We arrived in Ocean Shores Washington a couple of days ago. On the first day we explored just a bit and yesterday we just rested, traveling can be tiring. Today we explored “North Jetty and Damon Point. What made this even better was the ocean was very active due to the storms that were coming and going.
Witnessing the power of the waves as they crashed into the rocks and beach was awe inspiring for us.
Apparently, we were not the only people that thought so as the beach was full of people, even though I could avoid them in the photographs I took.
Whew! I would have not thought that we would be so busy as we have been the past few days. We spent the last 5 days visiting relatives and had a fantastic time. We enjoyed ourselves so much we didn’t get out and do much photography.
We did arrive at a new location, Ocean Shores Washington. Our temporary home here is across the street from the ocean and of course the rains came. That provided the opportunity to photograph the heavy seas.
One thing as a guy who comes from the land locked Midwest I have become enamored with is viewing the sea. I could sit and watch it for hours. The vastness of it and the distance which you can see is fascinating to me. I’m currently on Whibey Island Washington so we are surrounded by water. I’ve been to the ocean before but one thing I can say that is different here is that the current created by the tides is visibly powerful.
In addition to the visible power of the tide the temperature of the water is much different. The current water temperature is 52 degrees F.
One of the things we discovered in our visit to the “Tri-Cities” (Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick) Washington is Sundays many things are closed, hiking trails, like in many locations are crowded. Learning that we stayed near our room on Sunday. Yesterday, Monday September 18, we visited Badger Mountain. Badger mountain has an elevation of 1,593 feet which is 1,000 feet higher than the location of our room. The weather was very tolerable, 75 degrees, with a nice breeze and low humidity. We only climbed to approximately 1,100 feet before returning to the parking lot. It wasn’t because we were tired but the way the trail went due to the steep climb it would have added a couple more miles to our walk and we had anticipated visiting a local winery, one of the other reasons we visited this area.
We arrived back at our car a bit before the winery was scheduled to open so we drove to “Horse Heaven” mountains and learned there was a recent fire which burned all the native grasses off the mountains. It was interesting, to say the least to see the area completely baren of plants.
As a “reward” for “climbing” the mountain we treated ourselves to wines and a snack. While we didn’t discover a huge number of things to do aside from hiking and wine, we found the area interesting for a couple of days. Tomorrow, we head towards Seattle and Whidbey Island.
I mentioned a few days ago that we, my wife and I, were beginning to travel to photography and wine, (we both like wine). One of the first destinations we chose was the Tri-cities, Kennewick, Richland, and Pasco Washington. We chose this area because there are a number of wineries in the area. It also sits in a low spot between two mountain ranges and along the Columbia River. Because of it’s location it is more desert like with few trees and grass. Temperatures vary widely with daytime temperatures in September from 90 degrees to nighttime lows in the 50’s.
That being said, there are some interesting photo opportunities and some awesome wine. More exploring this area in the next three days.
Two days ago we started our journey as a traveling photographer and wine/beer enthusiast. These are some photos from our drive. Today, we make it to one of our destinations, Pasco Washington.
Beginning September 14, 2023 new adventures begin. We will become vagabonds, traveling to new places we have not been to and exploring the world of living on the road. During our travels I will be posting photos and tales of becoming a traveling photographer.
This is something my wife and I have discussed many times in the past but through an interesting set of events this is becoming a reality. It is both exciting and overwhelming.
Follow along for the fascinating and exciting places we will visit as well as the lessons we learn along the way.
I have read a lot of articles about Mac versus Windows. I’ve been a die-hard Windows user since the early 1990’s. Prior to that I used a Commodore Amiga and started with a Commodore 64. Prior to just about 3 weeks ago I had only used an Apple computer once and it was an Apple Macintosh plus from nearly ancient history.
Let me say at this point I don’t want to convince anyone to change their views or opinions but merely to relate my experience.
I can honestly say that I am totally impressed with using a MacBook Pro. I have found nearly everything easier. I also enjoy how the computer, the iPad, and iPhone all work together. What I was also impressed with was the migration from one system to another. A lot of my Windows settings and such would have transferred to the MacBook. I chose to only migrate a small amount.
As a photographer and Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom user I have also found that switching between those two applications appears to be much smoother. I think it is important to note that my primary Windows system is a decent computer, with an AMD Ryzen 7 processor, 16 gb or ram, a 4 gb video card and loads of storage. The MacBook is an Intel i-7 with 16 gb of ram.
At this point in time, I am inclined to buy a newer (this MacBook is a 2017 version) MacBook Pro for my photo processing and travel needs. I’ll keep a Windows computer because I do play several computer games, but I am defiantly a fan of Mac computers.
I must admit I have never been much of a street photographer. I always felt like I was spying on people. Recently, I went out with a photographer friend just for that purpose. I found I enjoyed it. I only took two lenses with me, and both were somewhat unassuming. The lens I used primarily was a 50mm, which is very small.
What I discovered is I talked to a lot of the people I photographed. I was a unique experience even after I spent 30+ years in a career where I spoke to people I didn’t know on a daily basis.
I’m not sure how much true street photography I’ll do in the future, but it will always be an option for me.
Photographer Clay 