John's Favorite
Locations
June, 2003
Oregon Dunes National
Recreation Area
Click
images to enlarge
Sand
dunes are ordinarily arid places, full of high contrast well beyond the latitude
of most color film to record all detail. Most effective work in dunes and dessert
must be done early or late. Not so the Oregon Dunes. They are frequently foggy
and often wet, permitting effective work throughout the day. The large amount
of moisture enables vegetation to get toe holds and the dunes are studded with
tree islands and large stands of grasses. This is one of the few places that
one can step directly from sand dune to lush forest in a matter of a few feet.
The fog and moisture enable one to produce moody landscapes as well as intimate
macro shots of dew drops on grass and compositional elements from the complex
to the simple are readily found. When it is overcast you may work all day long,
but on summer days the fog may burn off by mid-day and work will cease, unless
you have a diffuser and are working small subjects.
The Oregon Dunes stretches from Florence 40 miles south to Coos Bay. There
are access points at several places, but the easiest is the main park entrance
about 7 miles south of Florence. There is a daily entry fee of $5.00. A hundred
yard walk takes you onto the dunes.
The climate is temperate year around; winter temperatures are usually in the
50s while summer highs rarely exceed 80. Expect rain in the winter, though there
are extended periods of sun in this normally wet season. Summer brings lots
of sun, though early mornings are typically foggy until mid-morning.
The equipment you bring to this location will depend on your interests. For
landscape work, everything from ultra-wide angle lenses to medium telephotos
will be useful. A tripod is essential. There are plenty of macro subjects and
most are readily approachable so even a short focal length macro (60mm) will
work well. I’ve effectively used ultrawide angles using hyperfocal technique
to get some interesting shots. The accompanying image of dew on grass was done
with a 14mm lens, the front element almost touching the blades of grass. If
you are going to work small subjects under sunny conditions a diffuser is essential
and a reflector helpful.
You can’t go wrong with Velvia, though E100VS would give you one stop
more, especially if you are doing a lot of hand-holding. If you work in B+W
you will find yourself in seventh heaven. I will reveal my bias toward reversal
& B+W up front in this series by saying that if you shoot print film, almost
any low-to medium speed emulsion will work well here.
Bring water and drink it. Despite the foggy conditions, you can rapidly dehydrate.
A special consideration is the sand itself – it gets into everything and
if it does it plays havoc with equipment and scratches film if it gets into
the camera. Fortunately, there is not a lot of wind (at least when I was there),
but you do need to be very careful. Keep your equipment securely zipped in a
bag or Ziploc bag when it is not in use. The same goes for film.
The Oregon Dunes is among the most magical places I’ve ever worked,
and one to which I return at every opportunity.