Oregon Roadtrip ... and back

For my last night in Oregon before heading back (see the trip out here) I wanted to photograph the Milky Way over Crater Lake.  However during the sunset a low layer of smoke from nearby forest fires started to flow into the lake obscuring the stars from my planned location.  As I drove around the lake upset at the smoke ruining my night sky, I literally saw it in a different light...as it layered the sky over Mount Thielsen in ribbons of color.  I quickly found a parking spot and ran back up the road to catch the last of the fading light in the smoke.

Mount Thielsen

I nearly gave up on photographing the stars but noticed some of the higher peaks around Crater Lake were above the smoke.  So I grabbed my headlamp and hiked to the top of the Watchman peak and was rewarded with a moody image of the lake filled with smoke.  I took a second photo of the Milky Way to create the image I had envisioned of Crater Lake with the Milky Way above it.

Milky Way over Crater Lake

On my last day I had a midnight red-eye flight home from Portland which allowed me plenty of time to photograph several waterfalls before going to the airport.  Fortunately the Columbia River Gorge has several of them within an hour of the airport so I had plenty to keep me busy until it was time to go.  However before I arrived at the gorge I started with Salt Creek Falls on the Middle Fork Willamette River.  It is the second highest plunge waterfall in Oregon after Multnomah Falls which would be my final stop before going home.

Salt Creek Falls

Elowah Falls

Wahclella Falls

Multnomah Falls

Oregon Roadtrip ... the way out

967 miles of Oregon photography wonderland in just three days!  I admit it was a bit much but I was way too excited to photograph the beaches and mountains in Oregon that I couldn't help myself.  Fortunately the days were long! I had plenty of time after photographing the sunrise to try a local bakery, get some coffee, and then to drive to a new location where I would plan out the compositions for the coming sunset and next morning's sunrise.

I started the first morning at Trillium Lake for a view of the alpenglow on Mt. Hood during the sunrise.  The lake was still and made for a perfect reflection which I shared with a few other bleary eyed photographers who were there all night for the Perseid meteor shower.

Mount Hood from Trillium Lake

I left the clear skies behind as I drove west to the coast into a predictable steady drizzle of rain.  Fortunately as I made my way south from Cannon Beach, to the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, the Haceta Head Lighthouse, and finally Bandon Beach the skies steadily improved.

Overcast morning at Cannon Beach

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Haceta Head Lighthouse

Brandon Beach sunset through the "sea stacks"

Brandon Beach sunrise at low tide

Crater Lake National Park is a photographers dream.  A road and several hiking trails circle the entire lake allowing great compositions of the lake from any angle.  I was almost overwhelmed by the choices, driving around the lake twice before I finally settled on Sentinel Rock and Hillman Peak to photograph the sunset and sunrise respectively.

Hiking along the rim of Crater Lake

Pumice Castle

Dutton Cliff

Sunset from Sentinel Rock

Wizard Island at sunrise

Sunrise panorama

The trip back coming soon...

Lake Jocassee

Lake Jocassee in South Carolina is my favorite lake to visit in the summer.  The water is clear, the shoreline is undeveloped, and there are many small beaches, waterfalls, and rock cliffs for photography and swimming!

Not far from Devil's Fork State Park is a large sandy beach which I paddled out to one morning before sunrise.  I had taken photos of the sunrise from here before with the canoe but any waves in the lake made it difficult to get a sharp image of the canoe.  I was determined to succeed this time and used a rock on a rope to anchor the stern of the canoe and tied the bow to a tree which had fallen into the lake to keep it relatively still.  I was very happy with the result as it allowed me to get a good shot before dawn with the moon still visible in the sky and several other photographs as the sun rose over the lake.

Another favorite spot is just a short hike behind the tent sites at Devil's Fork State park.  There is a rock overhanging the lake making the perfect launching site to jump off into the lake for a refreshing swim.  It is usually very crowded during the day but early in the morning I had the place all to myself.  I had a great time trying to time my leap perfectly with my 10 second timer, jump after jump after jump...  Looking back on it I could have used Sony's Time-lapse or Motion Shot application but I was having too much fun!