Never Give Up

It was a cold rainy Saturday and I was scheduled to go on a field trip with my local camera club . We planned on stopping at two locations, the first one being indoors at an air museum , and the other at a “to be determined” location along the Oregon coast.

The time at the Air Museum was great capturing a lot of interesting images of vintage planes along with a WWII era building where they used to build blimps. Different and a lot of fun.

Then it was time to head to the coast… When we left the museum we were met with cold, windy, and wet conditions. Obviously not ideal weather for photography. After a short discussion with the group we decided to go forward with our plans, so off we went, hoping for the best.

We made the long drive on Highway 101 to the parking area near the trailhead going through various adverse weather conditions along the way. Once there we prepared for the hike to the beach doing our best to protect our camera gear and ourselves.  Luckily the trail was only a half mile or so long so it would be a fairly quick journey.

With both ourselves and our gear “rain-proofed” we headed down the trail.  We immediately found out that we’d not only be dodging rain drops but also all the water dripping off the 100′ Cedar and Douglas fir trees that surrounded our path. While none of us said anything we were all thinking “what the heck are we doing out here,” but we trudged on.

Then things changed… miraculously, at almost the exact time we reached the beach the rain stopped. We arrived later than we planned so we didn’t have much time to locate our ideal “spot” and get setup so we all went our own directions hoping for the best.

I headed over to Short Sand Creek , a small river that feeds into the Pacific Ocean from this location. Because of all the rain the river was swollen and flowing extremely fast so safety had to be added to the equation when picking my spot. I always look for a foreground element that will hopefully draw the viewers eye into the image. This evening it was a large rock that I spotted right next to the river bank.

To get the composition I wanted, I had to stick one of my tripod legs into the river and hope it wouldn’t get washed out (yes I was being safe!). I also chose a fairly low angle meaning I had to just about stand on my head to see what I was doing. With the light fading fast I finally had everything arranged and dialed in the way I wanted.

Now it was a matter of waiting and hoping for the light to cooperate and it wasn’t long before it did. A brief clearing at just the right time allowed me to capture this moment. 

It would have been easy to call it a day when we were leaving the museum but having that “Never Give Up” attitude allowed for great moment and a great photograph.  Inspiration also comes from being in the company of good friends who share your passion, will never surrender to the elements, and will do whatever it takes to capture that special moment.

Until next time.

-Jack