oregon

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While we were photographing the sunrise, Andrew mentioned that he would like to be able to walk on the beach. It was perfect because I had planned a hike for us to do just that. So after I was done capturing the sights from the Ecola State Park viewpoint, we went back to the hotel, packed up all our stuff and picked up Frankie so we could go on our first hike in Oregon.

The Crescent Beach Trail started right back at the Ecola State Park viewpoint. It’s a 2-mile hike that at first didn’t seem too bad but what we quickly learned that a lot of the beach trails that are along the Oregon coast are very steep. What’s beautiful about Oregon is that there are over 300 miles of untouched coastal land meaning you won’t see beach houses or anything like that on the coast. It’s all just natural trees, dunes and gorgeousness. But it also means getting on to the beach is quite strenuous.

This image was taken towards the beginning of the hike before it got to be too bad. We were still getting some of that early morning glow coming through the trees and I asked Andrew to stand in it. It’s funny because at first I didn’t remember which hike this was, but noticed Andrew was wearing jeans so I knew this was the first hike we did. We both made the mistake of wearing jeans. I say it was a mistake because climbing up and down those hills was hot, sweaty and sticky. After this, it was all athletic shorts all the time. Of course, Frankie didn’t notice the hills at all. He had a free ride everywhere he went.

My camera settings for this image are F6.3 at 1/40th sec ISO 1000 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

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We flew in and out of Portland and hit the ground running. Our first stop upon arrival was donuts, but as soon as we picked up the essentials, we made our way to Cannon Beach. LOL. Just an hour and a half from Portland but by the time we arrived at our hotel, I was exhausted. We spent a little time walking around the beach but it was mostly spent decompressing in our hotel.

So Andrew and I woke up early the next morning (while Frankie continued to sleep in the hotel) and made our way to Ecola State Park. While researching the Oregon trip, this seemed like the place to be to get a great overall view of Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock and it really was. I loved how peaceful it was in the morning and for a little while, we were the only ones there.

If I remember correctly, the tree on the left-hand side was a stand-alone tree and probably one of the biggest ones at the viewpoint. I captured this image while we were walking back to the car. I loved the way the branch was framing Haystack Rock. I’ll be sharing more images from this view soon because it was just so impressive. I just thought this one was an interesting one and slightly different from what you typically see at Ecola State Park.

My camera settings for this image are F10 at 1/320th sec and ISO 500 with my Sony A7II and 70-200mm zoom lens.

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Home from our amazing trip to Oregon. It was Andrew, Frankie and I’s first time visiting the state and in one short week, I feel like we got to see a lot. I was so excited to start looking at my images when I got back that I didn’t really know where to start.

So I started with this one 🙂 I love it and reminds me of all the amazing adventures the three of us got to go on.

This image was taken on the second half of our trip while we were hiking to the Toketee Falls in the Umpqua National Forest. The hike was short, 0.8 miles roundtrip but its heavily trafficked. So much so that it was hard to find parking and there were times where we would have to wait for people to pass on the trail before we could even go further. With so many people, we figured it would be easier to put Frankie in the backpack and go at our own pace instead of his.

We let him out right after I captured this image when we arrived at the waterfall. It was great because there was a little viewing platform for all of us to see the waterfall and Frankie could stretch his legs a bit. After a little rest, Frankie went back into the backpack, we hiked back to the car and drove straight to Bend right after.

I think one of the best parts about this trip is that even though we would have long driving sessions, there would be places where we could park and go on like hikes like this. It was a great way to get a little bit of cardio in while checking out the sights.

My camera settings for this image are F4.5 and 1/2500th sec and ISO 800 with my Sony A7II and 24-70mm lens.

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Like I said yesterday, I’ve been consuming so much information. However listening to audiobooks was something I’ve always done. I didn’t need to go on an instabreak to appreciate a good story. I love listening to books when I’m in the car or even on photoshoots. It’s a great way to get your mind off of things going around you and just focus on what you’re doing.

To be honest, I had never heard of Phil Knight. I think the first time I ever heard his name was in the song by Wale with Lady Gaga called, “Chillin” (as an added bonus, Wale is from Washington DC and the music video is filmed all around the city). But Andrew and I share an audible account and he had previously listened to Shoe Dog and was telling me so many great things about the book. We’re both huge fans of Nikes. So about a month ago I decided to download it and listen to it.

This book is all about taking risks, following your passion and not letting anything get in your way. I love how Nike did not start off with the goal to make billions of dollars. It started off by Phil Knight being a super passionate runner and basically just wanted to bring good footwear to athletes everywhere. To me, he didn’t seem like anyone special growing up. Just a regular guy who loved sports. But it was his determination, his will to make his company a success and overall love of running that made Nike what it is today.

The book was inspiring and at times an emotional roller coaster. I’m not afraid to admit that I cried at the end, twice. If you plan on reading it, I won’t ruin the ending for you but one time when something tragic happened and the second time was when he was summarizing his life and Nike as a company. I could not help but feel so proud and happy for him and I don’t even know the guy. 10 minutes ago was the first time I googled him just so I could see what he looks like. If you ask me, kinda like a Richard Branson looking guy. But he is definietly someone I look up to now. One of my favorite parts of the book was hearing about his personal relationships with the Nike athletes like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Steve Prefontaine. It just goes to show how much he cared for everyone who was around him. I wish I could give him a hug.

Overall, I highly recommend reading or listening to this book if you like learning about how people made it. 4.7 stars out of 5. I still think Steve Jobs is my favorite biography but this is a close second.

As for the image, this was taken at the National Art Gallery in Washington DC. My camera settings are F6.3 at 0.8 seconds at ISO 200 with my Sony A7II and 16-35mm wide angle lens.