Posted by Peter Coskun on August 6, 2012 at 9:08 PM
I just returned from my trip to the pacific northwest and enjoyed it for the most part. I didn't get any dramatic light, except on the very last night as we were driving out of Oregon the best sunset showed itself and I couldn't get anything to show. I did notice some things however while visiting these often photographed places. The first thing, while at cape kiwanda at the top of the cliffs I debated crossing the "do not enter" signs. I figured all of the classic shots were taken from down below, so I took a chance. Are those signs more of a warning or can you actually get fined if caught down near the water? The other thing I noticed while in mount Rainier was the abundant signage about staying on trail. Now there weren't carpets of beautiful wildflowers, but there were some nice patches way off trail and noticed others walking through the meadows. I stayed on trail (hence why I didn't come away with any great wildflower photos) but was wondering if that was a common practice during the summer? I definitely chose the wrong time to visit the rainforests in olympic national park, but they were still enjoyable and unique to me and while on second beach I had a hoard of photographers set up right beside me. So much for icons I suppose. I still enjoyed my visit, but would definitely like to return possibly sometime next year. The group I was with agreed that Rainier was the favorite spot on the trip although the mountain only appeared once. So any advice for next time is greatly appreciated.
The catch-22 with the NW is that dramatic light often does not happen during the dry season or when alpine meadows are in full bloom. Sunrise and Sunset, of course, happen daily ;-), but the micro climates of the northwest make it difficult to do all the iconic places and shots in one trip. For wildflower meadows, early August is best, but Rainier is notorious for holding out till later. For rainforests, spring is best (more water, drippy plants, greater chance of fog), and for the coast, I'm partial to a rare dry day in the winter.
Signage is tricky. I got seriously scolded last year at Mt. St. Helens for being on the trail but having a tripod leg off the trail. In wildflower meadows, I think the signs are serious and most of us obey them (although I have been a "bad elk" on a couple of occasions in my distant past). On the coast, the signs are generally for your safety. Sneaker waves kill a couple of folks every year, and the signs are there mostly to make sure you don't get stuck between a rock and a big wave. I crossed a guardrail and ignored a sign once last year to get my Siletz Bay shot...it was a bay and low tide, and I was willing to take my chances.
My advice for next time would be to pick a region more narrowly based on the season you can travel and plan to spend multiple days in the locations you most want to shoot. I'm sure I face the same problem heading to the southwest this fall....I have visions of great photographs, but with only a couple of days at each park I'm visiting, I know I will miss opportunities by a day or so.
Also, you might check out the "Photographing" book series. I have one for Oregon and the Southwest, and they do a great job of discussing locations, best times of year, best times of day, etc:
Greg Vaughn's Photographing Oregon
and
perhaps a Washington one too??? I just did a quick google and didn't find it.
Looks like you do a lot of shooting in the west and southwest. I've lived in CO for about 12 years, and here in Portland for about 5. Very very different in terms of planning, imo. In CO - really anywhere along the Rocky Mountain range, I think you can go wherever, almost whenever, and find very compelling conditions. If plan A fails, plan B is usually just as good. It's rare to go a few days without a very compelling sunrise or sunset. The PNW.... requires more careful consideration.
First, shooting sunrise and sunset here is incredibly frustrating if that's your primary objective. Even when you think the conditions might be good, marine layers can take a promising forecast and turn it into a dismal outing. I'm convinced the only way to have success here shooting sunrise/sunset is to get out a LOT and hope the law of averages works in your favor. Not an approach that favors of the occasional visitor.
Like Marylynne, I think the trick is to plan around the primary weather trend because you don't get the variation and highly dynamic conditions that you get in the intermountain west. Most of the year, that means rain. My $0.02 on general planning:
March - June: rain forests, Columbia Gorge, Palouse
July - Sept (our only sunny season): wildflowers in Rainier, St. Helens, even Mt. Jefferson (pretty, if not epic)
Oct/Nov: we don't have epic fall spots like CO, Zion, etc., but the areas along the myriad rivers can be stunning. You can search for fall colors here on the board and get some ideas and inspiration.
Nov - March: stay home. You can get some incredible winter conditions and mountain sunrises/sunsets, but it's few and so far between that you're inviting disappointment unless you plan to stay for a long time.
I didn't mention the coast - it's so unpredictable. Obviously painting with a broad brush here, but winter is nearly hopeless and summer may be even more frustrating because of the marine layer in the mornings; summer sunsets are a reasonably good bet. I like spring and fall for best chance at some nice clouds and color, but it's still a gamble.
Posted by Jack Graham on August 12, 2012 at 10:39 AM
Late October is a great time to be in NW Oregon/ SW Washington. I actually run a workshop then... I am not trying to sell it, (its pretty full already anyhow)... but below is the text from the workshop overview. This is a pretty colorful time in these parts---enjoy!!-JG
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Fall Color in the areas of SW Washington and NE Oregon are as beautiful, while different and diverse from other parts of the country. During our workshop, we will be in the beautiful and colorful, world-renowned wine country of the Willamette Valley and Dundee Hills SW of Portland, the National Scenic area of the Columbia River Gorge and the wilds of Mt Adams and Mt Hood.
We will also visit the Portland Japanese Garden, regarded as the #1 Japanese Garden outside Japan to enjoy and photograph the fall color of the maple trees. May of my secret, off the main road locations provide some of the most scenic and colorful photography anywhere.
In the Columbia River Gorge, the oaks and maples provide a palate of color against the waterfalls, and backdrop of rock walls and pine forest. The crowds are gone and we can spend time undisturbed, capturing the change of seasons in one of the most breath taking areas in the world. We will spend time photographing in the Hood River Valley between Mt Hood and the Town of Hood River. This area is one of the largest fruit producing areas in the world. The beautiful valley, in combination with breathtaking views of Mt Hood will result in some great images.
On day two we will venture about 30 minutes north of Hood River across the Columbia River in Washington to the small town of Trout River and Trout Lake. We will spend time in the Conboy National Wildlife refuge as well as the areas in and around Trout Lake where breathtaking views of Mt Adams and the quaking aspens are plentiful. The afternoon will be spent in the Gifford-Pinchot National Forest. This National forest is over 1.3 million acres and features both Mt Adams as well as Mt St. Helens. We will be photographing in the Mt Adams area during this workshop.
We will spend an entire day in the Willamette Valley and Dundee Hills photographing the fall color in the wine country. The patterns of the rows of brightly colored vineyards provide endless photographic opportunities.
On Sunday morning, we'll venture to the Japanese Gardens in Portland to photograph the fall color. The Japanese Maples are in full glory. In a study conducted by the Journal of Japanese Gardening, it was ranked first out of 300 public Japanese gardens outside of Japan and considered to be one of the most authentic. This is notable because a traditional Japanese garden normally takes hundreds of years to evolve and mature, but the Portland Japanese Garden evolved much more quickly—a fusion of hurried western style and stately eastern expression. Late October is usually when the color in the gardens are at it best!
Discussion
3 repliesSignage is tricky. I got seriously scolded last year at Mt. St. Helens for being on the trail but having a tripod leg off the trail. In wildflower meadows, I think the signs are serious and most of us obey them (although I have been a "bad elk" on a couple of occasions in my distant past). On the coast, the signs are generally for your safety. Sneaker waves kill a couple of folks every year, and the signs are there mostly to make sure you don't get stuck between a rock and a big wave. I crossed a guardrail and ignored a sign once last year to get my Siletz Bay shot...it was a bay and low tide, and I was willing to take my chances.
My advice for next time would be to pick a region more narrowly based on the season you can travel and plan to spend multiple days in the locations you most want to shoot. I'm sure I face the same problem heading to the southwest this fall....I have visions of great photographs, but with only a couple of days at each park I'm visiting, I know I will miss opportunities by a day or so.
Also, you might check out the "Photographing" book series. I have one for Oregon and the Southwest, and they do a great job of discussing locations, best times of year, best times of day, etc:
Greg Vaughn's Photographing Oregon
and
perhaps a Washington one too??? I just did a quick google and didn't find it.
First, shooting sunrise and sunset here is incredibly frustrating if that's your primary objective. Even when you think the conditions might be good, marine layers can take a promising forecast and turn it into a dismal outing. I'm convinced the only way to have success here shooting sunrise/sunset is to get out a LOT and hope the law of averages works in your favor. Not an approach that favors of the occasional visitor.
Like Marylynne, I think the trick is to plan around the primary weather trend because you don't get the variation and highly dynamic conditions that you get in the intermountain west. Most of the year, that means rain. My $0.02 on general planning:
March - June: rain forests, Columbia Gorge, Palouse
July - Sept (our only sunny season): wildflowers in Rainier, St. Helens, even Mt. Jefferson (pretty, if not epic)
Oct/Nov: we don't have epic fall spots like CO, Zion, etc., but the areas along the myriad rivers can be stunning. You can search for fall colors here on the board and get some ideas and inspiration.
Nov - March: stay home.
I didn't mention the coast - it's so unpredictable. Obviously painting with a broad brush here, but winter is nearly hopeless and summer may be even more frustrating because of the marine layer in the mornings; summer sunsets are a reasonably good bet. I like spring and fall for best chance at some nice clouds and color, but it's still a gamble.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Fall Color in the areas of SW Washington and NE Oregon are as beautiful, while different and diverse from other parts of the country. During our workshop, we will be in the beautiful and colorful, world-renowned wine country of the Willamette Valley and Dundee Hills SW of Portland, the National Scenic area of the Columbia River Gorge and the wilds of Mt Adams and Mt Hood.
We will also visit the Portland Japanese Garden, regarded as the #1 Japanese Garden outside Japan to enjoy and photograph the fall color of the maple trees. May of my secret, off the main road locations provide some of the most scenic and colorful photography anywhere.
In the Columbia River Gorge, the oaks and maples provide a palate of color against the waterfalls, and backdrop of rock walls and pine forest. The crowds are gone and we can spend time undisturbed, capturing the change of seasons in one of the most breath taking areas in the world. We will spend time photographing in the Hood River Valley between Mt Hood and the Town of Hood River. This area is one of the largest fruit producing areas in the world. The beautiful valley, in combination with breathtaking views of Mt Hood will result in some great images.
On day two we will venture about 30 minutes north of Hood River across the Columbia River in Washington to the small town of Trout River and Trout Lake. We will spend time in the Conboy National Wildlife refuge as well as the areas in and around Trout Lake where breathtaking views of Mt Adams and the quaking aspens are plentiful. The afternoon will be spent in the Gifford-Pinchot National Forest. This National forest is over 1.3 million acres and features both Mt Adams as well as Mt St. Helens. We will be photographing in the Mt Adams area during this workshop.
We will spend an entire day in the Willamette Valley and Dundee Hills photographing the fall color in the wine country. The patterns of the rows of brightly colored vineyards provide endless photographic opportunities.
On Sunday morning, we'll venture to the Japanese Gardens in Portland to photograph the fall color. The Japanese Maples are in full glory. In a study conducted by the Journal of Japanese Gardening, it was ranked first out of 300 public Japanese gardens outside of Japan and considered to be one of the most authentic. This is notable because a traditional Japanese garden normally takes hundreds of years to evolve and mature, but the Portland Japanese Garden evolved much more quickly—a fusion of hurried western style and stately eastern expression. Late October is usually when the color in the gardens are at it best!