Steadfast

A few years ago as I traveled through the Pacific Northwest, this location was only slightly on my radar. I thought, if I had extra time I’d run down there and check it out, but otherwise, I was going to stick to a little bit different visuals. Well, some of the areas I had originally wanted to shoot were being overrun by wild fires so I had a bit extra time. Good thing I did, because this place was killer!  It’s called Cannon Beach and it is well known to folks on the West coast.  But for those outside of Washington, Oregon and California who haven’t heard of Cannon Beach, it’s certainly worth putting on your radar.

I arrived at this beach in the middle of the day and walked the shoreline looking for a place to set up my camera for about an hour or so. After that I found a nice piece of driftwood that I made into a hammock and took a nap right on the beach. It was beautiful. Then as the sun began to sink I setup my camera and shot a few pictures. It was hazy but beautiful and I really liked what I was seeing. I shot into the dark until I got so hungry I literally had to go.

Of course, I didn’t have any plans of where I was going to head to next or where I was going to stay for the night so I walked to the closest hotel and booked their last room. It was incredible. I probably could’ve shot this image right from my room.  I think it was definitely in my top 5 best views I’ve ever had from a hotel room… And I’ve had quite a few good ones!

One of the reasons I wanted to hang out in this town over night was to try to shoot the rocks again in the morning. I knew it would give a much different feel and probably be a lot less crowded. Well, the image above was the fruit of an early morning wake up and trot down to the beach. The pinks in the sky were amazing and the clarity was perfect as the sun came up.  I really love this shot and think it will be a favorite among collectors for its dominating imagery and soft details.