Photo Shoot - 4/25/15

Or: Photography has nothing to do with cameras.

A common mistake photographers make is to focus on the instrument instead of the masterpiece. The artistic faculties behind the creation of a great photograph are not reduced by faults in the instrumentation and are rarely enhanced by an excess of tools. In the same way that literature has nothing to do with the make of the pen, photography has nothing to do with cameras.

Lucas Gentry

You nailed it, Lucas!!

Let me explain. Today was the very first time ever that I went out with a group of strangers to meet up for a photo shoot. A while back I had joined a group called the Oregon Central Coast Photography Meet-up. It's an Internet Meetup that organizes groups for photo adventures. Fortunately, in addition to experienced photographers, they also encourage novices to join as well.

Internet

I had a great time and met some great people but, I admit, I approached it with more than a little trepidation that was completely unwarranted. Those kind folks went out of their way to make me and Carol feel welcome.

Y'see, I'm not all that easy with putting myself out there with my meager photography abilities, and I feel that's what I'm doing whenever I get around folks with any kind of photography background. I tend to move back from exposing myself and my lack of talent. So this was a huge step for me, to meet up with a group of strangers on a photo shoot. HUGE!!

And it was fun. It was intimidating but it was fun. Hahaha, I'm gonna cop out here and say that I was hesitant, restrained, really, while making my photos today. But the dull pictures are no one's fault but mine.

Hahaha, we met up with some very nice folks. Arjen, the fellow who put together the meet-up, Kathy and Rachelle. And we had a good time. We learned how the whole thing works and it was good. It's a lot like a Audubon excursion!! A group of folks loosely connected. Hahaha, it was a lot like an Bird Walk. We were together, but we weren't.

OK, more on that later. Let's get back to the here and now. Feeling a bit disappointed with my efforts, I did a little checking on the 'Net and found that quote by Gentry. Nailed it!! I need to remind myself ever-so-often that its just fun and its just my way of seeing things. And maybe my camera is smaller than some but it doesn't much matter if you're out there having fun. Ka-Boom!!

And then I found this:

I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn't photograph them.

Diane Arbus

BAM!! That's so true!! I don't care for Arbus' work, but her statement is true! Hahaha, now I can't say that anyone would want to see the things I photograph, but, y'know, that statement is pretty much true for me, too. POW!!

So, let's get started, shall we? And it begins with our drive south towards Yachats. First stop was to the North Fork Covered Bridge and to get there we had to motor some 60 miles south down the Oregon Coast. And this, naturally, took us by some great parks, waysides and vistas. And, naturally, we stopped to take a look-see.

Like here, at the Boiler Bay State Wayside. Hahahaha, I still crack up over word, Wayside. Don't know why but I still find it funny saying it.

Carol was off with her binoculars looking for whales and I was off to find the restroom. Hey, I'm an old man and I drank a DC before we left. Hahahaha, so predictable, both of us.

As I was coming back from the necessary, I saw Ol' Faithful. She's looking good, eh? Faithful friend since '07.

And a gull.

Speaking of gulls...I was walking around when I saw these two amigos on the fence. They didn't seem concerned with me and so I was able to easily get this shot of them.

Strange bedfellows.

It was a beautiful, clear, sunny and pleasantly warm day. Looking north, towards Cascade Head, the point just north of our place.

I could see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles...Oh, yeah.

Hahahaha, great and insightful lyrics from The Who.

It was a really great afternoon and Carol spotted several whales nearby. They were rolling about so close that, with her binoculars, Carol could easily see the barnacles on them as moved about. She saw their flukes and fins. There were some Moms out there with their calves.

As I made my way back, I could see that Carol had met a new friend. She was engaged in deep conversation with Miles, a wonderful, soft-haired Elkhound.

And Miles' Pooper-Picker Upper, Maurice.

Maurice is a Canadian from Edmonton. He's down here enjoying our beautiful Great American Pacific Northwest with his buddy, Miles.

Small world!! Carol was excited meeting a Canuck and so she asked him if he was familiar with the Gibson Block in Edmonton...quick aside, Carol's Grandfather, Paul Max Schubert, established a real estate business in Edmonton around 1908 and then bought the Gibson Building, a flatiron building, in '14. Carol described it to him and...

The Schubert-Wentzel Block...now known as the Gibson Block.

...it turns out that Maurice knew the building; very well! Maurice works for the Canadian government and, back in the early 90s,  when they remodeled the Gibson Block building to make it over into a woman's shelter, he was responsible for the staffing of the crews. So his job back then was to help remodel Carol's Grandfather's old building!!!

The Gibson Block as it looks today.

A blast from the past, Carol visiting her Grandfather's building back in 1995.

Small World!!

If you'd like, you can go to this site and read about Carol's Grandfather, P.M. Schubert...

http://www.block12riverside.com/pdf/Schubert.pdf

You can also read an article about this building and Carol is even mentioned in it...

http://yegishome.ca/news/2003/06/19/the-gibson-block-at-90

After saying good-bye to Miles and Maurice, we continued heading down south. We've been down this way several times and there are still places, waysides (hehehehehe), that we haven't yet stopped at.

Like this one...

I was feeling it for my Mini today. 

Carol went into whale-watching mode immediately. And she saw some more of them. They must have been enjoying the good weather, too.

I am continually pleased, surprised and amazed at what by what we see as we travel around. Like this, there were several fishing boats just off the shore and we were able to watch them trawl around for a while.

Carol said she was afraid they might be swamped. I have to admit, there were some moments there when I was wondering if she'd be OK. 

And we were able to see the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. I don't know how far it is by line of sight but, according to Google Map, it's 6 miles by road. I was using the little camera and this was really at the end of its zoom ability.

Next up was an old favorite, Seal Rock State Wayside (Hahaha, doesn't that sound funny?). This one was way ahead of me to get to the viewing platform.

And what a view it was!! It never fails, never!

CB

And it never seems to be too busy, either. I enjoy that. We were a little pressed for time, the meet-up was scheduled for 1530.

And we got to see our first pelican of the season. He (she?) was perched on top of one of the larger rocks there. With some gulls. 

I wandered off the beaten path and was able to walk through the woods a bit. The trees gave me a good frame for some shots of the beach. Walking on this ground cover was like walking on a mattress it was so soft and cushiony.

A stark contrast here, the beach and the woods. Amazing.

Back on the road we came to the Alsea Bay Bridge. 

Fun Facts: There've been two bridges on this site.

The first was designed by Conde McCullough and opened in '36. It was a reinforced-concrete combination deck and through arch bridge. Unfortunately, the hostile environment caused significant corrosion to the steel reinforcements. In '72, the ODOT began projects aimed at extending the life of the bridge. By the mid-80s, it was decided to simply replace the bridge rather than continuing costly rehab efforts. The first bridge was demolished in '91.

Construction of the second began in '88 and was opened in the fall of '91 at a cost of $42.4 million. Having learned lessons from the past, this bridge has a latex concrete deck and the piers are significantly thicker than normal in an attempt to thwart corrosion. They expect this bridge to be around for 75 to 100 years. 

We finally pulled into Yachats a couple minutes after 1500. Time for a nice cold and tasty DC!! 

With my DC in hand, we slowly meandered up the Yachats River Road alongside the Yachats River. When I say slowly, I mean it. I don't think I ever went over 35 on the drive. Mostly we were at 25 as we were doing a lot of looking here and there.

And then we saw these!! I've never, ever, ever seen a cow like this!!

At first we thought they'd wrapped a sheepskin around the middle of each of these Milk Machines. I mean, c'mon, you just don't expect this kind of thing.

One of the women in the shoot mentioned that they call them the Oreo Cookie Cows. Yeah, I get that.

CB

They're Belted Galloway cows.

Fun Facts: Belted Galloways are a heritage beef breed originating from Galloway in the west side of southern Scotland. They were well-adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and windswept moorlands of the region. Belted Galloways are dual-purpose cows; raised primarily for their quality marbled beef, they are sometimes milked. Some are even purchased to adorn pastures due to their striking appearance.

The origin of the white belt is unknown, but generally presumed to come from cross breeding with Dutch Belted cattle. A Polled Herd Book was started in 1852 which registered both Aberdeen-Angus and Galloways. Belted Galloways were first imported to the U.S. in New York in 1939. Unfortunately, an unscrupulous manager slaughtered the herd for money when the owner was away in 1949. They were reintroduced in 1950.

Although they're a hardy breed and known as a the lazy man's cattle because of their self-sufficiency they're not populer with commercial breeders as they take too long to reach maturity and gain their full mature weight.

What a kick seeing these panda-colored bovines.

CB

After about seven miles, we came to a fork in the road turned left and headed down the dirt road...

...to the North Fork Yachats Covered Bridge and our meet-up. We were a little early...it's that Army training, if you ain't early then you're late.

The others arrived shortly and after introductions and small talk, we were off. It was great. We got to meet Arjen, Kathy and Rachelle. These are some serious photographers. I felt, not by anything they did, like a real rank amateur...the worst kind with my laissez faire, hand in my pocket, point and shoot style. But it was all, as it usually is, in my head.

The covered bridge was neat.

Fun Facts: The rustic covered bridge spanning the North Fork of the Yachats River cost the county only $1,500 when built in 1938 and was the last covered span constructed by veteran bridge builder Otis Hamer.

Located just 7 miles from the salt water of the Pacific Ocean, this bridge has served an important role in the area. Since the covered span is the only access for families in the area, the bridge roof was removed to allow an RV to cross in the early 80s. 

The bridge was rehabilitated in 1989 when work crews replaced the trusses and approaches. A new roof and siding were also added.

A look at the inside of the bridge. Looks fresh, doesn't it? They did a good job with their remodeling.

This was the only old photo I could find of the bridge. It was taken around 1942. Looks a bit different now, doesn't it.

The bridge was definitely the star of the show, today. But it had one helluva supporting cast.

Like these guys.

And Carol was in the swing of things with her trusty cell phone camera.

Just a bit beyond the entrance was this old beauty. Hahaha, this one could have been the star of its own show, really.

CB

A very good straight-on shot of the bridge. The thing was that both Carol and I thought the bridge was, well, new. It smelled of fresh-cut lumber inside the structure. The outside appeared to be freshly painted...it looked new to us.

Carol got this straight-on shot of the bridge

CB

The challenge was moving around and avoiding the signs, etc., around the entrances to the bridge. They tend to distract from the overall aesthetics of the scene, you know what I mean?

That huge tree was a kick to photograph. I think I took as many of this tree as I did of the bridge.

A bright blue sky with some scudding clouds sets off the tree tops. And a bit of the roof of the bridge, too.

And the sun helped out by backlighting this moss on one of the trees. 

I found a small path near where we parked and walked down just to see what I could see. There was the North Fork of the Yachats River flowing by.

Hahaha, I could have been out on a birding walk as much as I was looking up.

But Carol was looking down and spotted this fine fellow having lunch.

CB

She was so excited by her find that she came and got me so I could have a look-see. By then he'd had enough of the public and was all balled up into himself.

There was a lot to see there.

It was finally time to go and back on the dirt road we went. And it was just as good the second time as it was the first.

Except this time we were almost kayoed by a doggone Turkey Vulture. Seriously, we were tooling along when we saw a Turkey Vulture fly out of the trees just in front of us and as we were oohing and aahing over him, his buddy came out a little lower. He had to make a hard turn to the right to avoid introducing himself to Carol's window but he did and then flew off up the road with a swoosh.

Then he circled around and landed in a tree just up the road so we pulled over so we could get a picture of him. He was probably cursing us out in Turkey Vulture talk.

The group wanted to stop by some old growth trees on the way to the next stop and so we did...and got some interesting shots.

This could have been the main stop for the day. We didn't go too far in but it was enough for me.

Hahaha, I like me some trees, eh!?!

Our next stop was Smelt Sands State Recreation Site. Honestly, I wasn't really expecting much from a place named Smelt Sands. Smelt? Really?

I mean, a smelt is a small fish, about 8" long, their biggest contribution is being a food source for salmon, bass and trout. I guess that's something.

However, I was wrong about this park. Very wrong!!

It's a great looking park with some terrific views.

And evidently it is so photogenic that they just leave this small garden arch out here all the time. Makes a lovely frame for a lovely girl.

You'll see the dramatic beach scenes in a minute. First, let's look down and around for a bit.

There was another monument, a more formal one, to two young men who had been visiting and got swept away by a 'sneaker' wave and drowned in 2011. Then there was this. It was maybe 100' away from the first monument and so I don't know if there's a connection. It didn't appear to have any purpose; just a couple of t-shirts with rocks and shells.

And standing next to the bench, was this, mounted on a pole. An interesting marker that seems to grow in the telling.

There were other natural monuments, too. There was plenty of large pieces of driftwood. Gives you an idea of how powerful the sea can be to move these huge carcasses around and toss them up on the shore so carelessly...and effortlessly.

I found my beach house. There it is. Not traditional in shape but in siding at least.

Hahaha, is that cool!?! How neat is that!?! Not necessarily a flatiron building but close enough for government work.

And right next to it was this one. Hahaha, I don't know. I like it but I don't. They have awnings set in each window that lower down like a shade. Still, it'd be a little uncomfortable living in a glass bowl. We spent a little time dissecting their furniture choices. We were ruthless. Hahaha, which is funny because our furniture could be best described as Hodge-Podge. Carol says it looks like, when you're standing there in front of it, a Barbie House. Like you could reach in and rearrange things.

We had met up with Arjen, Kathy and Rachelle and then, as before, we, as a group, all went our separate ways. Carol and I headed up the 804 Trail.

Fun Facts: The Historic Yachats 804 Trail probably served as a footpath for tribal people, later becoming part of County Road 804, which included the 7-mile stretch of beach between Yachats and Waldport at low tide. County Road 804 served as the settler's route of travel between the farmland of the upper Yachats River valley and Waldport's Alsea Bay until the 30s and the completion of Hwy 101. The highway replaces the oceanside portion of County Road 804 allowing it to resume its ancient use as a footpath.

And it goes along the shore providing some great views...and photos.

These were the tamer parts of the shoreline.

Hahaha, looking a bit tranquil. Unlike what was happening just 50 or so feet to the west.

I had a lot of opportunities to shoot the ocean but, after a while, pictures of the crashing waves can get to be boring. I've got a number of shots of the waves crashing up against the rocks but I didn't put many in this blog...you're welcome.

Mostly, you'll get the quieter, more peaceful scenes.

And that includes these Red Hot Pokers. Hahaha, that's right!! That's their names.

Fun Facts: Kniphofia, also called tritium, torch lily, knofflers or poker plant, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Xanthorrhoeaceae, first described as a genus in 1794. It's a native to Africa. The plant produce spikes of upright, brightly colored flowers well above the foliage, in shades of red, orange and yellow. The flowers produce copious nectar while blooming and are attractive to bees and sap-suckers such as hummingbirds and orioles.

And they're good to look at, too.

It was such a beautiful day, there were plenty of folks around. Like this couple. 

And here they are from a distance. Hahahaha, love the zoom.

OK, I know this is corny but here's my weak attempt at an artsy-artsy shot.

First in color...

...and then in B&W.

I think I prefer the B&W. What do you think?

CB

And again. Hey, what can I say? They were convenient and in the right position. Oh, and colorful, too. Both of them.

Here you can get an idea of how dangerous the shoreline can be. Seems the two young men that drowned in 2011 were out on the rocks to get a closer view when they were swept away by a 'sneaker' wave.

Not-So-Fun Facts: A sneaker wave, sleeper wave or, in Australia, a king wave, is a disproportionately large coastal wave that can sometimes appear in a wave train without warning. The terminology is popular rather than scientific: there is no scientific evidence of the phenomenon as a distinct sort of wave with respect to height or predictability - as there is on other extreme wave events such as rogue wave. 

Because they're much larger than preceding waves, sneaker waves can catch unwary swimmers, washing them out to sea. It's not uncommon for people walking or standing on beaches and ocean jetties to also be pulled into the sea. Sneaker waves are mainly referred to in warnings for the coasts of Northern California, Oregon and Washington.

On a personal note, when I first started walking the beaches here, I didn't take the warnings about 'sneaker' waves too seriously. How could a wave sneak up on me, after all. Then, I was surprised, several times, by an unexpectedly larger wave and got a bit wetter than I had intended. So now, I tend to try and be a bit more aware of what's going on around me when I'm wading. Hey, gotta show some respect, right?

Oh, don't roll your eyes. Of course I'm gonna have a picture of a gull. It's such a target-rich environment how could I not!?!

Then, as we were strolling along the 804 Trail, we saw this.

Awwwww....

Oh, no. I didn't forget my couple. there they are again. Now I think I'm including them just for the heck of it.

There's a lot to see and it's not all rock and waves. Like this...

The sun plays well along the shore.

And, never far away, some woods along the coast.

Here's where the 804 Trail ends. Private Property, please. Beat it!!

More Fun Facts: During the 70s, a long legal battle ensued to have this section of trail vacated. The owners of the beach property were trying to get the trail removed. Too many people, maybe. Oregon's high court finally ended the argument with its ruling in the mid-80s that the 804 Trail must be continued. This 3/4 mile section of trail subsequently became part of the Oregon State Parks.

Thank Goodness.

Nature's erosion is easily seen.

But some things endure regardless of the weather and the wind.

A good place to sit and pass away the time.

Then I spotted something interesting on the roof of this house.

A gull had made her nest in the top of the chimney. I guess it keeps the eggs warm.

Looking down the shoreline. I can't bring myself to call this a beach. It's not a place I'd recommend for wading. However, I would strongly recommend it for an afternoons walk.

See what I mean about not being too friendly to waders, bathers or surfers.

Here's one of the waves I was mentioning. Honestly, there were several that were much higher and more powerful than this one.

Looking north.

But it was getting late in the day and we still had 50+ miles to go before we got back to LCO. Arjen and Kathy were going to head south to Thor's Well (you'll see it in a future blog) after this. Carol and I set ourselves back on the 101 north.

Waldport is nothing but a tourist town. Totally tourist. They've got 2,000+ people here and maybe 1,800 of them are in the tourist industry. The others all go to elementary school.

And then the Alsea Bay Bridge.

Rollin' down The 101.

It was a good day. We got to meet some new folks, had some new adventures and saw some new sights. I am looking forward to the next outing with the Oregon Central Coast Photography Meetup.  

I got a chance to challenge myself a bit and break out of my photographic shell and that's a good thing. And we had a chance to visit two beautiful areas. Both are worth making the effort to come back for a second look.

And Carol got to meet someone with a direct link to her family. Now that was really cool. Oh, and his dog, Miles, too.

Finally, I found one more quote that seems to be very appropriate right here.

Photography is the story I fail to put into words.

Destin Sparks

Life is good.

     Hooah!!     

P.S. Remember that whenever you see the initials, 'CB' at the bottom of a photograph, that means that Carol is the one who took that picture. She's becoming quite good with her cell phone camera.