Rialto Beach

Rialto Beach is near the mouth of the Quillayute River. It is highly regarded as a great beach for sunset photography. However, the whole time we were camped in Forks, WA the cloud cover, especially on the horizon, was too dense to contribute to a nice sunset.  The sea stacks are about a mile hike from the parking lot. Large tree trunks are washed up on the beach and can make for difficult hiking as one navigates around and over them.

I asked Tom if this guy was catching anything.  "Yep.  Seaweed!"

Just Another Beach Sunset

One might think that so many sunset opportunities would become 'ho hum'.  Not so!  Each beach presents its own 'personality' and the change each day of lighting makes it exciting.  This evening we headed out for our last sunset shot with Daragh and our newly formed 'family'.  We left early so we could stop several times along the way.

But first, we had the fun of shooting yet another old structure.  There are so many of these in the area and I often wondered who lived here, and what was their life like?  One thing they had was a great view!

I think, but am not sure, that this is the Dún Chaoin Pier.  If you wish to shoot this scene for a calendar competition, arrive in better light and arrange for a local sheep herder to move his sheep down the walkway!!

Here is an opportunity for Ann and Greg H. to combine their love of hiking with Greg's interest in photography and Ann's growing interest in photography.  No losers on this option.

We thought Tom was lost.  Nope.  Just out getting a shot that the rest of us would not get!

As the gold sets in.  The three ridges on the left are called Three Sisters.

For a while I could not shoot.  All I wanted to do was sit and watch and whisper, "Oh WOW!" under my breath.  When a wave like that hit the rocks my heart would pound hard and I felt privileged to be a witness to the power of nature.

Our group was quiet as we returned to the hotel for dinner.  Perhaps we were in an appropriate  state of reverence, or perhaps we were just tired and overwhelmed.  For sure there was a bit of sadness realizing that our trip was almost over.  One more shoot left, a sunrise over Connor Pass in the morning.

Sunset on a Slea Head Beach

We checked into our hotel in Dingle and headed for the beach.  Goal: get an awesome sunset shot.

There were plenty of opportunities to shoot before the sunset.

Getting in a bit o' gold.

As I enter this post I am sitting at the Dublin Airport, all checked in.  Headed for Chicago and then on to Phoenix.  We have about 5 more posts to catch up and will do so quickly.  Our trip has continued to be just awesome and we have enjoyed knowing that you are following along.