Scarlett,

Depending on what you're looking for, there are a lot of areas you might try. Years ago, we used to spend summer weeks in Arch Cape, a small beach community about five miles south of Cannon Beach. Nothing much there but a small grocery/deli, a church, a couple B&B's and beach homes/cottages, some of which go back to the 40's. Oh, and miles of peaceful, quiet beach.

Futher down the coast, outside Tillamook, is Oceanside, another relatively quiet, small beach town that doesn't get a lot of play because of its out-of-the-way location. There are rock formations there that create views as dramatic as Haystack, in my opinion, and nearby cliffs where hang-gliders fly (You probably don't do hang-gliding, do you. Neither do I, but fun to watch).

I like Manzanita too. The town is a lot like Cannon Beach was 25-30 years ago, but there's not nearly the same spectacular beachscape.

I could keep going...

When I have to nerve to cross that bridge to Washington, is when I might have the nerve to hang glide LOL
Thank you beachbum

mms - Thanks for posting this. Gives us a taste of what we'll encounter this summer.

Beachbum, like your shots, but tell me, why the switch from WorldIsRound? Last time I saw your work it was over there...

Jim

Jim,
I just found myself browsing PBase much more often. There are some great travel photographers on that site. WorldisRound was my first foray into posting images on the internet, and though it's user-friendly, it's fairly limited.

Hey beachbum, those are some nice pictures! I'm envious, I don't yet have a Canon 20D, but I will probably get one soon. I have a Canon Digital Rebel, also a fine camera.

I've been to Cannon Beach a couple of times in the last few weeks including a couple of sunsets, including one last week. You can find my pictures at http://www.PortlandBridges.com .

While I was on the beach last Thursday at sunset, a couple from San Diego walked by and she had a 20D too. Too bad she didn't have a tripod, she could have had some incredible shots.

Andrew

Andrew, I think I want your job!! Really wonderful stuff; thanks for the link. JimF asked a few posts up why I moved from WorldisRound to PBase. The real answer is that I see a lot of photos on PBase of a kind that I aspire to take. Your site similarly inspires me.

The 20D is my first digital, a bit of overkill perhaps, given the guy behind it. But, it sure is fun!

Thanks, beachbum. If you ever want to improve your photography skills, consider taking a class at Portland Community College called "Photography: Beyond The Basics". Great class if you are past the beginner status - helped me enormously. Some people take the class more than once because the teacher has a different focus (so to speak) each class.

You will be able to get unbelievable enlargements from the 20D. I know because I have gotten some great 24"x36" prints from my Rebel, and it's only 6.3MP vs 8.something for the 20D. Try getting a large print of one of your pics sometime - I think you will be shocked. So long, 35mm film.

If you really get into it, try RAW mode instead of JPEG. What's great about RAW is that you can tweak exposure, white balance, etc. after your shoot a lot easier than you can in Photoshop later.

I designed my own website instead of using something like PBase because I am picky about the look and function of my site. I've spent far too much time on my site, unfortunately, but I am pretty happy with it now.

Andrew

Andrew--Do you know of any specific classes for those of us that need the basics? I took a class over 20 years ago and obviously I did not retain enough.

mms,
I bought my camera from the Wolf/CameraWorld/Ritz conglomerate, where they gave me discount coupons for any number of classes they offer. Maybe stop at one of their stores. And I'm guessing PCC would also offer basics classes. Like you, I took a couple photography classes in college over 20 years ago (easy science credits), and I remember just enough to make me think I might someday make some decent images.

Thanks for the tip on RAW, Andrew. The digital world is a whole lot different than what I remember of the B&W darkroom 20 years ago. And a whole lot more fun.

mms, PCC has beginner classes too. But they focus mainly on f-stop, depth of field, basic framing, etc. If you know all that, "beyond the basics" may be pretty good for you. I don't have any other specific recommendations for teachers of the beginner classes - several teachers whom I don't know.

Andrew

Thanks Beachbum and Andrew. Beachbum...yup, same scenario for me with the class, lol! I kick myself now for not paying more attention. Our digital is a Pentax OptioS, which is perfect size/weight for backpacking, and it has taken some really good pictures and some really bad ones. I think the good ones were luck and the bad ones due to the user