Stormy Day at the Well

[AlanLichty]

I stop to visit the Cooks Chasm area of Cape Perpetua pretty much every time I drive past along Hwy 101 in Oregon and have watched the surf there in just about every kind of weather the place gets. Getting good shots of Thor's Well when the waves get big during the winter months is challenging since what you see from the vantage points doesn't always translate well through our cameras. Waves that are big enough to take your breath away often look puny in images. I have seen conditions where the shelf with Thor's Well is entirely underwater and the well is only occasionally visible at all. Yesterday had some incredible waves that left a thick salty mist in the air about 200' thick all along the coastline driving from Florence up to Cape Perpetua but weren't so big they inundated the well itself.

I tried some different shutter speed settings yesterday - much slower than I usually use for big waves where I always want crisp definition but in this case it turned out better for isolating my primary subject and still did a good job of displaying the swells. Not entirely certain why but the waves change color right as they approach the basalt shelf and turn an aqua color.

C&C always welcome.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Hey Alan, how come you were not standing out there by the Well?

I have never seen that much water there, I love big water like this, I always tend to go where there are rocks and crashing waves instead of sandy beaches, I love the power and sound of the the crashing surf.

 

[AlanLichty]

Hey Alan, how come you were not standing out there by the Well?

I have never seen that much water there, I love big water like this, I always tend to go where there are rocks and crashing waves instead of sandy beaches, I love the power and sound of the the crashing surf.

If you like big water check out the web site called Windy TV: windytv.com This web site shows you the wind currents along with whatever other parameter you want to watch for a 7 day period. One of those is swell height and direction. I used that to plan yesterday's shooting session before I came down to Florence since I knew in advance to expect 15-20' swells with scattered showers.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Hey Alan, thats a great website, I have it bookmarked. Unfortunately these days my trips to the coast is always tagged onto a family reunion with lots of family along and poor room for maneuverability as to time and place. I used to stay in Yachats for several days and roam at will.

Did you hit Mos in Florence or Newport?

 

[AlanLichty]

Hey Alan, thats a great website, I have it bookmarked. Unfortunately these days my trips to the coast is always tagged onto a family reunion with lots of family along and poor room for maneuverability as to time and place. I used to stay in Yachats for several days and roam at will.

Did you hit Mos in Florence or Newport?

Actually I stay in my RV and usually prepare my own meals since I have a full galley. I have been camped at the Port of Siuslaw for the past 3 nights which is a couple hundred yards from the Old Towne waterfront shops and Mo's. I am just now getting ready to drive home today.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Sounds like the way to go, and the time as well.

 

[Mike Mancil]

A moody seascape that captures the mystery of man's infatuation with staring at the sea. Well done.

 

[JimFox]

Very nice Alan! I like all of the wave action in this.

I haven't been there as many times as you, but I know completely what you are saying about the surf covering the well completely and the mist from the wind spraying a mist all over the place and it makes it almost impossible to keep the front of the lens clean from a mist of water. That is very hard conditions to shoot in.

Your description of being in your RV sounds really great. I plan on getting something larger in 2 years. As much as I love how my jeep can get anywhere I do want to have more room sometimes where I can sit and eat and stand. Living out of a 2x4x6 foot box gets old after a while. So I have worked through the gamut of getting an dual cab pickup and putting a camper on it like Zeph has, or some version of a Sportsmobile like Jeffrey has, to even thinking of a smaller RV, or like so many others today getting a Sprinter Van and building it out. Outside of the RV, all of the options would be 4x4 so I could still get off road reasonably. As I go over each option, I think I know for sure what I want to do, to only change my mind 2 weeks later... Each option has it's pro's and con's, so at some point I will sit down and make an actual list of those pro's and con's, but I have some time since I have a goal of doing it in 2 years.

 

[Martín el Escocés]

Nicely done, Alan. I hear what you say about the difference in our consciousness of wild water and how it often doesn't translate to takeaways. There are plenty of sites down the Oregon coast which demonstrate this syndrome! Love the touches of green in the surf.

 

[Kyle Jones]

Yeah, that color transition is really wild. The foreground looks a lot less foreboding than the background. The horizon looks like it might be a little off.

 

[AlanLichty]

Yeah, that color transition is really wild. The foreground looks a lot less foreboding than the background. The horizon looks like it might be a little off.

Good catch on the horizon - that was off by 1.41 degrees.

Swells At The Well

• AlanLichty
• Jan 6, 2018

Heavy winter swells at Thors Well.

 

[Zeph]

Liking the next set of waves marching in. Low tide is a little better for getting around the rocks, what your showing here would be suicide
You've had a very productive trip...

 

[AlanLichty]

Liking the next set of waves marching in. Low tide is a little better for getting around the rocks, what your showing here would be suicide
You've had a very productive trip...

Thanks - a very productive trip. I got at least one good shooting session in each day I was down there (wife wasn't along) and am happy with a new stash to play with.

I have a bunch of nice cloudy day images of the actual Sweet Creek Falls from the west side of the creek now. Last time I was there a month ago I was hiking from the upper trailhead for the east side of the creek and you have no useful view of the falls right in front of you.

 

[BarryHamilton]

Love the stormy coastal mood here, Alan. Nicely done!

 

[Zeph]

Thanks - a very productive trip. I got at least one good shooting session in each day I was down there (wife wasn't along) and am happy with a new stash to play with.

I have a bunch of nice cloudy day images of the actual Sweet Creek Falls from the west side of the creek now. Last time I was there a month ago I was hiking from the upper trailhead for the east side of the creek and you have no useful view of the falls right in front of you.

Yes I know the view, but to get it from opposite bank should be interesting. BTW, I've been with salmon trashing around, incredible.

 

[AlanLichty]

Yes I know the view, but to get it from opposite bank should be interesting. BTW, I've been with salmon trashing around, incredible.

I want to see the salmon. What time of year?