Field Workshop

Dates Oct 7–13, 2006
Leader Darrell Gulin
Fee $2,295 from Medford, Oregon, departing from Portland
Deposit $300
Limit 8
Terms and Conditions

Imagine an incredible sunset reflected on the sea and framing the solitary spire of a lighthouse. The tall and majestic structures that guard the lonely coastlines evoke a rare enchantment that links us to our maritime past. There wasn’t a single lighthouse or navigation aid from the southernmost tip of California to the northernmost border of Washington when the US acquired California from Spain in 1846. In 1848 the Lighthouse Service began to plan construction of lights to guard the rocky and often treacherous coastline.

Cape Blanco, the southernmost of Oregon’s lights, is also the oldest. Perched atop the pale cliffs that give the cape its name, it stands 59 feet high. From the Coquille River Light, with its High Victorian Italianate architecture, to the Umpquah River Light with its gorgeous and unusual revolving, octagonal, red-and-white First Order lens, the series of lighthouses that line the craggy Oregon coast are eminently photographic. The light at Heceta Head rises 205 feet above sea level and is visible for over 21 miles. There are several locations from which to photograph the solitary sentinel both close up and from a distance.

Coast redwoods, the world’s tallest living trees, are only found in northern California and just above the Oregon border near the coastline, so we’ll journey there first. Like entering one of the world’s great cathedrals, walking through a cathedral grove of redwoods stirs countless superlatives to mind: overwhelming, spiritual, colossal and primeval are but a few. Photographic images of the redwoods have evoked a sense of towering strength, mysticism, serenity and peace to all who behold them. Billowing fog drifting through the towering trees during our tour can only enhance our own photographic opportunities!

In Bandon we will have private access to the best sea stacks on the Oregon coast. We’ll be able to photograph the harbor seals that rest on the rocks just to the north of our hotel. The harbor filled with fishing boats at Charleston Bay presents a different feature of coastal life and offers opportunities to photograph the working boats and the California sea lions that haul out on the docks to laze in the sun. From the sandy beaches of southern Oregon with their dramatically protruding sea stacks, to the dunes of Florence, and to well-known Haystack Rock and Needles on Cannon Beach, we’ll capture all the drama and variety of the Oregon Coast.



Day 1
Fly to Medford, Oregon, and transfer by van to our hotel in Crescent City, California. (D)

Days 2–6
We spend these five days slowly working our way up the coastline. We’ll capture the California redwoods, the sentinel lighthouses of the coast, the dunes of Florence, the Devil’s Punchbowl, and the many extraordinary rock formations found all along the Oregon coastline. (BLD)

Day 7
After early morning photography at Cannon Beach we’ll make our way to Portland. Please schedule your return flight from Portland, Oregon, for no earlier than 1 PM. (B)


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