Whaleshead Beach: Samuel H. Boardman State Park, Oregon

Posted on Saturday, May 26, 2012

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Whaleshead Beach is a small section of the Samuel H. Boardman State Park and Scenic Corridor that runs for miles along Oregon’s dramatic southern coast. The large sea stack in the shape of a whaleshead makes it easy to spot from the highway. There are a couple places to pull over for a view. One of them is definitely preferable both in terms of view and beach access. We pulled over at the other one.

Accessing any beach along the Scenic Corridor requires a steep hike down to the water. In this case, the trail required a significant amount of bushwhacking as well. It was only after we reached the bottom that we realized that just a few hundred yards farther north along the highway was a gravel road that descended to a parking area halfway to the beach. A far more reasonable trail continued down from there.

When we started down our “trail” the sun was setting and the beach was illuminated by a beautiful golden light. This didn’t last. As we descended, we watched a bank of fog roll in from the ocean and envelop the view. By the time we reached the beach there was no direct light at all. This is not uncommon on the coast and, depending on the density of the fog, it can result in even better conditions for photography. In this case we were able to enjoy both. The fog eventually thinned out enough to let some sun sneak back into the scene.

[Click on a thumbnail to view the entire image.]

©2012 Timothy Linn. All Rights Reserved.

Play

Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Sunday, May 22, 2011

A year ago we were running around like headless chickens trying to keep up with everything that needed to be done. We had three trips to prepare for—including nearly a month in Hawaii—and Darla was dealing with the usual chaos that is the last month of the school year. I decided to start putting the tasks I needed to complete up on a door with sticky notes so that I could maintain a sense of what still needed to be done. (Apparently I really needed to get the bills paid since I listed it twice.) Darla soon started putting her own notes up. One day we realized that Lewis had joined in too. Sometimes it takes an eight year old to remind us of the important things.

[Click on the image to view it full size.]

©2012 Timothy Linn. All Rights Reserved.

Trail of Ten Falls: Silver Falls State Park, Oregon

Posted on Saturday, May 19, 2012

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Spring in western Oregon is an amazing time to be out photographing waterfalls. The new foliage is so green it practically glows, wildflowers are popping up everywhere, and the falls are at their peak flow.

Located in a temperate rain forest in the foothills of the Cascade Mountain Range, Oregon’s Silver Falls State Park is one of the state’s premier locations for photographing waterfalls. Its 8.7 mile Trail of Ten Falls is the star attraction, passing by more than ten falls, four of which can be accessed from behind and all of which are photo worthy.

The weather was perfect on this particular Saturday. It poured rain in the morning which served to increase the flow of water even more than the typical spring day—as well as to create interesting opportunities for macro photography. This is one area that is relatively new to me. I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful place to practice although Darla and Lewis would have probably preferred that I spend less time practicing and more time making my way down the trail. At one point Darla started calling me “Marilyn”, a little joke that will come back to bite her once her mother-in-law reads this post.

By early afternoon the rain had let up leaving me with sometimes sunny-sometimes cloudy light. It was sunny when we arrived at Lower South Falls. As a rule, direct sun is not particularly desirable when photographing falls; in this case, the sunlight on Lower South Falls was gorgeous and the leaves on the surrounding trees looked as though they were illuminated from within. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

After Lower South Falls we had a decision to make. The 8.7 mile trail is not a loop so at some point one or all of us would have to turn back. Darla decided she would walk back to the camper and meet us further down the trail. Lewis decided he would stay with me. He paused for a quick portrait among some ferns as we headed toward Lower North Falls. With so many different falls to take in, we spent quite a bit of time ranking them and discussing their pros and cons.

By the time we all arrived at the North Falls, Darla included, it was starting to get dark. It had begun to rain again—harder than ever—but I was able to set up my final shot of the day out of the rain. North Falls flows over a massive overhang creating a conveniently sheltered location in which to capture a unique view of the falls and the valley beyond (featured image).

[Click on the featured image or any link to view the six-image gallery.]

©2012 Timothy Linn. All Rights Reserved.

White River Falls: Celestial Gorge, Oregon

Posted on Saturday, May 12, 2012

Sunday, May 1, 2011

These dramatic waterfalls are just about the last thing one would expect to see while driving through the rolling hills in this arid section of north central Oregon. In fact, if I didn’t already know they were here it would have never occurred to me to stop and look. (Makes me wonder what else I’m missing.)

The falls flow through Celestial Gorge. Visitors arrive at the top where there is a viewpoint of the falls and a trail down to the river that ends at an abandoned power station. The best views are along the trail to the bottom.

Back in the day, kayakers would put in at the middle pool beneath the 90′ upper falls and take the 50′ plunge down the middle fall. The State of Oregon eventually banned kayaks on this section of the river leading some protesters to use pool toys instead. Pool toys are technically legal. There are some pretty good images of kayakers going over the middle fall here.

[Click on a thumbnail to view the full size image.]

©2012 Timothy Linn. All Rights Reserved.

Horses: Alvord Desert, Oregon

Posted on Saturday, May 5, 2012

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Southeast Oregon is home to more animals than people including large herds of wild Mustangs, descended from the horses first brought over to the New World by the Spanish in the 1600s. Most of them make their home on large tracts of BLM land, including the Kiger Mustangs that live on the other side of Steens Mountain from here. (Some argue that these are better referred to as feral since they are descended from domesticated horses.) Regardless of what you call them, it’s pretty cool to see groups of them roaming around the desert unfettered by fences.

This group of three horses, a few miles away from the playa that draws many people to the Alvord Desert, was also roaming around unfettered by fences—free but, in this case, not wild. They eventually crossed the road in front of us and galloped off toward the mountains to the west.

[Click on a thumbnail to view the entire image.]

©2012 Timothy Linn. All Rights Reserved.