Oregon is the next state up from California and has a coastline that rivals, or betters, California's famed Pacific Coast Highway, but without the crowds. This was the attraction and the main reason for our visit. Our first stop was Brookings, a small town just 6 miles north of the California border, or 380 miles north of San Francisco. We stayed in a hotel right on the beach; even with the windows closed you could still hear the waves of the Pacific lapping on the beach throughout the night, very therapeutic.  Less therapeutic was the weather. It was raining heavily when we arrived, very Scottish like, but it did stop sufficiently for us to head out for a few optimistic sunset shots. 10 minutes in the car and a short hike later we arrived at Arch Rock viewpoint. It was at this point I discovered that leaving your L Bracket in your suitcase is not the best idea. Doh! I fired off some high ISO handheld shots, then tried a few with the camera resting on a bumpy fence post, though discovering that my remote release was in the same small bag as my L Bracket didn't help matters. Ultimately the sunset didn't amount to much, and with plenty of more opportunities pending I wasn't too despondent.
I recently wrote an article for On Landscape, an online photography magazine based in the UK. You can read it by clicking HERE (note - a subscription may be required).