Oregon Part 6: Beaches
The Oregon coast has a large variation in beaches and rock formations. This is probably what makes it so ideal for vacationing. There are also miles and miles of sandy beaches to play on. We suspected that during the summer the coast would be crawling with vacationers but the hardest part would probably be getting parking. All the places we stopped have very few parking spots but once you’re out on the beach there’s tonnes of room for everyone.
Another crazy place we visited after Thor’s Well was Devil’s Punchbowl.
I imagine the Devil’s punchbowl is geometrically similar to Thor’s Well, only bigger. Much bigger. You can see that there’s a person in the bowl, which we were hoping to do ourselves but went down the wrong beach access. You can also see a small piece of asphalt in the bottom left corner of the photograph. There’s a railing around the perimeter now but there are several indications of erosion including concrete blocks and sheared pipes.
Even as we drive along the coastal highway, there are highpoint that offer spectacular views of the coast and show just how straight and shallow the water is for miles and miles.
Some of the beaches are sandy but others are rocky. The broken skies in the last few days of our trip helped create a dramatic backdrop to the photographs which went well with the low winter sun.
This particular photo turned out quite well. I was concerned that I’d lost a lot of detail because I was shooting into the sun but the camera RAW was still able to capture it. I also got to experimenting with a neutral density (ND) filter which is like a pair of sunglasses for the camera. It lets less light into the lens allowing for longer shutter exposures to smooth out things like the sea.
So there you have it, a sample of beaches along our trip.
Read Part 7: Shipwreaked
