November 11, 2016

Last Saturday I attended a large photography meeting in Portland where I was responsible for part of the program.  These meetings are always stressful and the day after is always a day to relax.  Add to that, the tensions of the impending presidential election, and it is no exaggeration to say I have been extremely stressed this past week.  So on Sunday, after returning home, I took off in the van with my camera for a couple days away at the ocean.  I was heading to Grayland State Park to camp, but stopped at Bottle Beach on the way, and shot shorebirds.  I also drove down the coast to Tokeland before settling in for the evening at the campground.  The weather was a mix of sunshine and clouds on Sunday, and then it rained all night.

On Monday, I awoke to clouds, but no rain.  I took my time at the campsite, taking a few photos of the woods and the abundant mushrooms, then headed back up to Westport.  On the way I turned off the highway to explore some side roads and was delighted to discover many cranberry bogs.  I knew Ocean Spray operated in this area, but I’ve never actually seen where they were growing the berries.  The fields are dry now, but the plants are a fiery red at this time of year.

I went to the lighthouse for a couple shots and then out to the beach before heading into town to stroll the docks.  Once I was at the docks, I could hear the racket of sea lions so I followed the sound to the last dock and all the way out at the end, found a couple piers where the beasts were lounging.

Westport is a great place to practice shooting birds in flight, even though they’re only seagulls.  But I found several other birds there as well.  Cormorants, Common Loons, Crows, and Brewer’s Blackbirds were all finding scraps to eat.

I ducked into a little restaurant for a bit of lunch and then headed home.  I was only gone a little more than 24 hours, but I came home refreshed and ready to watch election returns.  But of course we all know how that turned out, so I immediately wished I could get away again. I think we’ll plan to be out of the country on Inauguration Day.  Costa Rica is a possibility.

Here is a sampling of what I shot that day. For the complete gallery, click here.