Ruby Beach (sort of...)

[regnaD kciN]

In all my years living in Washington, I had never made it to the Pacific beaches of Olympic National Park. In particular, I read many photo books touting the scenic wonders of Ruby Beach.


NOT MY PHOTO -- from this photo site

Last Friday, I decided on a "day trip" out to Ruby to catch the late afternoon and sunset at one of the state's most renowned photogenic locations. But, after four long hours on the road, I found it looking not quite like all those other photos I had seen...



For what it was worth, the weather had been wonderful -- warm and sunny -- all the way along the drive, until about fifteen miles from my destination. :shrug: (According to one of several photographers I met on the beach, the fog had stayed in all day.) Well, as the old saying goes, if you're handed lemons, make lemonade (in my case, preferably of the "hard" variety :beer: ).

For example, wasn't there some talk about "texture" around here recently?



At the edge of an inlet, proof that you can't keep a good tree down...



And, probably my favorite shot of the whole trip -- a still life from the parking lot, in the woods above the beach.



Not quite what I expected when I set off on an eight-hour-plus round trip, but you photograph the beach you have, not the beach you wish you could have. ;-)

[Blue_In_AK]

1. Oh, my God, regnaD kciN...

Read my response to ConsAreLiars here...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=280&topic_id=19352&mesg_id=19355

Are we both channeling Rummy tonight?

Your pictures are beautiful, as always.

[JeffR]

2. Zen

Pure Zen.

I'm sure you'd have brought back something wonderful no matter what the conditions, but the fog and your skills retreived something a lot deeper - to my eye - than just 'nice landscape photos'. If all you'd got out of this was the first photograph, the eight hours invested would have been well worth it.

[Blue_In_AK]

3. The second one is my favorite

Monochromatic, minimalist and beautiful. :applause:

[Gregorian]

4. I love the fog.

I have been dying to actually see the coast of that penninsula. After years of thinking about it.

Those pictures are just how I'd like it if I were there.

[kwassa]

5. great pictures, much better than mine

I was there about 12 years ago. My friends and I spent about six hours walking up and down the beaches and were completely alone for most of that time. Spectacular scenery.

[insane_cratic_gal]

6. I really love the 2nd one

and the 3rd is great too.. but the 2nd one is mysterious and beautiful in it's starkness!

Nice job, wow I'm home sick now for the east coast! All those rocks and white birches, though your rocks are far prettier then ours.

[bvar22]

7. The 2nd picture, your 1st pic.....

the very foggy one, is captivating. Surreal.
I like them all, but the monotone is......captivating. It holds me and make me wonder.
Kudos on them all.

[F.Gordon]

8. Quite a tasty Lemonade

:9

The first one of yours has an astract 'feel' to it. The one rock appears to be emerging from the ground, and I can certainly see why you like the last one. The two very distinct levels of light with that whole perspective thing going on.

Eight Hours!!??!!
:wow:

Hold on... making note to self; "to get really good Landscape Photos you have to drive really really far away."

What a very kewl mystic place.

[regnaD kciN]

9. A follow-up...

I was back on the Olympic peninsula this weekend, primarily photographing around First and Rialto Beaches (photos to follow, as soon as I get back home). Anyway, after an evening and early morning of clear weather, the fog rolls in again. :grr: Since this was at the north beaches, I head down to Ruby, in the faint hope that the fog won't have reached down there. No such luck...if anything, it was foggier than when I took the photos above. Not to mention overrun with tourists. I didn't bother taking a single photo there...it would only have been a less-intersting (and less-visible) copy of last week's shoot.

I'm wondering if I'm ever going to see that beach on a clear day. :shrug:

[intheflow]

10. LOL! I have a combo shot from Ruby Beach!

Combine the "Not My Photo" photo you posted with your fog, and voila! You have one of my photos from Ruby Beach!



:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[regnaD kciN]

12. Believe me...

...I would have loved for it to be that clear either time I was there.

It's annoying, because any photographer around here worth his or her salt has lots of beautiful shots of the Olympic beaches (and not "beautiful" as in minimalist-moody-atmospheric-zen fog shots, but "beautiful" as in get-this-on-the-cover-of-next-year's-Washington-calendar). I scheduled this trip to try and fill out my quota (or at least make a small dent in it). Aside from some sunset and sunrise shots on what turned out to be the wrong beach (don't ask), all I wound up with were a couple of hundred more moody fog shots. This means that just about every weekend with clear skies and an offshore flow (i.e. one that blows the fog out to sea) from now until early October, I'm going to have to make the round-trip (ranging from eight to eleven hours) drive out there, just to fill in this hole in my stock files.

[CC]

11. I like the foggy ones.

Specially since ITF added in hers to compare with the first one posted. The boulder in your first one look like a giant skull. Great pics and when you try one day to get fog shots then it will be sunny.

[uppityperson]

13. I spent a week out there yrs back, foggy most the time.

beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing them, fog is beautiful.