Shell Mountain at The Fish Peddler in Bay City, Oregon. It’s always an impressive sight when driving along the 101 on the Oregon Coast. I learned that the best shells are replanted and reseeded in the company’s oyster beds to provide for continued sustainability. Pretty remarkable!
Here’s a short news story on a similar process of recycling shells in Chesapeake Bay:
The Challenge:
This week, share a photo of a satisfying pairing from your own life….You can mix and match places, people, objects, and activities that represent your idea of a harmonious, pleasing combination. ~Ben Huberman, The Daily Post
Bright leaf, beachy grasses, feathers, sand. I love how these found objects create a unified whole.
Weekly Photo Challenge: A Good Match
I recently entered three photos in our local photography shop’s black and white photo contest. I didn’t win, but it did give me the idea for this post.
Enjoy that beautiful world out there!
This week’s challenge: capture a shadow that’s a meaningful part of the image.
It was a lovely day on the Oregon Coast, with ideal lighting conditions that sent me seeking photographic treasures, with this image a prized find. I love the specific shadow cast by the sand dollar, repeating the curve of the sand dollar but also indicating the change in shape of the hollow beneath it. I also love the dramatic contrast and depth created by shadow throughout the sandy scene. I was very fortunate to have found this little treasure on that ramble.
This challenge was a bit difficult for me – only because it was hard to narrow it down. Ben, in his WordPress post, says this about gracefulness: “Gracefulness is a tricky quality — it manifests itself as an effortless, subtle harmony between a subject and its environment.”
I often find this harmony at the beach…in the motion of the waves, for instance, or in the architecture of one of the many bridges or in one of Oregon’s beautiful lighthouses. Finally, though, I settled on this walkway, outside Newport’s Visual Arts Center. Until I read Ben’s post, I didn’t realize that one reason this spot appeals to me is the effortless harmony between the lampposts and the walkway: they are part and parcel of it. 
The rhythm, repetition, and scale of the lampposts, as well as the material from which they are made, fit in perfectly with their location near the ocean, with its own rhythm, repetition, and scale. I want to go back.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Graceful
Wordless Wednesday – late in the day, but nevertheless…
Right now there is talk of snow – here in the Willamette Valley and at the Coast – which is pretty exciting for us, as we don’t experience many snowstorms, or even snowfalls.
These pictures, though, were taken in October when I spent a few days in Seaside, with a day trip to Cannon Beach. Here are some views that caught my eye.
If it does snow here, I’ll try to capture some pics!
I loved this little bit of undergrowth alongside the trail to the Salishan Spit. When I find chaotic spots of color and texture like this, it inspires and informs my knitting designs – and makes me happy!
See more chaos here: Weekly Photo Challenge: Chaos.
H2O is the chemical formula for water. It describes water broken down into its elements.
For this week’s challenge, share a photo that features H2O; the element of water. Water comes in many different states and guises. From a foggy morning to your favorite watercolor painting, how will you show H2O in a photograph? I look forward to seeing your interpretations. ~ The Daily Post, Lignum Draco
It was perfectly clear when I arrived at the beach at 3:09 that afternoon, and by 4:06, completely socked in. It happened so quickly that it was alarming. I was hoofing it to get back to the car in hopes that I could get back to the highway before the roads became foggy too. You can see the whole thing in pictures here: 60 Minutes in Pacific City.
I loved this giant compass built into the sidewalk at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. It adds to the charm and delight of the grounds, which we spent a lovely afternoon exploring.
I love, too, that the park/grounds is called the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. That sounded funny to me at first, but I later learned that “Outstanding Natural Area” is a designation for areas in the United States that have been little altered by human impact and that meet certain relevance and importance criteria in order to become protected lands. At any rate, we thought it was a beautiful and outstanding area, and we could happily spend many more hours exploring this lovely and delightful spot.
