One of the great things about Bandon, Oregon, is the various photographic opportunities one has year-round, day or night. One can be down on the beach with a closeup of the various sea stacks and rock outcroppings, or one can put themselves on top of several vantage points for some sweeping views of the area along with its various rock formations. Shooting from Coquille Point has become one of my more favorite places to shoot from during the day and at night both because it offers a nice panoramic view of Bandon Beach to the south or a unique opportunity to capture the clustered rock formation of Coquille Point.

When visiting and shooting an ocean scene like Bandon, a major consideration is planning the visit around the lunar cycle and its corresponding tides; since we have a place in Bandon, I am surprised at the number of workshops that do not take advantage of either a new moon or full moon with their corresponding low tides in the morning and at night. Depending on the goals, these times offer maximum advantage to getting close to the various sea stacks and rock outcroppings.

For this image, not only am I at the crest of Coquille Point looking west at the rocks that extend from the point, but I am also 5 days after a new moon. Since I am out early, just into the start of Nautical twilight, I know I have no moonlight to contend with, but I still have some glow from the lightning sky behind me, which helps mute the lights from Bandon. Using my 14mm allows me to capture all of the sea rocks attributed to Coquille Point, including Elephant Rock on the left. The elephant's truck is in the centre of the rock, its eyes on either side with the ears extending to the ends.