Washington and Oregon Landscape Photography: The Pacific North West offers some of the most diverse landscapes in the US. From seascapes, to mountains, waterfalls and deserts. There is an adventure for everyone. I spent multiple trips capturing many of the beautiful landscapes. Shooting landscape photography, waterfalls, Astrophotography and more. Here are a few images taken from the journeys.
Driving up from San Francisco, my trips usually start out at Crater Lake in Southern Oregon. Its one of the most stunning landscapes I have ever been to, and offers unbelievable views. Here is a self portrait panorama of me sitting under the Milky Way. One of all the Milky Way photography I have done over the years, this is definitely one of my favorite photos.
Here are three more Crater Lake images, one of a lone tree and the Galaxy. The other two were taken during sunrise.
Another amazing location in Southern Oregon is Toketee Falls. The first image was taken on the trail to the falls and the 2nd image was taken from the waterfall overlook.
Not far from Bend Oregon is Sparks Lake. The lake offers incredible views of Broken Top and South Sister Mountain. There two images were taken during a vivid sunrise.
Wahclella Falls, Oneonta and Spirit Falls taken in the Columbia Gorge. Three of my favorite places to do landscape photography in the Pacific North West.
Out of all the waterfalls I photographed my favorite was Lower Panther Falls in Washington. While it was not the tallest of the largest waterfall, it had stunning shapes and lines.
A quick walk up the hill from Lower Panther is Upper Panther Falls.
I spent a good amount of time trying to capture Milky Way photography over the beautiful mountain peaks in the Pacific North West. The first image is the Galaxy over the Tatoosh Range. The second is a closeup of the Milky Way over Mount Saint Helens and the last image is of the Galaxy over Mount Rainier.
When people think of Oregon Photography they think of waterfalls, mountains, coastlines. But Oregon has some spectacular desert scenes as well. A spontaneous decision took some friends and I on an 8 hour drive to the Alvord Desert Playa. The remote desert location was an incredible place to camp and explore. We spent three days capturing a variety of conditions and I was even able to shoot Milky Way photography during the clearing of a storm.
Aerial photography has become one of my favorite ways to capture unique perspectives. I spent some time flying my drone over the Painted Hills in Oregon and some surrounding desert locations.
The Oregon Coast is incredible. Giant sea-stacks with trees on the top. These images were taken at Samuel H Boardman State Corridor. I had gone to this location to photograph Milky Way photography, every-time getting cloudy weather. One night I lucked out and shot these three images. In the last image the blue shine in the water is actually Bioluminescence from marine plankton. These are some of my absolute favorite places to shoot Astrophotography. The trick is finding a time when it is not cloudy.
Another amazing Oregon photography location is Cape Kiwanda, found on the Oregon Coast. The First image is an areal photo taken from above. The sound image was taken from below during twilight.
The last location on my list is the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. One of the most spectacular coastlines I have ever explored. The first image was taken at Ruby Beach during twilight and the second image was taken during sunset at Rialto Beach. This was actually my first time shooting photography in Washington.
The Pacific North West is an incredible place. I hope to keep exploring and building to this portfolio. I feel as though I have barley scratched the surface of what is possible. I really hope you all enjoyed viewing images from my Oregon and Washington Photography series. I will be adding more images to this collection soon.
Brilliant!
Awesome work!!
Thanks!
Amazing work!!
Thanks so much!
Beautifully made…loved the way you have formatted the article and the images…made at the right moments
Possibly the finest collection of photos I have ever seen, Michael.
Thank you so much Randy, that means a lot!
Amazing pictures. Specially the ‘Soft glow’ look on your pictures takes the viewer into another dimension
Simply killer photos. Nice work!!!
Thanks Martin!
I was born and raised in Ashland Oregon, and I was so Moved by how you Captured the Absolute Stunning Beauty of the landmarks that I grew up around. My Father took me to Crater Lake many times as a child, and I have been back as an adult a few times but I have Never seen it like you have Captured it. Absolutely Stunning Work. Thank You for the treat!! You have a New Fan!!
Michael, you know why I love your work so much? It’s because you use a camera to transcend the capabilities of human experience. You don’t try to capture a moment the way we experience it, but rather capture something more profound. Fucking amazing, keep it up.
These are outstanding shots of the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Before getting into photography, I used to spend 1 week every month in the greater Seattle area. Talk about regrets! Wish I had been into photography back then.
Great shots! Can’t wait to see more.
So enjoyed the photos especially the milky way shots. How do you know when and where it will be visible?