[• TITLE •] Middle Nemah River Estuary, Washington, 2020
[• SUBJECT •] A black and white landscape photograph of the Middle Nemah River estuary along Willapa Bay in rural Pacific County, Washington.
[• EXIF •] Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 24-70/4 S lens, ISO 400, 24 mm, f11, 1/80 second.
[• THE STORY BEHIND THE IMAGE •]
On my frequent drives along US101 between Astoria, Oregon, and my home in South Bend, Washington, I kept passing by a small gravel road leading to a small parking lot just off the highway.
Finally, one day while out exploring with my camera in hand, I pulled off the highway to find a Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife parking lot. There was only enough room for several vehicles. An old road from the parking lot headed off into the forest towards Willapa Bay.
After several hundred feet, the road petered out and into an unmaintained trail through the brush and over fallen trees, eventually leading out onto the grassy estuary. Later I would discover that this is the Nemah River Estuary Wildlife Area.
What immediately caught my attention was this lone tree along the bank of one of the Middle Nemah River’s many tributaries.
Attempting to avoid wet feet while navigating the marshy estuary, I eventually made my way to the location where I composed and captured this image.
The moody lighting on this dark and gloomy day made ideal conditions for this black and white landscape photograph. As soon as I was happy with the capture, the rain started falling quite heavily as I made my way back into the forest and back to my vehicle.
