Lynn WiezyckiHoping to capture an Oregon sunset, we headed to the coast in the late afternoon. But as with the morning, we were met with an overcast sky and misty conditions at our destination…
Face Rock State Scenic Viewpoint and Circles in the Sand in Bandon, OR.
Late Afternoon Visit
I saw the Circles in the Sand design in the sand below, so was determined to see that as it would be washed away by the incoming tide.
At the foot of the stairs, I walked to the left to get up close to the design so painstakingly drawn on the beach! I climbed onto a rock and made this somewhat distorted image of the design.
We were heading to dinner soon so I decided to head back up the stairs to get a better, full-on view of the designs. From above, the artist’s design was visible as well as a smaller “public” design that beachgoers could add to. Our mentor/leader, Colleen Miniuk added a bit of Sheography to that design!
I was so glad that Colleen decided to take us back to Face Rock a couple of days later as I had pretty much missed the iconic rack formation that gave this place its name!
Early Morning Visit
On our last morning in Bandon we once again got up at 4 am to head to the coast before sunrise. We were welcomed to Face Rock by more overcast and misty conditions! Seeing this view from the cliff, I was happy I had made images of the sand art on our previous visit!
This time I turned to the right, once on the beach. The tide was very low so we were able to walk much farther out onto the beach and around the rock stacks.
I found an interesting cleft in one stack with a view through to the other side, complete with an s-curve and a reflection!
As I walked around this very large rock, I finally saw the namesake for Face Rock!
This is a very permanent example of pareidolia. This is the phenomenon where the brain sees a familiar object in an abstract form, ie bunny in the clouds. This face looked like it was floating in the water!
I pulled back to make an image that, to me, looked like a whole person floating in the water.
From there I walked back to the larger rocks that were exposed due to the low tide, hoping to find some more marine life! We hit the motherload in these rocks. This time the diffuse, but brightish, early morning light helped to light up the critters clinging to the bottom of the rock face.
Watching my footing, as some small waves were still coming in around the rock, I saw hundreds of anemones and starfish.
On a smaller rock close by, I found a large collection of huge barnacles.
I started to hear and see some birds in the area so I grabbed the camera with the 70-200mm lens and went searching for the birds! Always remember to turn around and see what is behind you when you have been focusing in one direction for a while!
Behind me I found a seagull hanging out on a rock! The longer lens compressed the scene making for an interesting image.
I saw a pair of birds canoodling on a nearby rock so I crept closer to capture an image. These Guillemots were exhibiting some breeding behavior. It was that time of year!
I saw a pair of Black Oystercatchers on another rock. They were quite far away with water as a barrier to getting closer but I was able to capture a moment in their interactions.
I knew we only had a short time left before we were leaving so I decided to make a few more moody Oregon beach images.
I wanted to capture the mist but show the waves (1/160 sec) …this image was what I was hoping for!
Then I decided to slow things down and do a long exposure (10 sec) for a slightly different look. I used a Neutral Density filter for this long exposure. I converted it to Black & White to add to the mood.
I made one last image of Face Rock using my Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (I love that camera)! You need this phone! The camera is amazing!
Face Rock is a definite must-see and try to make it there when Circles in the Sand has a design on the beach.
For more information on Face Rock State Viewpoint, check out their website.
For a schedule of designs and more details on Circles in the Sand, visit their website.
To see larger versions of these and even more images, please visit my Gallery.
Please check out Part 1 and Part 2.
My next post, Part 4, will be about our visit to Coquille River Lighthouse in Bullards Beach State Park, Bandon, OR.
That is all for now.
Lynn
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