Bandon Beach
Bandon was the last leg of our photography workshop in Oregon. After about three months, I have finally made it through the majority of the images from the trip and this series of blog entries is coming to a close. (You can hold the applause...;-) To say this was a great trip would be an understatement. As expected, I made lots of new friends, saw lots of cool new places, made gobs of images, and had a really fun time. Prior to this trip, I had never been to the west coast, and I would like to return some day. Although we had a full itinerary, there is still so much more to see and do.
Bandon is quaint little town, located along the southern coast of Oregon, about 90 miles north of the California border. For a town with a population of only about 3,100, it is rich in history and has a lot to offer visitors. Bandon was founded by George Bennett in 1873 and was named after the Irish town of the same name, where Bennett and his sons were from. The town was devastated by fire in 1936, when a forest fire spread westward and wiped out the entire commercial district. Ironically, the fire that destroyed Bandon was largely fueled by an oily plant that was introduced to the area by the town's founder. However, Bandon rebuilt and continued to grow into the wonderful place it is today. It is well-known for producing five percent of the nation's cranberry crop; world-class championship golf courses; fishing and wood products industries; and of course, tourism.
We stayed at the Sunset Lodge, with a great view and a short walk down to Bandon Beach. The sound of the cold Pacific waves relentlessly pounding against the rocky shore served as a reminder of the natural forces at work. The most notable features of Bandon Beach are the many sea stacks along the coastline, standing like towering watchmen over the area. These stacks are the remnants of harder, more resistant rock that are left behind as the softer rocks surrounding them erode over time. One of the more prominent rock formations is Face Rock, which if viewed from the right angle, looks a lot like, well, a face. It was kind of eerie, almost like some stone giant guarding his smaller sea stack brothers and sisters and suspiciously gazing at anyone who dared pass by.
Our hope was to have some really nice sunsets and/or sunrises to shoot in the few days that we were in Bandon. Unfortunately, the early morning and late evening skies were a continuous blanket of never-ending gray. Never letting our spirits be dampened, we still had a great time and made some nice images anyway. Hope you like the few that I have chosen to show here.