Boring Beaches

Ahh, summer is finally here and you head out to the beach for a weekend of fun in the sun with family and friends. But in the Pacific Northwest you're more likely to find a 4-leaf clover than a sunny day at the beach. Now for a true northwesterner, a slate grey sky will hardly deter a trip to the beach - we know how to handle this. Bring a jacket, some games, and a sense of adventure. So off to the beach you go with clouds overhead, sand at your feet, and wind in your face.

Essential to any weekend getaway to the beach - or anywhere for that matter - is your camera to record the memories of fun and adventure. You take pictures of your friends, your family, your pets, and your self. But when you turn your camera to the wide sweeping beaches of Washington, the scenery just falls flat. You love the open views to the horizon and the rolling waves splashing onto the sand, it's just no matter how you frame it your images don't hold a candle to the adventure you experience. It's just not helping tell your story.

Many Washington beaches along the southern part of the state and north out of Puget Sound are missing the dynamic waves and picturesque sea stacks of the wilderness coast of Olympic Peninsula and the Oregon Coast. Our beaches are wide, flat, and challenging to photograph, especially when the big puffy clouds that make the sky so interesting are also missing. When you get home and look at your pictures, they just aren't as exciting as you remember your day being. They neglect to tell your story. But there are ways to help you make the most of a flat beach scene to add to your fun and tales.

1. Look to your Feet. When we hit the beach we are overly excited for the freedom of open sand and fresh salt air. If you're anything like me, you want to head straight to the waves and start splashing. This idea is a challenge to pause and look at what is at your feet. You'll find amazing details at your feet. You can see shells, rocks, seaweed, driftwood, dead things, critters (and prints), and plants at your feet - all wonderful details to photograph. Try taking pictures looking straight down on the object. Or, get down low - even placing your camera on the sand (it's best if you place your camera on something other than sand like a towel to protect it from the abrasive sands) to get an image of it in the foreground and the wide beach extending seemingly endlessly beyond. A few detail images like this will add to your story.

In the image above, I was fascinated by these beach plants that looked like a tiny forest in the sand.

2. Look for Abstracts. Abstract photographs rely on visual storytelling without the benefit of an obvious subject but instead relates emotion through shapes and colors. At times, the image doesn't appear to have any relation to the natural world. Repeated lines and patterns when that is all you see can be abstract. Think of repeating sand dunes, or details of the dunes highlighted by light and shadow. Rippled patterns in the sand left from waves are abstract. Again this challenge is to look closely at the beach - to find the patterns and shapes that help relate the emotion of your time at the beach.

The erratic shape of puddle in the above image drew me in closer and as I looked at it, I saw the joy our dogs were having running freely.

3. I.C.M or Intentional Camera Movement. This can create movement where there is none or create an abstract out of a larger scene turning the ho-hum into excitement. For this, you will need a slower shutter speed (many cameras on your smart phones are capable of taking a series of images over a few seconds and blending them into one or there are a few apps that can help you take longer exposures). Try a couple of seconds - long enough to blur the image when you move the camera, but not so long that your subject becomes completely unrecognizable. Then as you make your exposure, move the camera from one side to another. Check your image and see if that works and adjust as you need to for the effect you want. This is also a fun effect to create in forests by moving your camera up and down. For beaches, I generally move the camera horizontally or parallel to the lines of the main subject. But this is your story and all you have to do is give yourself permission to play.

For the above image, I changed the setting for a 4 second exposure and slowly moved the camera from right to left.

Explore, Share, Inspire

Won't you join us?

Each of us has our reason. For me personally it's the photos. Not the ones I created but the ones I see on environmental websites. I'm sure you've seen them.

The turtle wearing a plastic six-pack ring that is girdling it's shell.

The dead bird - starved to death because it mistook colorful plastic bits as food.

Yeah, you know the photos.

I started volunteering with the Olympic Coast Cleanup back in 2000. Over the years I've gone to pick up marine debris by myself, with family, with friends (one all the way from Oklahoma) and other volunteers (one couple who was visiting from France and decided to join).

I collected trash from easy beaches to access to others requiring an overnight stay.

And I watched as more volunteers joined, more beaches were added and the coordinating group Washington CoastSavers develop from a small group of like-minded folks to an internationally recognized group with high ambitions to keeping our oceans and beaches clean of debris. They have reached beyond the one spring clean-up a year to three cleanups - Earth Day, July 5th and the International Coastal Cleanup.

It's not just the core group of committee members who have this dedication, but the army of volunteers who devote a day or two or three to pull debris off the beaches - our friends and family. Just last year, 1200 volunteers carried 19 tons of marine debris off Washington's beaches during the Earth Day cleanup.

We're about to do it again.

On April 23rd this year, 1000+ volunteers will again spend the day cleaning our states beaches. Will you join us?

Even before the 23rd cleanup, there is an opportunity to help CoastSavers by attending and Evening of Music, Art and Adventure on April 9th. There will be a surf rock band - The Echo Devils - providing the music, live and silent auctions and refreshments. I would love to see you there.

What will be your reason for helping?

Washington Coastal Clean-up 2013

It's a soul-sucking mud. The type of mud that grabs hold and pulls every ounce of willpower to move away from you. It pulls at you, drags you. And if you are able to free yourself from its clenches, it will still pull something from you - like a boot.

This is the trail to one of the most beautiful wilderness beaches on the Washington Coast - Shi Shi Beach. Just south of Cape Flattery, the most northwesterly point of the contiguous United States. Two miles of beach (and more at low tide), sea stacks, sea stars and quiet encircled by thickly forested hills await the traveler.

But first you must get through the mud.

To be honest, the beauty of this pristine wilderness beach far outweighs the mud. Oh wait, did I say pristine? The only real drawback to the beach and many other beaches along Washington's coast is the marine debris. Tons of it washes up on the Washington coast every year, coming from different sources mostly marine industries, and not all of it intentionally dumped.

And every year just as the tides rise and deposit the debris in the driftwood, thousands of volunteers with Washington CoastSavers come to pull it of the beaches and away from causing harm. Volunteers have pulled off crab pots, rope, footballs, tires, even a jeep buried in the sand had been pulled off the beach. The worst is plastics and styrofoam. These break down into small bits and appear to be tasty morsels to birds and fish. They gorge themselves on these tasty looking treats only to starve when they can't digest it and are unable to eat real food.

It's a tough job. But one that volunteers, year after year come to haul trash off the beach. It's a job we never tire of as we know the debris will continue to wash ashore.

Our mission: to clean the beaches, save a few animals, become a part of the solution.

As we fill our sacks and haul them off the beaches we have a satisfied heart that we did SOMETHING.

And for those of us on Shi Shi, we must return with the bags back through that mud. That soul sucking mud, that we refuse to allow to tear us down.

The above image of False-Lily-of-the-Valley and Sword Fern was taken on the forested slopes encircling Shi Shi Beach.

Splash!

Ever head out to photograph a place you have never been to before? You may have done a little research - looked at a map, maybe checked the tide tables, or looked at images others had made of the area. But really, did you feel prepared to start photographing when you arrived? Then what did you do?

Did you arrive early and meander around? Explore the area a bit? Evaluate the angle of the sun and approximate where the light will be best as it sets? Did you meander and take detail images of rocks and foliage while waiting for the light to be right?

On a recent trip exploring Washington State Parks, I stopped by Larrabee State Park near Bellingham. I had been wanting to visit Larrabee for some time after seeing a couple of images taken at the park. Crashing waves, quiet trails - that sort of thing. A little research also showed a vein of sandstone running through the park and the beach would have some fun shaped rock formations to play with.

True to my plans, I arrived early and meandered around a bit. Checked the arc of the sun. Looked for a few spots that might be possibilities for sunset. Composed a few intimate landscape images. Then became fascinated with the incoming waves sweeping over the rounded sandstone rocks jutting out into the bay. I was having fun with the waves as they swept over the rocks when I realized the wind and tide driven waves were crashing into the boulder off to my side. It looked fun, so I quickly repositioned my camera and started to capture the action.

Not long after the crashing waves died down on that boulder but were highly active on the next one. I recomposed and started snapping away as the light became more robust edging toward evening.

Then I saw it. The waves picked up again on the other boulder. One wave would crash on one boulder then right after another would crash onto the other boulder. My mind began processing - how cool would it be if waves crashed on both boulders at the same time and curled into each other?

Very cool!

So, although it is a good thing to plan ahead you don't always need a plan to go photo-ing. You just need to be open to what's presented for you.

Seeing the Unexpected

I needed to go backpacking and had looked at a trip offered by the mountaineers but it was full with a wait list. The trip, Cape Alava, a favorite early season hike of mine, but I hadn't been on the trail for years. Then a few days before the group left, a spot opened up. I quickly grabbed the spot and was so happy to be getting out on a great weekend. Only one problem surfaced as I was heading to meet my carpool - I forgot my tent. UGH! It wouldn't be the 1st time I slept out under the stars on the beach but as the group pooled our equipment, we were able to come up with a plan that had me sleeping in a tent & not under the stars. Although the stars would be nice.

We started out in cloudy and a little drizzly weather, but we entered the old trees of the forest quickly and were protected from most of the wet. I do like hiking with groups especially when we can chat throughout the hike which makes the miles slip away. In no time we were hearing the waves along the beach and looked through the trees with anticipation. We set up camp in the trees and sat back to watch the tide recede to expose the rocks & tide pools.

Cape Alava is an interesting area of the coast. It's lined by rocks farther out from the beach, protecting the beach and the tide pools from crashing waves. When the tide is out, rocks and great varieties of seaweed are exposed. I can only imagine the forest of seaweed when the tide comes in. An underwater oasis for small fish and sea creatures. This area also lends itself nicely for calm reflections of the off shore sea stacks. But it wasn't reflections I was looking for as I meandered down the beach with my camera - I was looking for that sunset light and color.

And as it often happens along the coast, a bank of clouds rested upon the horizon obscuring the last light of the day. I continued to shoot even without the amazing colors. I have had sunset shoot like this before, no color, no drama yet came out with images I loved. Besides I wasn't ready to go back to camp even with the scent of campfire drifting down the beach.

I wandered out to a little spit of sand quickly being devoured by the incoming tide and saw what I had not seen before. Pastel colors reflected in the still water, a mirror image of the sea stack, the ripples of sand under the water. I was able to get off a couple of quick shot before the tide took over my viewpoint. What I came away with will again be one of my favorite images although not exactly what I was looking for.

Our Little Corner of the Planet

Washington Coastal Clean-up, 4/18/09

Another Earth Day and another beach clean-up. This year a few more of my co-workers joined us at Kalaloch for a fun day of taking care of our little corner of the planet. A couple of years ago Discover Your Northwest teamed up with Olympia National Park and a few other organizations to create the Washington Clean Coast Alliance to rid Washington's beaches of the marine debris that washes ashore every year.

It only takes everyone making small contributions to do our parts to take care of our little corners of the world.

To learn more go to the Alliance's website: http://www.coastsavers.org/index.html

Three Days at the Beach

Grayland, 2/14-2/16/09

Every once in a while we get the chance to spend the weekend at the beach in Michael's boss' cabin near Grayland. We were extremely fortunate to get the cabin for a romantic Valentine's Weekend this year, so we packed up the dogs and went to enjoy three days at the beach.

We slept, walked on the beach, got up early for sunrise, had a romantic dinner in Westport, watched the crabbers at Tokeland, toured the cranberry bogs and generally had a relaxing weekend. Except for one slight problem. Michael's allergies reared their ugly congestion and plugged up not only his nose but his lungs as well. Saturday night, our romantic Valentine's night, was interrupted with a trip to Hoqium and the emergency room there.

But all was well after they hooked Michael up to some oxygen and monitored his oxygen levels for a little over an hour. They found no evidence of pneumonia and gave him some antibiotics to fight any infections.

The rest of the weekend went back to the schedule above - sleeping, relaxing and sleeping some more.

Cleaning Up

Washington Beach Clean-up, 4/26/08

1,200 volunteers picking up 21 tons of trash and marine debris. That is what Earth Day means to me. A tradition I started 6 years ago saw this year a change in organizational leadership. Jan Klippert who had started the Beach Clean-up 10 years ago passed the torch to Northwest Interpretive Association and the other partnering organizations. As he passed his leadership flame on his own flame died out. We gave our respects to the man and his mission as we made our way along the beaches searching the driftwood for debris.

This year I was again joined by familiar faces - Michael, Kristi, Diane and Randy. And we added some new ones too - Kyle, Amanda, Chris, Jenny and their two little girls. South Beach in the Olympic National Park was our territory as it had been for the past couple of years and we casually walked down the beach before working through the maze of driftwood back to our cars.

Amanda was the first to score garbage gold as she called for help to pull out a 4'X3' piece of styrofoam wedged between some logs. The rest of the morning was filled with ropes and plastic, more styrofoam, a couple of shoes, a Japanese float, tire, life jacket, and the ubiquitous crabpot. Little Briana & Kaylee really got into the fun and ran from piece of trash to the next as if in a race to find the most garbage.

The morning was cloudless and it seemed to warm up quite a bit as we made our way back up the beach, but it was a day worth spending with friends and family. Jan died just a month prior to this latest incarnation of his dream. But his spirit seemed to be with us as so many volunteers gathered to make our home planet just a little bit cleaner.

The Wet Beach

Cape Disappointment, Spring Road Trip, 3/22/08

Olympia & I arrived at Cape Disappointment State Park just as the clouds started covering the sky from the horizon. I had been hoping to catch the last rays of day on the North Head Lighthouse. Tonight, that would not be. So upon arriving at the park I searched first for a suitable campsite and prepared for the possible precipitation.

Finding the perfect tent site was a bit tough - the stakes refused to go into the ground in my original spot so I instead moved the tent in between some trees. I might also be able to get a little extra protection from rain tucked in the trees as I was. But the tent was up and it was time to explore the beach.

Olympia's second favorite substance to run in is sand and she pulled against her leash as we made our way through the driftwood and dune grass. The beach was almost empty, so I let Olympia go to allow her the joy of running along in the sand. We made our way to the north end of the beach just below the lighthouse before heading back to camp, quietly rounding out our day.

The rain held off until after we were nicely tucked away in the tent. Although after a night of rain the trees didn't offer too much protection, my original tent placement would have placed me right in the middle of a puddle.