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A landscape photographer's tour
Keith's travels in California and the Pacific Northwest - April-May 2007
Three years ago, Keith took his then fairly new Canon 1Ds on a driving tour round the Rockies in the USA. This photo-diary covers a driving trip up the coast from San Francisco in April/May 2007.
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Now I'm back I'll have a check through the pages and include links to any pictures I put in the Gallery, along with info that may be of help to people who come across these pages as part of their planning for driving tours of the California and Oregon coasts, looking for places to stay or sites to visit.
It's a great place for a vacation, or just a road trip up the Pacific coast to photograph some of the scenery. If you've any questions about the hotels/inns/motels where I stayed, then please do feel free to drop me a line.
There are other photo travel diaries covering trips to:
Washington and Oregon in September/October 2007 and Colorado in April/May 2006
I didn't know it, but Florence is the site of the original exploding whale, where they tried to dispose of a beached whale with half a ton of dynamite.
The dunes to the south of here are also supposed to have been the inspiration for some of Frank Herberts 'Dune'
Today I've just had a short trip up the coast (more nice beaches :-) Driving round on your own does get a bit tiring after several days and it's nice to stay a couple of nights at places to avoid the rush in packing up and leaving.
Outside my room, sitting on wooden posts in the river are various cormorants. They fly around, catch fish, and then sun themselves to dry off.
I'll start off with the customary breakfast picture - a very nice omlette with cheese, chicken and a host of other bits in it (I know my Mother worries that I don't eat properly when I'm away)
I'll be interested in processing some of the very wide angle shots I've taken using DxO Optics Pro, when I get back. I recently wrote a review of the latest version and although it's much faster, I'm travelling with an old 1.25G G4 Powerbook, which is creaking a bit running Photoshop CS2. I've also got the DxO Film Pack installed, which provides extremely accurate renditions of various film 'styles' I'll be having a detailed look at this when I'm back (it's only briefly covered in the DxO review)
I'd forgot it's National Tinsel Day over here - this lady operating a stop/go sign at roadworks obviously hadn't forgot
- First forgetting Earthday, then forgetting National Tinsel Day, I really must check my diary more often :-)
Heceta lighthouse is aparently the most photographed in Oregon (who works this stuff out?)
So here it is in the haze
or a slightly wider view
A popular place for photographers - this is Jeff from Essex :-) -- who actually specialises in photographing mazes
As you drive up Highway 101, there are a sucession of turnoffs for beaches, campgrounds and the like. Stopping of at Bob Creek, the view looked familiar.
It was one of the places I'd took a picture on my last visit to the area. It just happens that my note taking skills have never been particularly well developed, so I wasn't ever sure exactly where it had been taken.
Picture from my previous visit - now known to be at Bob Creek.
Notice how the weather is a bit more condusive to black and white photography.
The best weather is often scattered heavy showers, although it then tends to start raining or get overcast :-)
Bob Creek
Anyway, here are some alternate views on a very pleasant day
And someone walking their dog (it's actually a rather small one)
Next up was Strawberry hill
Walking down from the car park I spotted some familiar rock forms - cross cutting dykes ( vertical emplacements of magma, that run in straight lines)
The older dyke is interupted by newer ones - suddenly I remembered all that stuff from a field trip to North West Scotland when I was studying Geology at university...
Just like then -- no, hang on a minute, no cold and damp, no cheerful company, and I'm in a good mood :-)
--not at all like then ;-)
Ok back to the nice scenic shots
In the evening it's time to sample some of the entertainments in Florence.
Whereas at home I'd often not go out till 10pm, here, the action starts a bit earlier (6 :-)
At the Travellers Cove there's food and live music
- (Note for people back in Leicester - the LG in 40 yrs :-)
Dancing too...
and prawns and stuff, which was nice
Ok, that's it for a while - tomorrow it's further north (as ever updates are dependant on internet connectivity where I'm staying)
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