Tag Archives: oregon

Yaquina Bay Bridge

Yaquina Bay Bridge
Yaquina Bay Bridge

Yaquina Bay Bridge. Newport, Oregon. August 20, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The Yaquina Bay Bridge, Newport, Oregon

Returning to the San Francisco Bay Area from a week in the Seattle area back in August, we decided to take the long way back and turn a two-day trip into a four-day trip. After spending a day in Portland, we headed southwest to the Oregon Coast Highway (US 101) and followed that south into the northwest corner of California and then on home.

To my eye, the Oregon coast is in some ways familiar, having some similarities to parts of the northern and central California coastlines that I know quite well. But it seems generally a bit more remote – especially by comparison to the California coast near the San Francisco and Monterey areas – and the ocean seems a bit wilder. The towns are mostly further apart and smaller. Newport is one of the larger cities, presumably due to the large and protected port at Yaquina Bay. The coast highway crosses this bay on the striking Yaquina Bay Bridge, with its beautiful arch shapes.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Boats, Yaquina Bay Harbor

Boats, Yaquina Bay Harbor
Boats, Yaquina Bay Harbor

Boats, Yaquina Bay Harbor. Newport, Oregon. August 20, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Boats at anchor at the docks along the old waterfront in Yaquina Bay, Oregon

During our return from Seattle, Washington in late August (2013) we stopped on Portland and then headed over to the coast and took the long, slow, and scenic route back to California. We spent the first day of this drive along the Oregon coast, more or less driving though but stopping frequently anywhere we saw something interesting. For those who don’t know, the Oregon coast might in some ways remind one of portions of the California coast, especially in northern California, but the ocean seems a bit wilder up here and the towns perhaps even further apart.

The town of Newport is one of the larger ones along this route, and it sits next to the large Yaquina Bay, which is crossed by an impressive and old-school steel bridge consisting of a series of arches. We stopped to photograph the bridge and noticed that the old port was nearby, so we detoured down there to see what we could see. Being familiar with ports more devoted to pleasure and tourist pursuits (Monterey Bay, anyone?), it seemed to me that this little area was still more of a working port. We spent enough time here to walk along the waterfront and make a few photographs, mostly of the densely packed boats tied up at the docks alongside the bay.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Detail, Pearl District Building

Detail, Pearl District Building
Detail, Pearl District Building

Detail, Pearl District Building. Portland, Oregon. May 25 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Detail of a section of a Pearl District building with painted walls and bricks, Portland, Oregon

I grabbed this photograph while walking through an area of what seems to me like it might be called the outer Pearl District. (True Portlandians could no doubt narrow it down more specifically.) This is a very pleasant area of more-or-less downtown Portland that seems to gentrifying – with some elements left from an older era and many things seeming to be updated and changed.

This building is on a street with a number of older buildings – with enough bricks to make this earthquake-country person just a bit nervous. Aside from that, a lot of the buildings seem familiar to someone from the San Francisco Bay Area. As we walked past, several things grabbed my attention for no particular reason: the combination of red/brown and shades of green, the horizontal pipe interrupting the rough and painted over surface of the brick foundation, and the somewhat geometric quality of the composition.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Column, Wall, and Dying Tree

Column, Wall, and Dying Tree
Column, Wall, and Dying Tree

Column, Wall, and Dying Tree. Portland, Oregon. May 26, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The brown branches of a dying tree stand against a stone wall and column, Pittock Mansion, Portland, Oregon

This might be about as unrepresentative a photograph of the Pittock Mansion as one could make. ;-) Pittock Mansion is a historic location in the hills above Portland, Oregon. If I recall the story correctly, it was built by an early leading citizen of the area who ran the newspaper (The Oregonian?) and may have had interested in the lumber business. The expansive mansion was built on a hillside above the city, with views of three of the major volcanos of northern Oregon, and on grounds that included beautiful and lush gardens. The mansion itself is large and luxurious and was, for its day, very modern.

So I went and photographed a dead tree against a stone wall. What can I say? This section of wall combines a blocky section of the wall with a cylindrical column. Not surprisingly for the Pacific Northwest, moss grows on the rock, giving it the slight green tint. I think the tree is dying – at least it looks that way – and its odd color caught my attention.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | FacebookGoogle+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.