RMSP Oregon Coast

[howard_grill]

I would like to attend a workshop photographing the Oregon coast and

found one given by The Rocky Mountain School Of Photography and

Nancy Rotenberg at the end of August. Has anyone attended this

particular workshop or other workshops with Nancy Rotenberg? How

about the RMSP workshops in general? Is this a good time to

photograph the Oregon coast?

 

Thanks for any input.

 

Howard

[mike_earussi1]

Howard, I don't know if this will help answer your question but mid July-August is the only time to photograph the pacific NW as it rains the rest of the year. There is an Oregon joke here that says "The sun shines 365 days of the year in Oregon, and in the summer you can see it." As for a workshop, I've never personally attended one but if all you're wanting is to locate scenic spots to photograph in Oregon, you really don't need a workshop to find them as they're everywhere, like shooting ducks in a barrel, plus there are guide books all over the place (try Powell's Books in downtown Portland. Either way, good luck and have fun.

[phyrpowr]

I've taken two RMSP field workshops and think very highly of them. I got as much "hands on" (or off) help as I wanted.

 

The instructors didn't shoot themselves and were totally available for help.

 

Good constructive critiques, learned a lot about natural light exposure,excellent all around

[roger mitchell]

Howard - I have never taken a RMSP workshop but I have taken others, including Nancy Rotenberg's creativity workshop last summer. She is an accomplished photographer, extremely patient, extremely helpful, and, if you let her, she will open up new photographic ideas for you to explore. You might want to look at her website, www.naturaltapestries.com. I live in Washington State and I concur that August is a fine time to photograph the Oregon coast. Hope this helps.

[akajohndoe]

I beg to differ with a prior post. I find the first couple of weeks in January to be a very interesting time of year to photograph the Oregon (and Washington, and BC) coast and mountains. Yes, it can be wet.

[greg s]

"the end of August"

 

On the average, the weather will trend towards blue skies with possible localized fog in a few places and the seas will be relatively calm. This can be helpful in terms of nice warm days to roam around, but perhaps not as dramatic as winter. Late afternoon is best light for the west facing coast cliffs (no surprise there), but the offshore rocks can be photographed in the morning.

 

For not getting rained on a lot, late August is quite good. :)

[robert_potts1]

D N understands. In the summer the morning often starts off with fog or low cloudiness. It burns off and gives way to wind. The headlands are all brown and covered by tourists by August. The waves are flat and dull at this time. The best season is probably spring when everything is green and radiant and the sky is full of clouds, sunlight, and rainbows. Winter is a close second, but you almost have to be a resident to catch the best windows of opportunity. Autumn has the best weather and fewer visitors. An early storm can be a dramatic event. Darrel Gulin ran an annual workshop to this coast for a while. You might check to see whether that is still active. I think this is an excellent area for a workshop. Maybe I'll run into you folks. Have fun.

[howard_grill]

Thanks eceryone, I appreciate the input. The Gulin Workshop seems focused mainly on lighthouses. I haven't seen any that go in fall or winter so will give this one more consideration.

 

Howard

[robert_potts1]

I know someone who used to work with the Gulin workshop. She did a lot of off-season work scouting sites and picking the brains of local photographers like myself. I imagine the Rocky Mountain folks do the same and have a lot of neat stuff figured out and on tap. The tide pools, harbors, and whale tours, are just the beginning of a long list of things that would work in August. I have a feeling that you can get a lot more information about the agenda if you look into it. If you want a workshop, look into that. Otherwise, do as others have suggested and buy a guidebook.

[greg s]

FWIW, when I think about what time of year we (in the Portland area) get the most dramatic clouds, it is in late April and into early June or so. The clouds are a bit different over on the coast (haven't hit the coast range mountains yet), but I would think Spring offers a better than average chance for interesting skies. And it is also the greenest time of the year, as mentioned above. -Greg-

[mike f]

I have taken RMSP workshops and they are excellent. Is August the "right" time? If there wasn't something there RMSP wouldn't do the workshop. Is there a better time? There are different subjects at different tiems. Oregon is always good :) I have been on the Darrell Gulen workshop in the spring and it is very good.(no lighthouses) Even though I live in Oregon I learned things and places I didn't know. He is also a very patient (non shooting) instructor. If you want to try Oregon on your own check out "photo opps" and Oregon at http://www.ordata.com/~lmforbes