Shore Acres State Park
I made this trip in September with other members from the Emerald Photographic Society. September seems like a long time ago, but I was busy with other things. Here is my story about a trip to the Southern Oregon Coast visiting Shore Acres, Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor, and Bandon. We left after sunrise, from Eugene, because the weather forecast was for cloudy skies. We stopped at Shore Acres State Park on the way to Harris Beach State Park.
The shoreline at Shore Acres State Park is composed of tilted and faulted sandstone beds of varying hardness that has resulted in rocky scenery that has no counterpart anywhere else on the Oregon coast. The rock formations are composed of inclined sedimentary layers, unique to this short section of the Oregon coast. These rocks have been carved by the waves into reefs, ridges, pinnacles and sea stacks. Smaller-scale erosion has sculpted the orange gray sandstone into unusual forms and textures including tafoni, a distinctive honeycomb structure. The tafoni here is similar to the rock formations at Salt Point State Park in California. Some tilted sandstone or siltstone contain concretions of more resistant rock, so these tend to remain in place as the softer surroundings erode, creating hoodoos and other strange shapes.
Eroded Silt Stone on the Oregon Coast at Shore Acres State Park.
This type of erosion is known as tafoni, and there are many examples of it at Shore Acres.
The sandstone is a light buff color compared to the gray-blue siltstone. Siltstone is made up of a finer grain material than sandstone.
Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor
Highlights of My Southern Oregon Coast Photo Trip
Our next stop was picking up some fried chicken for dinner, in Brookings, and checking into our yurt at Harris Beach State Park. After dinner, we got back into the car and headed north on Highway 101 through the scenic corridor. We hiked a few trails scouting to find a spot to shoot sunset and then after dark, the Milky Way.
It is hard to keep flares out of the image when shooting into the sun, but it helps if the lens is perfectly clean.
Waiting for the stars to show up, just after the sun dropped below the horizon.
Shooting the Milky Way over the sea stacks, with the lights of Brookings in the distance. The view of the Milky Way disappears from the Northern Hemisphere for about 4 months during the winter. I am looking forward to March and some clear skies to welcome it back.
The next morning we headed north to explore along the beach.
The view north from Indian Sands Trail
Natural bridges and arches are abundant, some people even walk out on them however, it is a long way to the water.
Driftwood tee-pee makes a nice sunburst and the legs continue as shadows on the beach.
Waves rolling onto the beach.
At Harris Beach State Park you can find a high spot to view the sunset at the beach.
Long exposure after sunset at Lone Ranch Beach. I used a CPL (circular polarizer) and ISO 100 to create a long exposure. Longer exposures will show more color from the sky and create a better reflection.
Golden glow sunset at Lone Ranch Beach
Evening Glow at Lone Ranch Beach
Every Seagull has a rock; Whaleshead Beach Sunrise
Bandon Beach, Oregon
We headed back home after a few days near Brookings, stopping to shoot the sunset at Bandon Beach, Oregon. Bandon rarely disappoints, with a lot of subjects to shoot and lots of rocks and sea stacks.
Howling Dog Rock and Face Rock after sunset
Howling Dog Rock, or the Wizards Hat at Bandon Beach
Next Up: Northern California Redwoods State Parks
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