~Determination~
I set out at about 11pm last night with three locations in mind that I had been wanting to shoot for a long time. I had already been to Crater Lake but I was dying to get back. The other two, Bandon and Shore Acres, had been on my list for quite a few years but I could never work up the motivation to drive "all the way" down there. So I hatched this plan to do them all in less than 24 hours and I would start after I got off work, Saturday night.
I packed up my car with all the necessities. Cameras, tripods, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, pillow, lots of snacks, and the two things I thought I was going to need the most, coffee and Red Bull. By 11pm I was ready to head out.
Just south of Salem I caught up with my friend Marc in his Penske truck on his way to Coos Bay. We BS'd on the phone for a little while before splitting up right around Eugene. He headed west toward the coast and I headed east towards the mountains.
The one thing that sucks about these solo road trips is being out in the boonies with no cell service, in the middle of the night, with no one in any direction for miles. If anything were to happen it would be pretty hard to get help. Right as I'm thinking about this I round a corner to see a semi Truck coming up the road on my left and a deer standing on the shoulder to my right looking like he wants to try to beat the semi. With no where to go all I could do was say "Please don't do it" as if the damn thing could hear me. Luckily he decided against it because he was huge and I was doing about 65. I would have been in bad shape if I hit him.
I had tried to contact my Jasman to see if he knew whether or not the north entrance was open but he wasn't around. I also asked Gary Randall who said that he thought it may be open but wasn't 100% sure. Since it was totally clear I decided to just go for it. Now, if you've ever entered Crater Lake from the north you'll remember the turn from highway 97 onto highway 138 and the near perfect 20 mile straight stretch leading to the park entrance. It's the straightest, longest section of road I think I've ever been on. It's weird, you see car lights coming at you and think they're close when they're actually miles down the road. I turned on to N Entrance rd and only had to go about 100 yards before I saw it. CLOSED!
To help the situation, when I went to recalculate another way in, I had no reception. All I could think was to back track and keep heading down highway 97 until I either saw a sign or got reception. So I drove allll the way back down that straight stretch, headed south on 97, and boom I got service. Wouldn't you know it, I could have just turned the other way instead of going all the way back and it would have only been about a 15 mile detour. Instead, it was going to be 60 miles. Oops.
As I finally reached the rim of the crater I had huge thoughts of getting my camera and shooting some night shots. I hopped out of the car I walked about 50 feet and realized it was pitch black and the wind was blowing sustained winds of about 30mph. Needless to say I jumped back in the car and passed out.
2 hours later, my alarm went off. The wind had picked up to 40 mph sustained with gusts of over 50 and was shaking the hell out of the car. I honestly had thoughts of bagging it and just hitting the road. I quickly came to my senses and climbed out of the car. Thankfully, it wasn't raining. I walked to the rim of the crater and found a spot that was as sheltered as I could and started snapping.
The image you see here is the product of a lot of determination to GTS. Get The Shot. It's a panoramic comprised of seven one minute exposures stitched together. Getting an image like this makes it all worth it.
~Patience~
Oh that word. My Mom used to always say to me when I was being impatient, "Patience is a virtue, honey". I would HATE it because it meant I wasn't going to get what I want when I wanted it. Who likes that, right?
When I arrived at Shore Acres Park the light was dull, the sky was flat, the mist was thick barely allowing me to see the cliffs and then, to top off, it started down pouring on me. And I'm not exaggerating when I say down pouring. The kind of rain where, after 5 minutes, everything you're wearing is saturated, heavy, and weighing you down. My camera gear is weather sealed but I still had a towel draped over it which helped for about 10 minutes before it too was soaked.
I told myself that I was going to go get another angle and if I didn't like it I was going to leave. I walked over and quickly realized that I didn't like the composition. By this time I had been in the rain for about 45 minutes and my frustration level was at an all time high. But what I could see, miles off in the distance, gave me hope. The sky was starting to break up and there was just a little bit of sunshine poking through. Then, after about 10 minutes, there was a little more. Then a little more. You get the idea. I snapped off a couple of shots before heading back to my original spot.
I took about 10 steps before BOOM, the sky just opened up letting in a massive amount of sunshine. Not knowing how long it was going to last, I bolted! 40 pound back pack on my back, fully extended tripod in one hand, camera in the other, and wearing what felt like 30 pounds of wet clothing, I sprinted back to the spot. As I rounded the last corner I saw it. A perfectly lit cliff, a moody sky, huge crashing waves, and a beautiful, vibrant double rainbow. I started firing off shots like a mad man. I must have looked like a crazy person to all the non photographer spectators. I would snap off a few shots looking to the north, and as I was waiting for another set to roll in, I would turn to the south and fire off a few of the sun and rolling waves. Every time I got a shot I liked I would jump up and down saying OMG OMG OMG. I definitely heard a couple of chuckles from the crowd.
If I had left, I probably never would have known what I missed. I would have come home with my shots and would be typing a completely different story right now. I'm glad I stayed because it really taught me a lesson about being patient and committing to a location. I'm sure glad I stayed.
~Luck~
If you haven't noticed, I have a theme going with the posts from my trip. I wanted to touch on a few keys to what I think it takes to be a successful landscape photographer. I believe "success" is defined by the individual. Whether it be making lots of money, occasionally getting out and shooting photos, or devoting your time to try to get that perfect shot, everyone has their own motivation.
The two things I've touched on so far, determination, and patience, are probably the hardest because they involve a choice that you, and only you can make. This one, luck, is easy because it requires nothing from you. It's completely out of your control. However, luck will never happen unless you have the determination to show up, and the patience to stick around, even when all seems lost.
So why did I choose this image to demonstrate luck instead of the one with the super rare rainbow? It's because I felt super lucky that the light changed so drastically, while I was there, and allowed me to capture the scene in a variety of ways. It was almost as if I got to visit the location 3 or 4 times in 1. You would never know that this photo was shot minutes after the one with the rainbow unless I told you.
~Skill~
Rounding out my keys to being a successful landscape photographer is skill. Sure, you could have the determination to get up at the break of dawn, the patience to sit in the freezing cold weather until you're lucky enough to get the perfect light, but if you don't have the skill to capture it properly, what good is it?
Thanks for reading.