Sunset from Oceanside Beach

We're having a stretch of beautiful spring-like weather here in Oregon this week, so it's been a good time to have some free time and be able to be outside.  Last weekend, I had thought about taking a trip to the beach, but the weather was rainy so I stayed home.  This afternoon, I realized that I could go to the beach on a weekday if I wanted to... so I did!  I hopped in my car and two hours later I was driving up to Oceanside beach, my new favorite spot on the coast.





I was a little disappointed when I looked at the tide charts before leaving, as high tide peaked at 3:00 and I thought that would be way too early to make for interesting sunset shots at 5:40.  Turns out it was a good thing, when I arrived at 4:30 the water was still fairly high... I couldn't walk on the sandy beaches, it was a lot of stumbling on the rocky upper beach.





The thin clouds in the sky were perfect and I was really lucky to get such an amazing sunset.  It's always a risk with sunsets, clouds can disappear in less than an hour, so catching the right clouds just takes luck.  I had some tonight.





Hope you enjoyed!

Sunset from the Waterfront

I was a little surprised to see that I hadn't been down to the waterfront recently for a sunset.  I guess that is what happens when the sun sets before I get off of work... I just have fewer days to try to catch good skies and go down there.  I saw today's mostly cloudy skies, with chances of showers, and decided it would be a good chance to get another shoot in.



Boy was I right!  I was really happy with the way things came out.  Not only was I able to get a passable sunset shot (rare for downtown) but the clouds behaved the whole time I was down there and I managed to get a lot of great shots.  I even busted out the super long exposures, which I hadn't been doing many of lately.  Two minutes is a long time to wait for a shot, but boy they are worth it when they come out.







I'm looking forward to spring and the time change coming up in a few weeks.  There should be plenty of interesting opportunities as the year starts up again.  Good times.

Best of 2009 Photo Slideshow

I've recently made a few new online fans of my photography.  I do love it when people let me know that they enjoy my work, and I always encourage them to look through my stream and see all the variety I have to offer.  However, with about 2000 photos available in my public stream, it can be a bit much.

So I've put together a Best of 2009 slideshow for both newcomers and old-timers alike.  It was pretty tough to narrow these down, but I came up with a nice selection showcasing all of the great images I was lucky enough to capture last year.  It sure is fun to walk down a little memory lane, even if I am like two months overdue for putting this sort of thing together.



Thanks for watching and keeping up with me all this time.

Hiking up Eagle Creek

One of the most popular hikes in the Portland area is Eagle Creek, deep in the Columbia River gorge.  This hike is popular for a reason, as it leads to gorgeous cliff-side views and some outstanding waterfalls.





Some may recall photos I've taken of the area over the years, especially of Punchbowl Falls, which we'll see more of here shortly.  On Sunday, I made some great time hiking up, and ended up going further than I had in the past before I decided to turn around.  I had to say, the new area I found (past the "high bridge") is gorgeous and worth the effort.





The day was reasonably warm, and although the air was damp it never really rained.  The hike was surprisingly crowded for a winter's Sunday (especially with the superbowl on) but aside from that it was a great day to be out.  It really is a great trail to conquer.



Previous photos of Punchbowl falls have had an annoying distraction, which luckily has been swept away over the winter.  When I visited this year, the giant log had fallen and washed up on the small rocky beach nearby.  I had to climb over it to get out into the stream and take this shot, but I sure am glad I had to... it looks a lot nicer without that log there.

Some Modest Recent Results

On Sunday I went for a walk with my camera and new tripod, with the intention of catching some industrial shots and then switching to the downtown river shots as the sun set.  Things worked out well enough for me, although the industrial area I chose was a rather boring one and I didn't find a lot to shoot.  You may recall, I did find a bolt.  I was mostly interested in the item on the ground and using it as a background, but sadly it didn't come out.  The shot I did like, however, is still pretty good.



I walked throughout the neighborhood and got some good exercise, which is probably the most important part of these shoots... I am pretty lazy and do need to keep up with occasional exercise.  Turned out the few shots I did take came out interesting enough, so it's all good in the end.



The afternoon had started out partly cloudy, and I had been pretty excited about getting some great cloud shots.  They thickened up as sunset approached, however, and by the time the sun went down they were pretty thick overhead.  As usual, I was pretty happy with the way the camera is able to pick out some more interesting textures in the clouds than my eyes.