Rocks and waves, 15 seconds - a photo on Flickriver

Posting panoramic images always bugs me just a tiny bit because they always appear so small on the screen. In reality this came from a 6x12 cm negative and I made a large enough scan to do 30" long print (which is only half as big as I could have scanned it). So after working on such a big scan and being zoomed way in on parts, it is always a bit of a letdown I guess to see the little image on the screen. Ah well, worse things that could happen I suppose. ;-)

This is from a bit of a guarded location along the Oregon coast. I say guarded and not secret, because while a number of photographers have been down to this spot and made some remarkable images, and none of them list the location or give any real clues as to this spot's whereabouts, their main motive for doing so is that one must cross private property to get here. And not some remote corner of somebody's property, but rather right across a front lawn and driveway.

When I heard about this I had slightly mixed feelings, after all one of Oregon's greatest treasures is her coastline, which, under Tom McCall governorship was preserved for public use. I am not sure of the letter of the law, but private ownership of Oregon beaches is not allowed. It is amazing in a sense, and not necessarily in a good way, that fewer states have thought of this.

Nonetheless I was quite eager to find this spot myself, as there are few sections of the Oregon coast I have not seen north of Bandon and this was one of them. I emailed a couple of photographers who gave kindly gave general hints but did not want to outwardly encourage others to go trespassing. I also got a lot of help from Manyfires who used those hints and pored over Google Maps to actually locate this spot. Yes, you can see this place on Google Maps, that amazes me in the good way.

So we set out, found the right place to park, found the trail and started hiking. The trail itself is quite cool. You begin by literally wading through brush about shoulder high, and then ducking into a tunnel formed of the same brush to emerge in a small enclosed natural "room" of sorts. The trail we took from there skirted out along the edge of the cliff before turning back into the forest. On the way back we discovered we could have cut that little detour out completely, but I am thankful we saw it as the view was quite impressive. Presently we came upon the edge of the lawn and stood there pensively for a few moments. We then tried to loop back and find a way around but the forest there was too thick. So I did the obvious thing, I walked across the lawn and knocked on the door. A nice old lady answered. I introduced myself and asked her permission to cross her lawn (though at that point I was already across it). She agreed and it was a pleasant conversation. Sometimes it is easier to ask for permission rather than forgiveness.

At that point, there is not much of a hike, about 100 meters and you find yourself on this shoulder of igneous rock. It is actually quite a large area to roam and explore. There were at least two geysers that erupted each time the surf rolled in, and a couple of these cauldrons as well. In all, it was quite a spot. The light was harsh and not so good, but the location made up for it.

And speaking of location, I faced a bit of a dilemma regarding this: to share its location or not. I think at this point I am going to refrain, for the same reason as those photographers before me, you have to cross private property. While I thought to knock, and while I hope all other photographers would be courteous enough to as well, I cannot really encourage others to go out tromping across their lawn.

On the other hand, I dislike the idea of "secret" spots. I know some photographers engage in this. It bugs me. If you want to find your own spot and keep it secret, fine, just don't post any photos of it or tell us about. Secret is secret, right? That, and I make my photography public to inspire, be that inspiration through my technique, my adventures, the places I find and share, etc. I don't mind seeing others make it to this place and seeing their captures of it, it will probably teach me new ways to see it myself on subsequent visits.

I had this in mind on my hike back and instead of crossing back over their lawn we followed their driveway back towards the highway, looking for alternate routes that limited the need to cross private land. We were mildly successful. We discovered that, as you are hiking through the forest if you keep working towards the east, staying near the sounds of the highway, you come across the old, over-grown remnants of a road. Following this runs you into the driveway of the house, which you can follow a short distance to where the trail down to the cliffs picks up, avoiding having to cross anyone's front yard. Not a complete solution, as you are still on their driveway, and we heard from one photographer who followed this route only to have the residents of the house drive up on him and tell him to leave.

So for the time I am going to leave merely the vague location (in my tags to the right). In all honesty, it is not hard to find from there if you are resourceful enough. Try Google Maps. I do plan on getting back to this spot again, and my next visit will be with the goal of finding a purely public accessible path. Once I have done that, I will gladly share it.

Taken on: November 6, 2008

Tags:

pinhole

pinscape

ocean

Zero612

Zero Image

Oregon

Boiler Bay headlands

Pacific Ocean

Pacific Northwest

landscape

panoramic

film

Efke 25

panorama

surf

rugged

Zeb Andrews

Zeb Andrews photography

Blue Moon Camera « less

Sets appears in: • Coastal Pinscapes

Groups appears in: • Oregon • Pacific Northwest Outdoors more » • Pinhole • Pacific Northwest • Panoramic • Oregon Coast - a Flickr group • pinhole perspective • Zero Image • Lo-Fi Landscapes • Black and White [AllEdges] • Northwest Elements • Nature Nerds • RUNNING LANDSCAPES « less

Camera: Zero Image 6x12, f/250.0, 15 sec, ISO 25 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Zero Image 6x12
Aperture:	f/250.0
Exposure Time:	15
ISO:	25
Exposure Program:	Manual
Color Space:	Unknown (-1)
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 7.0
Show full info

Stats: 22,576 views / 38 comments