Oregon Coast

April 14-20, 2023

Day 1

We’ll fly into Portland, hopefully arriving by noon. There are at least 5 quite photogenic waterfalls near Portland near the Columbia River. We’ll spend this afternoon and tomorrow morning exploring these.

Multnomah Falls

Lower Multnomah Falls

Wachclella Falls

Upper Horsetail Falls

Latourell Falls

Day 2

After spending the morning wrapping up the waterfalls portion of the trip, we’ll drive to Ecola State Park.

Great coastal landscapes here.

Ten minutes from Ecola State Park is Canon Beach. There is a well-photographed sea stack here.

After spending some time shooting at Ecola State Park and Canon Beach we’ll move on down the coast to Pacific City,
hoping to arrive in time for sunset at Cape Kiwanda. 1.5 hour drive.

We’ll stay in Pacific City

Day 3

Sunrise at Cape Kiwanda. We’ll shoot this from above, not at the shore level.

Drive to Newport to shoot Yaquina Head Lighthouse.

Drive to Seal Rock State Park. Again, we’ll shoot from the top, not shore level. Then, on to Cape Perpetua Scenic Area, home of THOR’S WELL. This shot will require scouting for you to determine where you want to shoot from, as well as the fact that we have to coordinate this scene with the tidal charts. It’s only a good shoot beginning about 2 hours before high tide. There are 2 high tides per day. I think we want at least 3 opportunities to get a great shot here. Hopefully we can align a high tide with a sunset.

You’ll want top and bottom water protection for you and good rain protection for your camera gear here. This is a place where I will, for the first time, be advising something more than just a plastic bag for your camera. You want a serious rain cover for your camera and plenty of microfiber lens cloths. More on recommendations for those later.

We’ll stay nearby at the Dublin House Motel

Day 4

We’ll be watching the tide charts for opportunities to shoot Thor’s Well. We need to arrive at least 2 hours before high tide for this shot. In between shots, Heceta Head Lighthouse is a short drive.

We’ll stay, again, at the Dublin House Motel

Day 5 and Day 6

We’ll do one last sunrise at Thor’s Well, then do the 2 hour drive to Bandon. Bandon is the beginning of a long stretch of coastline that has countless pulloffs and parks with outrageous views, rugged scenery, and a multitude of fabulous shots. We’ll just be on cruise today and tomorrow, stopping frequently wherever we want.