Best places for photos in Portland and Cannon Beach?
 

I love to do amateur photography. We will be in Portland for two days, then Cannon Beach for three for our 30th anniversary trip. I would love to get some great pics of scenery, flowers, waterfalls, the ocean, and other. I know Haystack rock is a famous photo spot, but could I get some recommendations of other good photo spots? Thanks

hey taratravels!

there are many places in Portland that you can go to for your photo opportunities..starting from the beautiful Mt Hood to the architectural beauty of The Hawthorne bridge, The Rose Quarter with the 20000 seat Rose Garden. Portland the city of Roses also has the beautiful Rose test Garden. You can even take a tour of Hoyt Arboretum, a 187-acre living museum of trees and plants from all over the world perfect for some beautiful photos. The Portland Saturday market is another great place to catch the colorful life and hustle and bustle of the city.

On a clear day in Portland, the views f5rom Pittock Mansion are amazing! Great shots of Mt. Hood from here.

Next to Cannon Beach, on the north edge of town, is Ecola State Park. Lots of great places here for photography.

Definitely Ecola State Park, just north of town.

In Portland, Columbia River Gorge with all the waterfalls and the great vistas of the Columbia River. It's worth a short drive east of Portland.

A great place to shoot a good cityscape of Portland is from right in front of OMSI, on the Willamette River. In fact, you can get some great views of the city all along the Eastbank Esplanade north of OMSI along the riverbank there. Besides the aforementioned Hawthorne Bridge, the Morrison Bridge just to the north is neat at night - it's lit up with cool colors (hint: try photographing it at dusk before the colors would wash out at night; use a tripod of course). The Burnside and Steel Bridges to the north are also very unique - you can easily walk across the river on the bottom deck of the Steel Bridge to loop back to the waterfront park on the other side of the river, then walk back south toward the Hawthorne Bridge again and cross back to OMSI.

If you want to shoot a spectacularly beautiful bridge - Portland has some great bridges - drive west on US 30 toward Astoria for just a few miles and you can see the gorgeous St. Johns Bridge, a magnificent suspension bridge (sadly, only barely visible from downtown Portland in just a few spots). Cross to the St. Johns side and you can wader around Cathedral Park under/near the bridge as well.

If you want to shoot pictures of the Cascades (Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, etc.), Pittock Mansion has already been mentioned. Good spot. Also, there are a few look-throughs from above the International Rose Test Garden (aka "Rose Garden") in Washington Park - just below the tennis courts. There's a classic Portland shot with the city buildings and tall trees in the foreground and Mt. Hood (on a clear day!) in the background. The Vista Viaduct (on SW Vista Ave - a continuation south of NW 23rd Ave after it crosses Burnside) also has some interesting city-with-mountain views. Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens are also visible from from Terrwilliger Blvd in SW Portland below OHSU hospital in various spots. Make your way over to NE Portland's Rocky Butte near the airport and you can get more good clean views of Mt. Hood and St. Helens.

Thanks everyone, especially Andrew for all your suggestions for photo spots. Obviously Andrew, you must do alot of photography yourself. Not knowing the Portland area, what exactly is the OMSI? I'm very excited, sounds like a beautiful area to photograph!

OMSI is the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. It is quite interesting and people of all ages love it.

Yes, Tara, I'm a photographer myself. I've taken thousands of pictures here. If you want to see some of my work, google for "portland bridges" - my site is at the top.

OMSI is the science museum as noted above; it's on the east bank of the Willamette River right across from downtown Portland, between the Hawthorne and Marquam Bridges (The Marquam Bridge is I-5 if you look on a map). OMSI can be a big tricky to get to depending on where you are coming from, but fortunately there are lots of signs on the roads and such, and most people here know where OMSI is.

Andrew;
I googled "portland bridges" and looked at all the beautiful photographs you have taken of oregon and the coast. You do the most beautiful photography. I especially love the sunset picture at Short Sands Beach at Oswald State Park. I have never been there, but now I so want to go and see if I can capture some of the beautiful scenery you photographed. Where exactly is Short Sands Beach? Is it hard to find? Thanks

Thanks, Tara!

Short Sands Beach is at the end of a short trail, about a 10 minute walk from highway 101. Driving south on 101 from Cannon Beach, you'll see signs for Oswald West State Park. It's a HUGE park - you drive THROUGH it - so once you see the signs that you are entering the park, look for an official parking lot (there are lots on the left and right I think), park your car, and follow the trail signs through the woods to the beach. I don't think you will find any signs for "Short Sands Beach" - to be honest, I didn't know what it was called til after I had already taken those pictures; when I was posting them I wanted to get the name right, so I looked it up! Otherwise, I would have just said I was in Oswald West State Park.

On your way to Oswald West, you might want to stop at Hug Point, where there's an old roadway cut into the headland rock. Makes for some interesting black & whites, particularly. Only accessible at low tides though. Walk along the beach north from the parking lot.

You'll want to get up early for the Haystack Rock photos: http://www.pbase.com/smg9774/haystack. And bring a wide angle lens.

Consider returning to Portland via hwy 6 from Tillamook. You might like some of the views from Cape Meares State Park and Oceanside, and there's a nice little waterfall along hwy 6, between milemarkers 29 & 30: http://www.pbase.com/smg9774/image/40203739. It'll be on the right hand side of the road, at the back of a large gravel parking area.