Ocean Mist

I don’t normally go stepping into ankle deep water while wearing socks and hiking boots, but an unfortunate wave of circumstances called for it’s necessity a few weeks ago while photographing the last light on the shores of Battle Beach State Park, OR.

While photographing one of the best sunset I witnessed during the West Coast excursion, I set up the camera on a tripod in the middle of a field of small rocks scattered over the beach through which the rising tide waters would ebb and flow. I love the effect that is created when the camera captures water rushing between rocks during a long exposure.

In placing the tripod, I calculated that the waves coming in would not reach it except maybe enough to wet it’s feet. Well, I was wrong. While a series of 3 bracketed 10sec exposures was being taken, I noticed a large wave coming in from the left. I stepped back and hopped up on a few rocks as the water came in at an inch or two where I used to be standing and where the tripod still did. Then a second wave came crashing in and the water rose another few inches. This began to concern me, but I kept a sharp eye on the camera, about 8 feet away from me. Then a third wave came in, larger than the first two. The water was now over a foot deep where the tripod was lazily clicking pictures. This technically wasn’t that big of a problem, but as soon as the water began to recede, I immediately noticed the camera and tripod begin to move seaward. I didn’t hesitate one more millisecond. I jumped into the water and grabbed the tripod, dragging it and my now thoroughly wet feet to higher ground. It’s definitely something that didn’t happen again.

Have you ever heard of tufa? I didn’t know much about them until today.

Typically, when underwater springs rich in calcium mix with lakewater rich in carbonates, a chemical reaction occurs resulting in calcium carbonate, or limestone as we know it. Though tufa is essentially common limestone, to see it in the shape and form of tufa towers above water is a natural phenomenon unique to only a few locations around the world.

Here in southeastern California, one of the largest concentrations of above-water tufa can be found at Mono Lake. I made a special trip out there this evening to photograph them at twilight, the perfect time of day for such a mysterious subject. What an incredible place!

It feels as though I have reached yet another panicle of this trip. The town of Mammoth Lakes, CA, just across the Sierra Mountains from Yosemite, is the gatewate to an incredible system of lakes and mountain ranges connecting several National Forests and Parks such as John Muir Wilderness, Ansel Adams Wilderness, Inyo National Forest, and Devils Postpile National Monument.

This particular lake, called Lake Mary, reflects the distinct protrusion known as Crystal Crag. This kind of country is perfect for using the new Polarizer filter I picked up a few weeks ago which I hadn’t used much up until today. Looking forward to posting more from Mammoth Lakes! And praise the Lord for clear, sunny days!

Sunday evening, my hosts for my stay in Los Angeles took me to a small beach in Malibu, California to watch the sun go down. It was a very relaxing, reflective time and I only took a few pictures. There wasn’t much to take pictures of anyway, but the bright green moss growing on this rock caught my eye, seeing it was the only colorful thing around except for the brilliant, sunset sky.

I’ve been repeatedly impressed at how incredible some un-highlighted, off-the-beaten-path places can be. Before heading to one of California’s famed Redwood parks yesterday morning, I decided it might be worth a try to stop by the coast in the early morning to catch the sunrise. In the process of determining where to go, I saw Endert Beach along Endert Beach Road just a few minutes south of where I was spending the night. To my surprise the next morning, there was not a sign for the beach on the main drag, but once I was on Endert Beach Road and had reached the first overlook, I was immediately struck by how beautiful the place really was. Just because something is small and unmarked doesn’t always mean it’s not worth seeing.

It felt as though I had stepped back in time when drove into Jedediah Smith State Park this afternoon, one of several parks in northern California created to protect the rare habitat the redwood. I learned today that redwood trees are the tallest trees in the world, growing as tall as 350 feet, and can live as long as 2000 years. That’s back when Jesus walked the earth!

I spent the morning at Shore Acres State Park, right close to Sunset Bay where I was last night. The incredible wave action along this portion of the coast was awesome to watch though it produced a lot of mist. This, coupled with the fact that it was mostly cloudy the entire morning resulted in it not being as successful a morning as I had hoped. However, it was still worth the 2.5 miles of hiking along this off-the-beaten-path location.

So, today Josh and I drove from Portland to Coos Bay, OR, just in time to make it to Sunset Bay for, well, sunset! What an extraordinary place. Breathtaking only begins to describe the awe-inspiring vistas and the sound of massive waves breaking on the rocky shores is comparable only to thunder. One could spend days in and around Coos Bay and still not take in all there is to see.

A note for anyone stopping at Sunset Bay for pictures of sunset: leave plenty of time to hike out to places where you can actually see the sun setting over the ocean. With all the coves and peninsulas there are to hike in and around, it took me a while to find a spot where I could see the ocean vista without obstructions. 

After shooting waterfalls in Connecticut last week, I was looking forward to shooting majestic mountain peaks in Oregon this week. So what do you do if those mountain peaks are shrouded in clouds? Shoot more waterfalls! Today I took the opportunity to drive along old Rt. 30 through the incredibly picturesque Columbia Gorge to shoot the many waterfalls along that route. Latourell Falls, right along the highway, was the first falls I shot, and because of the rain I basically had the whole place to myself.

Because I was in Connecticut a few weeks too early to see the peak fall colors, I focused on shooting waterfalls during my three day visit. It was cloudy most of my stay anyway, so it worked out very nicely. The first falls I photographed was Kent Falls, a spectacular, multi-tiered, easily accessed falls (actually visible from Rt. 7) in the far western part of the state. I heartily recommend visiting these falls for anyone traveling through the area, photographer or no! It was a weekday and it rained slightly so there were very few people around; however, the place was made to accommodate large crowds which I’m sure there are during the summer months. Because of this, there is a fence along the trail all the way up to the top  with signs everywhere telling you to stay on the trail. Not exactly friendly territory for landscape photographers. But don’t let this deter you! It’s a spectacular natural phenomenon, even from the trail.