A Trip to Oceanside

In an effort to meet some local photographers I joined a Meetup group dedicated to hiking and photography. I joined this group because I wanted to explore more than just the tourist locations I know so well. I also wanted to make some new friends while exploring. It took me a while to build up the courage to actually attend one of the meet ups. My school and work schedule got in the way a few times. But in truth a little social anxiety played a role in my delay as well. 

When they planned a trip to the coast, I know it was time for me to join. I knew the Oregon Coast well enough, I at least knew what I was getting into. And though we were going to an area I'd never been, I was comfortable enough to join. 

We got up super early so we could be on the beach before the tide came in. Much of this part of the beach is only accessible during low tide. Even though I had to get up at 3:30am, I'm so glad I went. The group was friendly and the location beautiful.

I've always wanted to see actual starfish outside of an aquarium. But I've never found them on the coast. Now I know why. They are all on a small stretch of beach outside of Oceanside. There were tide pools and starfish everywhere. Not to mention waterfalls and caves. I will definitely need to go back to Oceanside.

                                 For some reason the above photo feels like a scene from a fantasy movie . . . like it doesn't really belong in this world.

                                                                             I think this photo of the starfish is one of my favorites of the day.

                                                2 minutes after I took this photo the starfish and the rock it's attached to were completely under water.

 This was the only picture I got from the caves. The water was dripping off the walls and I found the water drops more interesting than the caves themselves.

Holloway Family

Last fall a good friend asked me to take her family pictures. A couple years ago I had to take a step back from doing portrait work, because with all that was going on in my life I just didn't have the energy for it anymore. So when Marci asked me to take her family photos, I made sure she knew I was out of practice. 

In October we drove to the Oregon Coast to take photos on the beach. To say I was excited was an understatement. I've been wanting to do beach portraits for a long time. I had so much fun crawling around in the sand getting pictures of them jumping off sand dunes. They played with the driftwood and in the surf. It was such a fun afternoon. We took a break to eat some dinner and then rushed back for some sunset shots. By this time the family had changed out of their "portrait" outfits and back into their comfortable clothes. They look great being themselves in front of a gorgeous sunset backdrop.

Thank you Marci for putting your faith in this out of practice photographer and reminding me how much I love taking pictures of people. 

Depot Bay

After fishing on the river with Harvey (see previous posts here and here), we decided to head over to Depot Bay. We spent some time on the marina. And do you think I got any pictures of the boats? Nope, I was to busy getting rope detail photos. LOL!

           I also thought the rust on one of the pillars was interesting.

                              Dale thought about jumping in. :)

 After spending some time on the marina, we headed into town. We parked by this bookstore and I thought all the books in the window needed to have their photo taken.

 We spent a lot of time wandering around this bridge and taking pictures. It was a lot of fun, and sparked some interesting conversations with the other tourists in town.