The Seven Year Itch, a photo from Oregon, West

Photographer's Note

Strange title I know, But I was here 7 years ago, and I fell in love with this little city along the coast of Oregon. I wished to come back here again and finally, 7 years later. Here I was again.

Bandon Light, officially Coquille River Lighthouse, stands today as a reminder of a past era when safe shipping depended on a lightkeeper and his light. From within the stuccoed brick walls of the adjoining 47 foot tower was a fixed, fourth-order light which beaconed 28 seconds, eclipsed two seconds. The light guided boats safely across the shallow beach at the mouth of the Coquille River until 1939 when it was abandoned and replaced by an automatic light on the south jetty.

In 1983, the Oregon State Parks Division leased the lighthouse and surrounding acreage from the Army Corps of Engineers for park purposes. Together these two agencies restored the weatherworn and deteriorated lighthouse in 1978.

Of the eight lighthouses remaining on the Oregon coast, the Coquille River Lighthouse was the last constructed. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

See Workshop for a scan photo I took back 7 years ago of the same lighthouse

gildasjan, jwmunro, magalik, feather, shevchenko, bakes888, Kielia, InasiaJones, paololg, plimrn, Bluejeans oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne

Critiques | Translate

chawax (20764) 2009-09-04 11:44

Hi Way,
Nice lighthouse and excellent composition. I love the great colours.
Regards,
Olivier

Sistercosmo (242) 2009-09-04 11:48

Hi Way,

beautiful shot with a wonderful note. I can see why you fell in love with this place.

Have a great weekend!
Linda

john1 (4028) 2009-09-04 11:52

Hi way,

Beautifull seascape and very nice colors.
Excellent composition and lighting.
Great details.
Have a good day.
John

pauloog (11751) 2009-09-04 11:57

Hello Way,
A lovely lighthouse with an unusual building next to it, well captured in a good composition and good colour contrast provided by the foreground.
Regards,
Paul

TravelerNL (3011) 2009-09-04 12:01

Hi Way,
Nice compo with strong colors. The green/brown of the grass and the red of the light house contrast very well. That mixed with the blue sky make it a very nice photo.
Thanks for sharing,
Harko

gildasjan (43826) 2009-09-04 12:12

Bonjour Way
Une image d'excellente qualité et parfaitement cadrée.La partie blanche de ce phare donne le bon contraste ŕ cette composition.
Bonne journée
Amicalement
gildas

anesugur (18789) 2009-09-04 13:00

Hi Way,
Wonderful shot!
Great composition, light and colors...
Really good job!
Best regards. Uğur

jwmunro (286) 2009-09-04 13:26

Hello Way -

Excellent capture. It looks like the old light got a new paint job since I was there in 2006. My dogs and I enjoyed the beach off to the left of the camera position when we were here. Joanne enjoyed all of the driftwood. We had lunch in the village and I especially enjoyed the harbor area for making images. You have captured this old light in some very strong side light and have done a very good job at managing the light.

Thank you for sharing.

John

jurek1951 (42198) 2009-09-04 13:35

Hi Way,
Really very nice your architecture photos this one is very sharp and very well composed.The lighting is fantastic.
Georg

mortijo (12828) 2009-09-04 14:11

Beautiful composition with great colors. The grass in the foreground contrasts nicely with the lighthouse. Good light and sharpness. It is indeed a place to fall in love with.
Regards
John

asajernigan (21427) 2009-09-04 17:41

Way,
This is a fine shot of this brightly colored lighthouse. The off center placement is nice allowing you to see the lighthouse's view. The lighting and colors are great with excellent sharpness and detail. The deep blue sky provides nice contrast for the red of the lighthouse.
TFS,
Asa

gneufeld (15890) 2009-09-04 18:03

Hi Way,
I have visited the Oregon coast a few times and yes, it is a favorite place. I love those long grasses as a lead in to the historic light house. Very nice light, colors, and excellent clarity and sharpness. TFS. Gerald

aadilj (18102) 2009-09-04 21:54

Surreal and crisp. Sharp and warm colours. Intense freshness. beautiful composition

magalik (6103) 2009-09-04 23:47

Hello Way !
Very nice composition !Light and colors are also beautiful.
I like particularly the clearness of grasses of the foreground.
Well done !
TFS
Magali

emka (158204) 2009-09-05 1:09

Hi Way, It looks different now. Indeed nice place. I also have some places taht I would like to visit again but often it is much more than seven years. Splendid peaceful photo.

Regards

Malgorzata

PixelTerror (0) 2009-09-05 2:25

Hi Way
A nice little lighthouse under a pleasant light, would be great to see more to the right in a wide format, by stitching there a 2nd image, just an idea...
Have a nice day JY

baba_flies (8829) 2009-09-05 4:57

Hello Way! Oh yes, I have these places in mind that I really want to return. Wonderful corner, we can understand your wish to return. It always amazes me that "lighthouse is not just lighthouse" but each stretch of coastline has another style. No wonder so many photographers "collect" them and finally make photobooks or calendars with just this theme. Such an elegant composition and how you have these foreground placed with the sand-color grass standing in the wind. A long way from Southern California but worth each mile driving up. Have a great Saturday, it has snowed down to 1700 m tonight so the mountains around me have a white coat ... Barbara.

feather (51130) 2009-09-05 6:31

Gorgeous shot Way, of very high quality. All the tech aspects are spot-on and the light was perfect. Your POV works very well as all the tall grasses you used in the foreground are being blown towards the lighthouse. The old photo you scanned in the WS is good too, but I prefer this one.
Kath

delpeoples (60342) 2009-09-05 6:47

Hi Way, ha! From your title I thought you were telling us a secret ;) Anyway, the clarity of this phto just jumps out at me - as seems to be your personal signature. The deep red of the lighthouse contrasts beautifully with the blues of sea and sky aswell as your appropriately chosen frame. Thanks for sharing it and have a great weekend, Lisa.

hardyuno (4652) 2009-09-05 6:48

Hi Way,
very good shot, the POV is well chosen and the colours are really great. Thanks for sharing and for the information, too. It looks better now, i think.
regards
Hartmut

carper (96) 2009-09-05 9:55

fine one Way,
well composed shot here, good contrast and a nice balance in the shot, good colors very good photo job and a pleasure to look at, good one Way have a good weekend.
regard jaap

shevchenko (20560) 2009-09-06 20:17

Hello Way,
Thanks for sharing us two photos in different version & pov, the old photo shoot and print with old instruments is less attractive if compare with this new photo, lovely relaxing environment, thought I also fall in love with this simply and beautiful place, thanks for sharing.
Ally

zanzi (13690) 2009-09-07 13:53

Hi Way
The composition is perfect. A lot of depth with this beautiful foreground.
The vivid colors are beautiful.
Bravo
Chris

MarianneS (15338) 2009-09-07 14:02

Hello Way,
Beautiful capture. The photo you present as a ws shows how much you progressed in a few years.
Incredible!
Your composition is great, with excellent light colours and sharpness.
Superb!
Marianne

bakes888 (18499) 2009-09-08 0:30

Hello Way.
I think lighthouses are a magnet for photographers! Great photo, wonderful colours and clarity. Excellent FG to lead the eye into the scene. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

patdeph (35750) 2009-09-08 3:53

hello Way
this is a very well composed picture,where the magnificent light enhances the beauty of the landscape and gives incredibly beautiful colors!The sharpness on the grasses iis really excellent,this is a superb part lightened by the sun!Superb!
Regards
Pascale

Greg1949 (9011) 2009-09-08 4:47

way, really different light in this one, and the title did make me look closer. Great colors and details in the fg grasses, overall great work.

Greg

baclama (19214) 2009-09-08 5:04

hi,
very nice colors and very good light...I can understand why you fell in love with this place.
Do you return in 7 years...?:)or less..
TFS
vero

Kielia (24077) 2009-09-08 10:03

Hello Way,
this is one of your gallerys highlights! But I must admit that I equally like the photo in WS although it is totally different from this composition. It must have been the fact that you fell in love with this place that made you choose this fantastic POV. My compliments!
Warm regards
Harriet

InasiaJones (31566) 2009-09-10 4:23

Highway!

These colours are to die for... Whooooaaa!!!

I'm with you here, what a great composition Way! I like your foreground, the movement in it, the perfect level where you show the breaking waves, the rocky cliff... Man, this is good stuff!

But I guess it is the combination of this bloody red mixed with a pure blue sky, than the creamy white that contrast with them that bring so much impact.

Lightouses is one of my photographic interest and this one deserved to get into my favorites.

A very lovely scene where light is the decisive factor that makes all the difference.

Andre

sacimar (38173) 2009-09-11 8:35

Hi Way,

it's interesting to see the same place 7 years later, I like the composition, tones and colours are excellent, great sharpness also, I can imagine why you fell in love with this city.... TFS

Best regards

Sergio

paololg (31448) 2009-09-23 6:56

Ciao dear Way,
image perfectly composed, richly detailed and beautifully defined. It's a pleasure to see these old lighthouses restored and recovered very well. Thank you for sharing this interesting photo.
Ciao, have a nice time!
Paolo

plimrn (21344) 2009-09-28 12:47

Hi Way,
I like Bandon a lot too; although I don't think I've ever been here when the light was so nice - and you made the best of it with the beautifully framed light; I also love the wonderful detail of the grass.
HLJ, Pat

holmertz (102760) 2009-09-30 3:54

Hello Way,
This is a remarkably attractive lighthouse and the composition is impeccable. The green and yellow foreground contrasts very nicely the blue sky and the red and white of the building.
As always very well done,
Kind regards,
Gert

Bluejeans (64251) 2009-12-01 7:26

Ola Way ,
Que interessante farol bem pequeno em altura comparado com outros , mas no entanto bem bonito com aquela faixa vermelha , gostei muito deste primeiro plano com esta vegetaçăo , bonitos tons de azul , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

macjake (98456) 2009-12-03 17:23

Hi Way

All you need here is a picnic and your all set!
Very charming, elegant, with even a hint of romance.
Great amounts of detail and sharpness on the rocks and long grass stems.
Well executed
Cheers
Craig

mkamionka (74509) 2011-02-13 0:58

Hi Way,
I like very much lighthouses they are so photogenic. And this picture demonstrates it well. Excellent composition with the grass in the foreground and the lighthouse positioned asymmetrically in the frame. Beautiful natural colors.
Have a great Sunday,
M

abmdsudi (95869) 2013-12-10 6:13

Sabaidee Way
Happy memories always make for that special image and this place has been good to you allowing such a lovely image, the sentiment and poignancy is captured well.
A remarkable shot with that rather special foreground interest, leading the eye across to the eye catching lighthouse and wonderful sky beyond. A stunner without a doubt, the glorious tones and light as well Another excellent composition to finish it off. Superb shot, Congrats
Best regards