The Gems of Oregon workshop was different this year. I was feeling apprehensive as the date approached. With eight major wild fires burning in the area, the conditions were going to be challenging to say the least. Smoke-filled air not only makes photography difficult but poses a health risk. I was paying particularly close attention to air quality warnings in the areas we would be traveling through and photographing in. Some areas looked fine but others posed a problem, especially for the workshop’s final days.
We met Wednesday afternoon as planned in Crescent City on the Northern California coast. The air was clear and fresh. With a very productive orientation and instructional session, we were off to a good start. Thursday we were to journey up the spectacular southern Oregon coast and we were ready. The weather forecast was favorable and there were no air quality warnings.
It was still overcast when we made our first stop at Harris Beach in Blanding, OR. The overcast made black and white photography especially fitting.
Figure 1: The thing that stopped me for this photograph was the stream running into the ocean. I would have prefered the stream to be more prominent but that put the rest of the image out of balance. So this is what I ended up with.
Continue reading “The 2018 Gems of Oregon Workshop”
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