The Wreck of the Peter Iredale
The wreck of the Peter Iredale can be found within Fort Stevens State Park near Astoria Oregon. The ship ran aground on October 25, 1906, as her captain attempted to enter the mouth of the Columbia River during a storm. The shipwreck has drawn endless numbers of photographers to her in hopes of capturing a photograph. She acts as a siren for landscape photographers.
My attempt was hampered by a sunset that was not to be. The sky was far too overcast that evening on the beach. The tide was where I wanted it, but there was a lack of interest in the sky. I searched for a different composition, one that might save this location and the miles of travel from Astoria. The composition that I wanted simply did not work without light. I resigned myself to taking the well-known shot of the wreck with the intention of printing it with a mostly square crop. Below is the first composition that I made that evening.
Rivers of Light
After I grabbed the known shot, I walked around the Peter Iredale looking for something different. I was presented with a gift. Driving down the beach from the north were two to three four-wheel drives, and it was dark enough now that they had on their headlights. This stroke of luck allowed me to create one of my Rivers of Light series of photographs in a place that I did not expect to. I made the photograph below at ISO 100, f/16 15 seconds.
Please check out the corresponding video over on my YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVEf9aXoQMPTAVTztNkNIxg.
