Shelley and I arrived at Bandon State Park before sunset after spending time at the Coquille River Lighthouse. The weather had turned within the last few miles since leaving the lighthouse. The skies were mostly overcast, and it had started to rain. Also, the winds had picked up. Bandon State Park is mainly known for Face Rock and the small collection of sea stacks that dot the coastline.
Face Rock #1 – Bandon State Park, Oregon
For my first composition, I chose to photograph Face Rock. I decided to include the wildflowers that were hugging the coastal cliff as a foreground element. And, I found an angle that showed the details in the sea rock that leads one to believe that they are looking at a woman’s face coming out of the Pacific Ocean. I made this photograph at ISO 100, 42mm, f/5.6, and a 1/100 of a second.
Face Rock #2 – Bandon State Park, Oregon
For my second composition, I zoomed my lens to 58mm and excluded the foreground. While keeping the same angle on the sea rocks. I also increased my depth of field by changing my f-stop to f/9. I added a 6 stop ND filter and my circular polarizer as well. This allowed me to increase the amount of time that my shutter was open to 62 seconds.
Devil’s Kitchen – Bandon State Park, Oregon
For this composition, I chose to shoot down the shoreline into what is known as The Devil’s Kitchen. With the rain falling and the winds blowing, this photograph turned into a very moody dreamscape. Imagine if you were a sailor a little over a hundred years ago and you came upon this scene. What would you have called this area? I made this photograph at ISO 100, 62mm, f/16, at 122 seconds.
In our next post we will be exploring Redwoods National and State Parks as we enter into Northern California.
Please check out the corresponding video over on my YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVEf9aXoQMPTAVTztNkNIxg.
