In the Cape Perpetua area of southern Oregon is a coastal rock formation known as Thor’s Well. At high tide it is fascinating to watch as it fills with seawater, spouts and then sucks the water back down with each incoming wave. If has become a hot spot for photographers to catch the spectacle. The shot above was taken during sunset. It was so incredible to see, that we returned to the well the following morning to shoot it again where I captured a different perspective below. (Safety warning: if you visit in person, take care as the rocks are slippery and sharp, large waves could potentially knock you down!)
(workshop guide info)

I just returned from an awesome workshop along the southern Oregon and northern California coasts, starting in Eugene, OR and ending in San Francisco, CA. One of the first stops along the Pacific was Seal Rock Wayside where we photographed the beach at sunrise.

Things were off to a great start and I’ll be posting more images over the next couple of days from the trip.

Well, not really a top ten list but rather ten images selected from my photography adventures over this past year, in chronological order:

Brown Pelican, St. Augustine, Florida

Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italy

Mission San Francisco de Asis, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico

Great Falls Park, Virginia

Young Elephant Seal, Piedras Blancos, California

Horses at Hearst Castle, California

Garrapata State Park, California

Farmland in the area around Palouse, Washington

Reflection Lakes, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

Stream in the Smoky Mountains, North Carolina

A couple days after the devastating storm called Sandy moved up the east coast, I drove over to Great Falls, Virginia to photograph the Potomac River. The water level was high from the torrential rains. The river narrows down to a rocky chute in this spot and the scenery was quite dramatic.

At the end of October I attended a 3 day workshop in the Smoky mountains, photographing the fall color.  This was the first time I had been to the southeastern side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park  and the surrounding landscape of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s an area with fewer crowds than the north side of the park but with just as many streams, waterfalls and beautiful mountain views.

A few spots had passed peak color but in many areas the color was still spectacular. The weather was perfect, the workshop was highly educational and my fellow photographers were a joy to shoot with. A lot of photography over the 3 days…more images at this link.

I traveled to Blackwater Falls State Park, WV this past weekend to check out the fall tree color. The trees have changed there as evidenced by the golden colored leaves dotting this view of Elekala Falls. There was also change in the air temperature there as the thermometer gauge in my car registered 23 degrees outside and frost covered everything in the meadows of Canaan Valley State Park, which added a little early winter to the fall scene.

After spending a couple of great days in the Palouse farmlands, Mount Rainier National Park was the next stop. Even though it was mid August, the wildflowers had just recently started blooming in this subalpine region, making it feel like springtime. Lupine, Paintbrush, Beargrass and Avalanche Lilies were popping out everywhere.

Mount Rainier is a massive mountain, an active volcano, in the Cascade Range in western Washington. It stands at 14,410 feet and dominates the surrounding landscape. One morning the winds were calm providing a nice reflection of  the mountain in the appropriately named, Reflection Lake. To see more images from Mount Rainier National Park, click here.

 If you’re interested in photographing in this part of the country,  photographer Jennifer King will be offering workshops in the Palouse and Mount Rainier areas next year. For more information, click here .