Heading to Oregon (Portland Area)....

MasterJack

My wife and I are going to Portland in July and would love some shooting tips and areas. We plan on driving along the Columbia River Gorge. We'll be there for 5 days.... thanks.

Chris_ND

MasterJack wrote:

My wife and I are going to Portland in July and would love some shooting tips and areas. We plan on driving along the Columbia River Gorge. We'll be there for 5 days.... thanks.

I currently, *2 days ago* drove down through portland through eugene and down to roseburg. I would say, someplace away from the highway for some great shooting of long shutter times possibly? If you wanted to make a day trip to the coast, I would highly reccomend it. If you happen to be in the coos bay/ north bend area, make your way down to the docks during the morning when the fishermen/women are working and cutting up the fishy's. Seals love it. If you've never been here before your giong to always want to come back. I've been living here every summer for 18 years. And I do plan to move here in a few months. I love it. Best scenery people and weather here EVER IMHO..=)

I'll scope out some areas/get some names of places that you might want to visit, since your coming in july, that will give me some fun time to shoot and maybe give you some ideas of where to visit!

quark

Make sure you take the historic highway through the columbia river gorge, gives you the best views and waterfalls you would miss from the freeway.

I would spend at least 2 days on the coast, Canon beach area is only about 2 hrs from Portland and well worth the time. Great rocky shorelines ....

One day could be a trip to Mt St Helens. Try to go on a sunny day or the mountain will hide.

Have fun!
http://www.heatherdillon.com/gallery/2164941_uEnr5#112444827_zU4Xt

woolbr8stl

I've been to Portland twice now and cant' wait to go back again. I think the falls along the Columbia River are best shot in the morning light. A trip to Mt Hood is only another 30 minutes further from the falls. Very well worth the trip.

Cannon beach is also wonderful as someone mentioned. We had a wonderful time at the state park just a mile or so up the road from Cannon Beach.

Portland itself is a great city, very clean and friendly. A visit to Pittock Mansion above the city and the Nob Hill area will find you plenty of things to photograph. Don't forget the rose garden too!

I have some pictures of the Portland area including Cannon beach, Mt Hood, Mt St Helens on my flickr acct

http://www.flickr.com/photos/woolbright/

Have a great time, we sure did!

dogwood

There's actually a book on photographing the Oregon coast. Google it-- though you won't be able to come close to covering the coast in a five days!

There is still TONS of snow here (it snowed in the mountain passes just this week) so keep that in mind in terms of Mt. Hood. The roads are open but a lot of the side trips are still snowed in up there.

One of my favorite photo spots within the city is Powell Butte. It's a nice sunset location, but best in rain/mist (which you just might see... today is the first day this month over 70-degrees in Portland).

Personally, I'd skip the Rose Garden at Washington Park and hit the Japanese Garden instead. There are amazing city nightscapes from the east bank of the Willamette too. Much better skyline views than from Pittock Mansion.

Ride the tram too. It was way, way too expensive but politics aside, it's really cool and the views from the hospital are fantastic. You'll want a wide angle on a full frame to shoot inside the tram though.

Mt. Tabor can be nice in the rain (hey-- we get a lot of that here-- that's why I know the spots to shoot when it's rainy!)

For street photos, The Pearl and Hawthorne Street are nice.

And of course (as you know) you really can't go wrong with the Columbia Gorge. Consider a loop trip -- I-84 to Hood River then return to Portland on the Washington side of the river (it's a state route and more scenic, in my opinion). There's also the scenic highway on the Oregon side if you want to avoid the interstate and have better scenery.

Personally, I think Mt. St. Helens is too much of a drive (and lots of it is still snowed in) for a short trip, but I grew up here and it's tough to impress me unless she's spouting ash and steam!

Hope that helps.

The Clackamas River is nice too-- lots of parks on both sides of the river.

MasterJack

dogwood wrote:

There's actually a book on photographing the Oregon coast. Google it-- though you won't be able to come close to covering the coast in a five days!

There is still TONS of snow here (it snowed in the mountain passes just this week) so keep that in mind in terms of Mt. Hood. The roads are open but a lot of the side trips are still snowed in up there.

One of my favorite photo spots within the city is Powell Butte. It's a nice sunset location, but best in rain/mist (which you just might see... today is the first day this month over 70-degrees in Portland).

Personally, I'd skip the Rose Garden at Washington Park and hit the Japanese Garden instead. There are amazing city nightscapes from the east bank of the Willamette too. Much better skyline views than from Pittock Mansion.

Ride the tram too. It was way, way too expensive but politics aside, it's really cool and the views from the hospital are fantastic. You'll want a wide angle on a full frame to shoot inside the tram though.

Mt. Tabor can be nice in the rain (hey-- we get a lot of that here-- that's why I know the spots to shoot when it's rainy!)

For street photos, The Pearl and Hawthorne Street are nice.

And of course (as you know) you really can't go wrong with the Columbia Gorge. Consider a loop trip -- I-84 to Hood River then return to Portland on the Washington side of the river (it's a state route and more scenic, in my opinion). There's also the scenic highway on the Oregon side if you want to avoid the interstate and have better scenery.

Personally, I think Mt. St. Helens is too much of a drive (and lots of it is still snowed in) for a short trip, but I grew up here and it's tough to impress me unless she's spouting ash and steam!

Hope that helps.

The Clackamas River is nice too-- lots of parks on both sides of the river.

Thanks for all of the great suggestions. I can't wait to go. Say - will you be available from July 7 thru 11... . I could use a guide for a day.... I'll even buy you lunch.....

Thanks again,

MasterJack

dogwood

MasterJack wrote:

Thanks for all of the great suggestions. I can't wait to go. Say - will you be available from July 7 thru 11... . I could use a guide for a day.... I'll even buy you lunch.....

Thanks again,

MasterJack

Another good tip-- Timberline Lodge up on Mt. Hood (it was where the exterior shots of The Shining were done) is a nice half-day trip. The view is fantastic-- you can see other volcanoes like Mt. Jefferson and sometime the Three Sisters and the lodge itself is really cool. There are trails and vistas all around there too.

But... just chatted with someone today who drove across the Mt. Hood/hwy 26 pass and there's still PLENTY of snow up there! I hope a lot of it's gone by July, but this has been a whopper of a year for snow. There's apparently plenty of snow to ski at Government Camp right now, so check with any local National Forest (web or phone call) that you may want to visit.

Anyway, you'll have a nice trip. There's no sales tax (though for some insane reason you can't pump your own gas ) People are generally really friendly too. Think Austin without the heat or humidity. Mid-July will usually be nice weather too.

Oh-- and one more nice place near Portland is Sauvie Island. It's on a river so it's not the coast but there are beaches and lots of self-pick berry farms. Since the weather has been so cold, strawberries are just starting to get in season, raspberries will still be ripening into July, and blueberries too.

Also, if you go to the coast, consider the less travelled routes-- Hwy 6 to Tillamook or even better (if you have time... it's a slow, meandering trip) Hwy 53 to Mohler. And one place on the coast a lot of people overlook is Tillamook Bay. It's not the Pacific Ocean but it still has some fantastic scenery-- especially just north of Garibaldi.

Finally, I'd just suggest you take your time getting anywhere or doing anything. It's funny because a lot of Californians move up here and they usually want stuff right away but things are generally really laid back and don't happen right away in Oregon. Drives my California transplant photo clients crazy (seriously-- they never get why it takes a month to plan a shoot!). The rural areas are especially low-key and slower paced. Just be ready for that and you'll have a great time.

dogwood

Check this out-- the local daily newspaper today published a very detailed guide to the Columbia Gorge:

http://www.oregonlive.com/travel/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/travel/1212791115206170.xml&coll=7

If you can get your hands on the print edition of The Sunday Oregonian for June 15, in the travel section there's a full two-page spread with a map and point by point descriptions.

Why do I care about all this so much? Well-- it's the ol' Sierra Club school of thought. If you can get people out to the natural areas to see them first hand, they'll care about conserving them. And since places like the Columbia Gorge are largely federal land (much of it under Congressional control) even someone in Texas can play a role in conserving the beauty of the area.

MasterJack

dogwood wrote:

Another good tip-- Timberline Lodge up on Mt. Hood (it was where the exterior shots of The Shining were done) is a nice half-day trip. The view is fantastic-- you can see other volcanoes like Mt. Jefferson and sometime the Three Sisters and the lodge itself is really cool. There are trails and vistas all around there too.

But... just chatted with someone today who drove across the Mt. Hood/hwy 26 pass and there's still PLENTY of snow up there! I hope a lot of it's gone by July, but this has been a whopper of a year for snow. There's apparently plenty of snow to ski at Government Camp right now, so check with any local National Forest (web or phone call) that you may want to visit.

Anyway, you'll have a nice trip. There's no sales tax (though for some insane reason you can't pump your own gas ) People are generally really friendly too. Think Austin without the heat or humidity. Mid-July will usually be nice weather too.

Oh-- and one more nice place near Portland is Sauvie Island. It's on a river so it's not the coast but there are beaches and lots of self-pick berry farms. Since the weather has been so cold, strawberries are just starting to get in season, raspberries will still be ripening into July, and blueberries too.

Also, if you go to the coast, consider the less travelled routes-- Hwy 6 to Tillamook or even better (if you have time... it's a slow, meandering trip) Hwy 53 to Mohler. And one place on the coast a lot of people overlook is Tillamook Bay. It's not the Pacific Ocean but it still has some fantastic scenery-- especially just north of Garibaldi.

Finally, I'd just suggest you take your time getting anywhere or doing anything. It's funny because a lot of Californians move up here and they usually want stuff right away but things are generally really laid back and don't happen right away in Oregon. Drives my California transplant photo clients crazy (seriously-- they never get why it takes a month to plan a shoot!). The rural areas are especially low-key and slower paced. Just be ready for that and you'll have a great time.

Thanks again for all of the info. Although we already have a hotel booked in Portland for all 4 days - we booked one night at Timberlake Lodge - we heard about it's beauty. We called and the still have snow and probably will till July - can't wait.

I took a look at the Japanese Gardens website and WOW - beatuful place. I'm not sure what time of year those shots were taken but I hope it still lookes like that when we go. I'll print all of your stuff and take it with me. Do you own a business there or work out of your home? Maybe if you have a business - I'll drop by and say hello.

Thanks,

MasterJack