Seaside, Oregon and Ecola State Park

My wife’s family lives near Portland so I have made a few trips out to Seaside.  Most recently, we went last summer for the Fourth of July.  Seaside is the most touristy town I have visited on the Oregon Coast.

Seaside offers a lovely little shopping area and a fun area with carnival attractions.  There is also a small aquarium that is great for kids.

For a photographer, Seaside doesn’t offer much.  The beach has no character and is almost always crowded.  After walking a couple miles along the promenade, I only took one photo that wasn’t of my daughter.

To get really good images, you’ll want to leave seaside.  In the past, I have always gone south to Cannon Beach.  After some research, I decided to go to Ecola State Park this year.  I was not disappointed.  It is one of the best places I have been to shoot as it offers 3 amazing views with easy access.  I left the family one evening and headed there to catch the sunset at Ecola Point, the first of only two stops in the park.  I got there earlier than expected and decided to check out the second stop, Indian Beach, with the extra time.

The road drops you right on top of the beach, which is nestled into a little cove with lots of sea stacks.  It was a great location and would be awesome with good lighting.  It is also the place to go if you want to check out surfers in the area.

After Indian Beach, I headed back to Ecola Point, which offers two views: Tillamook Rock Lighthouse and Cannon Beach.  The shot I wanted was Cannon Beach.  Unfortunately, the sun was setting behind the lighthouse so I rushed over there just as the entire sky turned yellow then orange.

There were only a couple other photographers there, but they told me if you are there at the right time of the year, you can capture the sun setting directly on the lighthouse.

Once the sun completely set, it cast a nice red glow over Cannon Beach so I set up to take some long exposures as the last bit of light faded away.