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A Broken Down Treasure Trove

On a spring trip to Oregon to shoot the coast, my friend Dan and I were met with gray, overcast days, limiting the dynamic light in which I usually enjoy shooting landscapes. Still wanting to get in lots of time behind the camera, and keep exploring the area, we chose to go for some interesting macro opportunities. We heard word of a nearby boat repair yard and headed to Charleston, Oregon to check it out.

Weathered wood shows a variety of texture on aging boats
Weathered wood shows a variety of texture on aging boats

Upon arrival, I was happy to see a wide variety of boats and parts in various stages of repair or lack thereof. There were many textures and subjects to choose from, which I quickly set about exploring with my 100mm macro lens.

An old weathered bumper hangs off the side of a paint-peeling boat
An old weathered bumper hangs off the side of a paint-peeling boat

Before pulling out our cameras however, we found someone who works in the yard in order to get permission to shoot. It is important to always be respectful to people you are around, and do your part to represent photographers well. In addition, any time I am shooting on private property, I want to make sure I have permission to be there. The added bonus of asking for permission was that we got plenty of local knowledge of what else was interesting to shoot in the area, and met a really nice guy.

Steaks of paint form patterns along the front bow of a boat
Steaks of paint form patterns along the front bow of a boat

As I made my way through the repair yard, I came across what I found to be the most interesting single item, a Trackson Company logging tractor.

Ancient logging machinery rusts in the damp weather of Charleston Oregon
Ancient logging machinery rusts in the damp weather of Charleston Oregon

While I couldn’t find details on this specific model, Trackson Company was founded in 1922 in Milwaukee Wisconsin. They made a variety of excavators and formed a partnership with Caterpillar. This particular machine was obviously made for the logging industry, and it looked very old and was covered in rust.

A frayed rope lies against dark rusted metal in a boat repair yard
A frayed rope lies against dark rusted metal in a boat repair yard

This logging tractor provided many different framing opportunities.

Ancient logging machinery rusts in the damp weather of Charleston Oregon
Ancient logging machinery rusts in the damp weather of Charleston Oregon
Ancient logging machinery rusts in the damp weather of Charleston Oregon
Ancient logging machinery rusts in the damp weather of Charleston Oregon

On the other side, a small plant was growing through the wheel. Here I was able to show a nice bit of nature verses machinery contrast.

Ancient logging machinery rusts in the damp weather of Charleston Oregon
Ancient logging machinery rusts in the damp weather of Charleston Oregon

Finally, the tracks themselves were interesting with all the rust that had built up over the years. Here I created a balanced image emphasizing the symmetry of the tracks. A smaller aperture of f/5.6 let the detail of the rust disappear into obscurity.

Ancient logging machinery rusts in the damp weather of Charleston Oregon
Ancient logging machinery rusts in the damp weather of Charleston Oregon

Eventually we worked our way around the yard and it was time to go. But we were very happy with our decision to change focus for the afternoon due to weather conditions. With all photography, it is always beneficial to be flexible and creative.

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Cape Blanco Lighthouse

Cape Blanco Lighthouse stands on a point that juts out a half mile into the ocean. Its light can be seen up to 23 miles out to sea.
Cape Blanco Lighthouse stands on a point that juts out a half mile into the ocean. Its light can be seen up to 23 miles out to sea.

Cape Blanco Lighthouse stands on a piece of land that juts out into the Pacific Ocean one half of a mile, making it the western most lighthouse in Oregon. Erected in 1870, it is the oldest continually operated lighthouse in the state as well. In order to save money in construction cost, two kilns were erected on site to provide the bricks needed for the lighthouse and other structures.

The stairway up the lighthouse tower circles within a brick structure
The stairway up the lighthouse tower circles within a brick structure

The narrow, winding staircase mimics the logarithmic spiral of the golden rectangle when viewed from above. How could I not capture a perfect composition with these elements laid out before me?

The fresnel lens at the Cape Blanco Lighthouse is one of the largest and oldest in the nation. It magnifies a small light so that it can be seen up to 23 miles offshore.
The fresnel lens at the Cape Blanco Lighthouse is one of the largest and oldest in the nation. It magnifies a small light so that it can be seen up to 23 miles offshore.

The crown jewel of this lighthouse is not the structure itself, but rather the Fresnel lens it houses. Standing about six feet tall, the rotating lens encircles a small electric light. Before electricity was installed in the light house, this service was provided by a simple candle. Due to the lens’ magnifying power, the light can be seen up to 23 miles off shore.

Cape Blanco Lighthouse stands on a point that juts out a half mile into the ocean. Its light can be seen up to 23 miles out to sea.
Cape Blanco Lighthouse stands on a point that juts out a half mile into the ocean. Its light can be seen up to 23 miles out to sea.

Cape Blanco is a beautiful, tall and elegant lighthouse. If you are ever in the vicinity of the southern Oregon coast, it is well worth a visit.

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Common Murre

A common murre perches atop a rock along a southern Oregon beach
A common murre perches atop a rock along a southern Oregon beach

I photographed this common murre in Oregon on an early spring trip geared toward landscape photography. Although I did bring my wildlife lenses with me, I happened not to have them down on the beach the day I saw this little guy. My longest lens in my bag was a 70-200 on a full frame camera.

The common murre only comes to shore to breed, and this one can be seen in breeding plumage. Once these birds breed, both the male and female molt, rendering them flightless for one to two months. I’m not sure if this one had been through this molting yet, but he seemed quite content just to hang out on his rock.

After seeing this murre standing on a small rock, the first thing I did was creep around to the south to approach him with the sun at my back. This made the bird front lit, which is the typical lighting necessary to create a pleasing bird portrait. Once I had the angle of light correct, I began to creep toward my subject (partially to compensate for my short focal length I had available) in a low crouch. I moved very carefully, only creeping forward a few inches when he was looking away. As usual, I balanced my desire to get as close as possible with the bird’s comfort zone.

After taking several photographs at the distance with which I was comfortable, I backed up slowly the way I had come. It is always better to leave your subject undisturbed than to selfishly stand up after you have your desired shots and risk flushing the bird.

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Bandon Sunsets

The sun sets behind the western horizon, casting the offshore sea stacks into shadow, Bandon, Oregon
The sun sets behind the western horizon, casting the offshore sea stacks into shadow, Bandon, Oregon

This spring I made a trip with a friend to photograph the area around Bandon, Oregon. Bandon is a very popular golf destination, and in recent years has become a gathering point for many photographers. Mornings and evenings can see dozens of tripod wielding forms roaming up and down the beach, searching for that unique perspective. Here are a collection of sunset photographs I made over the course of several days.

The setting sun at Bandon Oregon turns the sky an orange pink and turns the sea stacks into silhouettes.
The setting sun at Bandon Oregon turns the sky an orange pink and turns the sea stacks into silhouettes.

While I was there, I was blessed with some reasonable low tides at sunrise, but unfortunately, most sunsets coincided with higher tides, moving me further away from some of the spectacular sea stacks for which this area is known. However, you always have to work with what nature gives you, and I used the varied tides to give me a wider variety of images.

In the shot above, I worked with a lower tide, which allowed me to use a wide angle and get very close to the foreground rock. This gave the beach a lot of depth, and pulled the sea stacks farther into the background.

However, in the shot below, the tide was in much further. This allowed me to use a longer lens and compress the rocks together, giving much more weight to the background sea stacks.

The setting sun at Bandon Oregon turns the sky an orange pink and turns the sea stacks into silhouettes.
The setting sun at Bandon Oregon turns the sky an orange pink and turns the sea stacks into silhouettes.

In the hour before sunset, I moved closer to one of the sea stacks and played with sun stars along the edge of its silhouette. The sinking sun forced me to constantly change my tripod position, but it helped to have a vertical line to play against. This gave me many more opportunities than if the sun sank behind a horiztonal-oriented object. To catch a good sun star, you have to use a stopped down aperture and catch a light source right on the edge of an obstruction.

The setting sun at Bandon Oregon turns the sky an orange pink and turns the sea stacks into silhouettes.
The setting sun at Bandon Oregon turns the sky an orange pink and turns the sea stacks into silhouettes.

Unfortunately for much of the trip, we had clear skies in the evening. We did get the sunset glow over the horizon, but the color interest faded to dull grayish orange as you moved up in the sky. This kept most of my compositions low to the horizon, choosing instead to catch the color interplay of red and blues in the moving waves.

The sun sets behind the western horizon, casting the offshore sea stacks into shadow, Bandon, Oregon
The sun sets behind the western horizon, casting the offshore sea stacks into shadow, Bandon, Oregon

It always helps to get a variety of lens lengths to capture a subject in different ways. In the shot above, I used a long telephoto to compress the waves and rocks together, creating a more graphical image. In the shot below, I went much wider, including more of the sky and much more of the incoming waves.

The sun sets behind the western horizon, casting the offshore sea stacks into shadow, Bandon, Oregon
The sun sets behind the western horizon, casting the offshore sea stacks into shadow, Bandon, Oregon

In all this was a sometimes frustrating trip due to the weather. Many mornings were socked in with fog and the evenings saw blown out clear skies. But trying to pull variety out of the location is always a challenge I strive to overcome. I know I’ll be back to this location in the future, hoping for more changing conditions and weather variety.