As mentioned in a previous blog post about the Oregon Coast, I hadn't spent much time there doing photography and it was something I wanted to change. I finally got the opportunity and booked three nights on the coast and set about exploring the area. I based myself in Coos Bay and went during the King Tides which luckily coincided with the end of a storm cycle, so the combo produced huge surf.

The first place I visited was Shore Acres State Park. In fact, I just drove straight there from home and arrived an hour before sunset (and the rangers locked the access gate). Despite being low tide and having dull, grey skies, the sea was putting on an incredible display. I could have watched the swell role in all night.

The next morning I woke up really early to catch sunrise at the not-so-secret Secret Beach. It was a two hour drive from the Coos Bay, but at least Highway 101 was devoid of cars at the early hour.

While Secret Beach is a spectacular area, I didn't get great light. I did really enjoy my few hours down there. It was quite the place to spend the morning.

As the day went on, the seas gradually calmed from a chaotic mess to beautiful swells. A strong offshore breeze whipped the crests of the waves. I took hundreds of shots.

In the evening I visited Bandon, a place I've wanted to check out for a long time. Sure there's the famous golf course, but I don't golf. I was there for the sea stacks along the beach at sunset. If the light and tides are right, you can get reflections of the stacks and sky on the wet sand, creating pretty mirrored scenes. To add another dimension to the images, you need to get wet by filling the bottom of the frame with foam and rivulets of the water as it rushes onto the beach and back out. I got really wet, with the ocean completely breaching my rubber boots, but didn't get any awesome shots. My camera didn't get soaked, so that was a plus. There is a ton of photographic potential on this beach and can't wait to go back. I did get some descent light at sunset.

On my final morning, before heading home, I drove back up to Heceta Head for sunrise. The shot I really wanted was a blue hour image of the lighthouse with its orange light beam. It was a 10 second exposure, so that really smoothed out the water and added to the calmness of the scene.