"Rapture on the Lonely Shore"

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep Sea, and music in its roar:
I love not Man the less, but Nature more.

-Lord Byron


I waited for a long time to get this shot just the way I wanted it. The beach surrounding the rock was covered with footprints and bicycle tracks, and I waited until the tide was high enough to wash the shore clean... and then I waited until the water receded enough to allow me to capture the rocks and the pool - plus the reflected light on the wet sand. I wanted to be positioned so that there was a separation between the two large rocks in the background - and also between the two foreground rocks. The tide was coming in fast, so I almost didn't get the shot - the waves would come up and wash the shore, and then receded - but not fast enough. As they receded, the next wave would come in and cover the beautiful depression around the rocks. Eventually, the waves pulled back enough to allow me to capture the shot as I wanted it - just when I though it wasn't going to happen. You can see the next small wave coming in to fill my little pond. :)

I love this place. It was so hard to leave!

Sunday

Yesterday we got our 4am wakeup call, and then we headed for Crescent Lake in Olympic. We had intended to shoot at the beach, but the sky was completely clear. We hoped for some low-hanging mist further inland, and we found it over the lake. What luck. We got some beautiful shots of the lake, and then headed for Hurricane Ridge. We took a couple of stock shots from the Ridge - the sun was too high for fine art landscapes. It was neat to be standing on 15 feet of snow. And to know that it was a lot deeper than that a few months ago.

Afterwards, we drove East, then South, and then West around Oympic en route to Canon Beach in Oregon. We shot the sunset there last night. I'm happy with what I got, although the clouds could have been more impressive. I've been here before, but the last time, I didn't shoot - it was great to shoot such a gorgeous beach.

We thought we might get some nice shots this morning, but the sky was heavily overcast, so we headed for the airport instead. And here we are - Portland Airport. We'll be flying home in a couple of hours. And maybe I'll get some shots processed tomorrow.

Olympic

It's beautiful here. Of course. We visited Silver Falls State Park in the morning, but didn't shoot - the sun came out at the wrong time. And then we drove North to Olympic. We shot at Rialto beach this evening - I'm hoping some of my shots turn out well. I was soaked to my knees after just a few minutes, but who's complaining? My shoes and socks are drying over the heater in our hotel room. Should have worn my water shoes. Oh well.