The Olympic Coast

For the past several days I have been exploring and photographing one of the places that I've been wanting to visit for several years... the beaches of Olympic National Park. Shorelines always draw my attention, probably because I grew up on the shoreline of Lake Superior. Water in some form or other is present in the majority of my images and while I do enjoy shooting areas that are away from water, I always feel like something is missing if water can't be included as part of the composition. Water is just so.... alive... that it can't help but add impact and mood to a photograph. Its always moving, always changing, which makes it so interesting to photograph.



Above: Sunset at Ruby Beach



Above: Waves at sunrise on Rialto Beach



Above: Ruby Beach in the morning at low tide

The Olympic coast has several incredible beaches spread out over many, many miles of shoreline. Some of the beaches are sandy, some are rocky and some have large "sea stacks", which are blocks of erosion-resistant rock separated from the land by sea. The beaches with sea stacks are the ones that I am drawn to the most. Ruby Beach, in particular, has quickly become one of my favorite places to shoot. It is easily accessible and provides limitless photographic opportunities in a relatively short section of shoreline. Although, to get to the best part of the beach, a pair of knee-high rubber boots is a must if you want to keep your feet dry (you have to cross a small stream in order to get to the area of the beach that has the sea stacks). Also, if you want to make compelling images in this area you'll need to be standing in the surf as the waves wash in and out from the beach.



Above and below: Sunset at Ruby Beach





Above: Morning at Ruby Beach

Photographing in a tidal area was a new experience for me, and I didn't realize how much difference there is between high tide each day. The first evening I was on the beach, sunset and high tide occurred at almost the exact same time and I was unable to cross the small creek. The surge coming up the creek from the rising tide was too high. On the second night high tide was almost two hours later, so I was able to cross the creek and get some images of water flowing around the base of some of the sea stacks. On the third night high tide was almost another two hours later, so I was able to walk even further down the beach and explore areas I hadn't been able to get to the previous night. Even though I visited the same beach 3 nights in a row, it felt like 3 different beaches thanks to the changing high tide.





Above and below: Storm clouds approaching Ruby Beach at sunset





Above: These signs are all along the low-lying areas of the coast. Tsunamis are definitely a real threat here!