Point view is also nice at sunrise.
On the central coast you’ll find many great locations for lighthouses, tide pools, sea stacks, sandy beaches and rocky, driftwood strewn coves at Newport (especially the Yaquina Head area), Seal Rock State Park, Yachats, Cape Perpetua and Heceta Head. In the Oregon Dunes NRA your best bet for getting clean dunes without ATV tracks is at the Umpqua Dunes area near the town of Lakeside. USFS campground Eel Creek is next to the trailhead.
Further south on the coast, the Sunset Bay - Shore Acres - Cape Arago complex of state parks offers tidepools, surf crashing on sandstone cliffs and a formal garden. Sea Stacks at Bandon Beach are not to be missed, especially at sunset; easiest access is at Face Rock State Wayside. More great sea stacks, beaches and coves continuing south through Cape Sebastian and the Samuel Boardman State Scenic Corridor of Hwy 101.
In the Redwoods, your timing should be good for the Rhododendrons blooming. In addition to Stout Grove, just across Hwy 199 from Jed Smith State Park is a nice trail through Simpson Grove. Damnation Creek Trail in Del Norte Redwoods can be very good if the rhodies are blooming. Another favorite is Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park - some awesome trees along the old scenic highway just north of there, and a resident herd of Roosevelt Elk in the meadows at the campground.
Early June is a really nice time to be photographing in the Pacific Northwest, but make sure you're prepared for just about any kind of weather. I'm sure you'll have a great trip!