The Devil’s in the Details: Textures

Hello once again! It’s been awhile and I’m happy to be bringing you more helpful suggestions about how to view this world through photography and travel. Today it’s all about TEXTURES. Let’s get into it!

My wife loves the beach! It contains her moment of Zen. It recharges her spirit and offers relaxation and stress release. Now I’ve always been a fan of the woods. The sights and smells do the same things for me as the coast does for my bride. If I’m honest, the coast is growing on me the more we go. Newport, Oregon is a favorite of ours. We’ve stayed there more than any other place on the Oregon Coastline.

On our way home, from Newport, we drove to Seaside, Oregon. This beach gets hit with heavy tourist traffic during the Summer months. But in October, it’s a cool town to explore. The beach itself was void of allot of people and, being in a mindful mood, I switched my camera to macro, Nikon P1000, and walked along the shoreline being present in the moment. Photographing anything that caught my eye as interesting and detailed.

It was later in the afternoon so the late Autumn sun had a wonderful warm glow to it, as seen in the photo to the left.

Sand can be such a metaphor for time. Either erosion, or the burying of objects by wind storms, and how long it has taken to accomplish either task. The image to the right, although not huge by any capacity, is partially buried. The detail of the tiny sand dollar helps with the context of size with the main part of the subject. It may not seem fruitful to some to photograph such items when at the beach. For me, it’s all a lesson on observation. The more you practice, the more it helps you to see things in detail. No matter where you go in the world, your eye will continue to seek out the details in what you see. For photographic purposes, the skill is immeasurable.

There is so much to see, all sorts of details of current, or past, lives scattered on sandy beaches. The previous owner of this claw was more than likely devoured by a Seagull. They can field strip the main body of a crab with their powerful beaks, but not so much with crab’s legs. You will most likely find quite a few like remnants as you stroll along.

This fish head, to the left, was more than likely caught by a larger predator than what you’d normally see at the Oregon Coast. Since it is void of its body, it would be difficult to suggest what exactly caught this specimen. However, either man or raptor is responsible for this lost head. Just one more detail to observe while at the coast. Any ideas of what species of fish this might be, leave me a comment on what you think it might be. My thought is Lingcod, but I’m open to other suggestions.

So this last photo is what I sort of mentioned above. On our way out of Seaside, I noticed this magnificent specimen of a Bald Eagle sitting on a branch of a large, dead tree. Baldies can adapt to most anywhere they decide to nest. They are adept at hunting, but if times are tough, they will eat carrion as well. But if I was a betting man, I would say a person was responsible for leaving behind the head in the photo above. An eagle would have carried the entire fish back to its nest to feast on. But what fisherman does anything with the head? Not allot would…they would leave it behind. Or, it washed up ashore from a fishing boat expedition while being cleaned and cut-up out on the ocean. Either way, just another detail at the coast!

When you allow yourself to be observant, to see all that you can in the detail of your surroundings have to offer, then your world will grow in a most awesome way. Who’d a thought that you would see a Bald Eagle at the coast? Allow yourself to notice, What Doesn’t Belong, and you will see interesting scenes well worth capturing! I hope you enjoyed this little journey of observation and I look forward to bringing you more of those and other stories from traveling around the PNW…and other places! Until the next issue, take care of yourselves and each other…be and travel well!