The Artful Engineer

Last week’s post showed nothing but views to the west from our favorite getaway house in Oceanside, Oregon. From that same deck, the image above looks south along the Tillamook County coast towards Cape Lookout. The changeable weather in late fall and winter is definitely the photographer’s friend here, because so many things can happen over the course of a week. This image is blessed with many shades of blue that are set against the orange clouds and falling rain. I particularly like the way that the water in the center of the image almost seems lit from below and that the clouds have so much color variation.

Breaking out a super-telephoto—in this case a 500mm—allowed tight crops of patterns in the surf zone. Spotting this person standing on the rock was one of those moments that induces panic in a photographer: I was nearly frantic making sure that I got this image before they moved. I have a print of this on the wall in our guest room because it is a favorite of mine; I love looking at the patterns of the incoming waves and the gradient from almost-white on the left to somewhat darker blue on the right. The monochromaticity of an image like this is also something that I personally enjoy. But as good as all of that is, that tiny dark high-contrast rock with the lone observer is the detail that elevates it. There is also something poetic about watching the watcher.

Despite being so distant, the image above was very crisp and clear because there was little wind and, hence, no sea spray in the air. Two days later, the wind was very much a player and everything was considerably softened by the blowing spray and the result is completely different:

I have about ten variations of this next scene taken over as many minutes, all of which have dramatic light and look like black and white images. In fairness, they are black and white images, but only because the scene was completely devoid of color, not because I processed it away.

This next image was taken on a beach a short distance north of the house. It is classic Pacific Northwest coastline. The fog gives atmosphere aplenty—and I’m pretty sure it was raining, too—and the foreground rocks have a lot of extra life because each is reflecting the (relatively) bright sky above. There are a lot of nice little details, too: the tree on the rock, the bright curve of the surf in front of the rock, the distant bit of surf that separates the background headland from the main rock, and the root-like seaweed in the foreground corner that adds the only real color in the scene.

There is nothing monochromatic about this final image. It shows the very tip of the five-mile-long Netarts Spit, covered in watery mirrors left by the receding tide. Probably the greatest joy of landscape photography is pulling off a good composition in a moment like this when nature decides to show off.

I hope you enjoyed these last two posts of seascape images. The next two or three posts will stay in Tillamook County, Oregon, but for the most part will move inland a bit. I hope you will join us there!

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