A TRIP TO CANNON BEACH
It was Christmas Eve and I was traveling for work to the Oregon coast, I figured since I was already driving by, that I would stop and snap a couple of photos at Cannon Beach. Now remember, I just wrote that it was Christmas Eve, yet, it was a super strange 68 degrees on the beach and it was rather empty considering that everyone was preparing for the next day. In other words, it was a perfect day for me to capture some photos of the beach and its famous haystacks. Honestly it was quite strange to get to shoot on the beach while wearing a T-Shirt with minimal people, that rarely happens. Normally if it’s nice, it is crowded, making it impossible to get the shots that I want, or, if it is empty, I have to freeze while getting my photos and hope that I’m not shivering and therefore introducing extra shake to the equation. So yes, today was definitely a treat.
For those not familiar with Cannon Beach, OR, it is mostly famous for its giant haystacks (rock formations sitting right on the shore of a beautiful sandy beach). Having lived in Oregon for a little of a year I have been to Cannon Beach numerous times but I hadn’t to this point had a chance to shoot it or the haystacks. When I arrived it was right around the time that the sun began to set, setting me up for some spectacular views and colors resulting in some great sunset photos. I started off with my trusty Sony A7RIV paired with my Sony 24-70mm F2.8 G Master lens and decided to head straight for the haystacks.
After I spent some time shooting in Portrait, I decided to switch to Landscape orientation and was visually framing for more of a panoramic shot (which I cropped to after the fact in Light Room to match my original vision). Though this shot looked great in color, there was something about it in black and white that spoke to me. I felt like the day was very calm, quiet and just had this super peaceful vibe and in black and white this photo gives me the same feeling. Shortly after this shot was taken the sun started to drop quickly and it looked like it was about to make its way out of the maze of clouds for a brief moment before dipping under the horizon.
I snapped a few quick shots to get a rough idea for the framing and settings that I wanted to use and then it wasn’t long till, as Peter McKinnon would say, the “Banger Shots” started rolling in. The portrait oriented image above is one of my favorites from the day as the sunset colors were extremely orange but partially stuck in the clouds resulting in great reflections in the shallow river flowing across the sand in to the ocean and in the backdrop to the haystacks looking absolutely amazing. My only gripe with this photo is that I didn’t get the horizon line straight, and though I could have fixed that in Light Room, I decided not to as a reminder to myself to not make rookie mistakes going forward (hey it’s all a learning process).
I decided at this point to switch lenses and go wider with my 12-24mm F2.8 G Master but I had to be quick as the sun was starting to dip (I will say there is nothing more nerve-racking than changing a lens on a beach with a slight breeze, the entire time trying to be quick and careful to not get any sand on the sensor or lens). With this shot I decided to get more of the scene surrounding the haystacks and zoomed out to 12mm (in this shot you can see just how empty the beach was at this point). I hung out until the sun set completely and got a couple more photos that I was happy with and then decided to head home. Till next time…
