Jan 8 2011 Visiting Home
Growing up on the coast and now living only 100 miles away I feel lucky to be able to basically go to the beach anytime I want….I had a pretty rough Christmas after wrecking my car and ending up on the coast in pouring down rain for 5 days. Needless to say I needed another getaway…..My new tripod had came on Wednesday and I was dying to get it out and actually take pictures that weren’t blurry from tripod movement… Saturday morning at 3:46 I get up and load the SUV and then get my daughter and put her in her car seat and load up her stuff and off we go….I needed gas so as I was pulling into the gas station I started sliding all around…Yep, the ground was a solid sheet of ice…I thought maybe it was just in town and that once I go to the freeways it would be better. After getting gas we drove the 6 mile straight stretch to the freeway where the roads seemed pretty good. Made it through Portland and up onto the hill where the ice started again. Then up near the top the snow started coming down at a very high rate….you know how when you drive in the dark and it’s snowing it looks like you are in a time warp or something….it was like that for about 20 miles as I made my way to the summit of the mountain and started down the other side….as I got down about 10 miles on the other side it just turned to rain and no ice….I pulled into Tillamook and the rain was still coming down…..I dropped Lexi off at Grandma’s house and I drove south to one of my favorite little beach towns, Pacific City, Oregon.
I had wanted to shoot the Keyhole with some good wave action for a long time and the sky was starting to break up as I made my way down the beach….however the tide was not quite high enough yet so I decided to shoot on the other end of the beach where there were some rocks in the sand to help break up the waves and give the water some good movement….
I shot here for a while and just kept shooting…The sun was rising to my left and coming up over the hillside. There were just enough clouds to keep the color in the sky for that extended period of time….Every photographers dream….a sunset or sunrise that lasts more than 12 minutes.. Shoot shoot shoot……I was scrambling around like crazy trying to find comps. then the fog lifted and I noticed that I could see Haystack Rock in the far south distance.
I hung around this side of the beach as the light was changing constantly until I felt the tide was high enough to bring some good waves into the Keyhole….Now you may be asking what the “Keyhole” is all about. Well, its this amazing arch where water comes through and crashes on the rocks which look like they have fallen over the years from overhead. For years I always thought this was a cool place for a low tide shoot…It wasn’t until I was there last time that I realized this is a much better place for a high tide shoot.. And oh boy was I right…..I just wish the sunset had been a couple hours later so I could have got them both in these shots…. Here are a few shots from the infamous “Keyhole”.
The above image is a 30 second exposure as the waves crash on the keyhole entrance and roll into the sea of rocks you see before you. This image really doesn’t give you that scary feeling the other 2 will.. Most of the waves were pretty nice but there were a few that scared the hell out of me…..
When you are standing up high on a rock and you see these big waves hit that wall and start their way into where you are standing, the heart starts to race because you want to get the shot and you know by the time you take the shot it ill be too late to run for your life..So you brave it…you take the hit of the wave in hopes you don’t get your camera drenched and that you pressed the shutter at the right time with the right shutter speed….I did a few of these images you see above with the waves hitting the wall and crashing below me….getting wet from my waist down. I was kind of froze in time…I did not want to stay there but I also did not want to leave in case I missed a really good one….Well as luck would have it….I stayed just long enough….About 10 after this shot, the sets really started rolling on…one big one after another as the place filled up with water and now the water was almost at my feet when all the sudden I see it….a swell about 20 feet tall comes crashing onto the entrance of the Keyhole and the loudest thundering roar I have ever heard….then I notice that the wave is not slowing down. My heart pounding in fear and excitement all at once…this huge waves crashes on the rocks right in front of me as I press the shutter…..getting hit by the wave and totally wet I first look and dry off my camera making sure no salt water gets into the working areas….All good there….then I decide I should look to see what I got….my heart still racing now from the unknown…did I get the shot or not….do I want to brave it again if I didn’t….as I press the preview button I am very very happy with what I had captured in that amazing moment of time…..
I may have pressed the shutter too soon or too late because I am pretty sure the waves were higher than this at one point but I was totally amazed at how well the chosen shutter speed had captured the action of the water that soaked me!!! After this I left and walked back to the truck where I collected my thoughts, did some serious thinking and finished drying off my camera and tripod. I decided I needed to unwind a bit so I made a stop at one of my favorite coffee shops, Stimulus Coffee in Pacific City. They have always gave me great service and delicious coffees and food….Back to Tillamook to see my daughter……
The day went on and we did our thing and then I decided to stay there for sunset…..The clouds looked good, the sky was coming on with color so back out to the beach I go….This time it was Oceanside just for a quick shoot….We shot sunset and then as we were walking back after it was almost dark we noticed the sky start to light up again. We both stopped and looked at the sky….just taking in the beauty that it was…All the sudden we both break out or cams and tripods and start shooting again..This time we were just shooting to capture this amazing moment….It was the perfect end to an amazing day of photography.
Lexi and I arrived home safely after driving back though the snow on the mountain…..All in all an A+ Day! Please remember to click on the images to view them larger with more details…
Cheers,
Darren
