Dunes with Doug, Oregon
Dunes with Doug, Oregon
TECHNICAL
INFORMATION:

Photographed: April 1995
Format: 4x5
Film: TRI-X
Lens:
Exposure:
f/stop:
Development: N

    The advice of a friendly park ranger led us - my son Doug and I - to this lonely stretch of beach south of Florence, Oregon. I was immediately taken with the light, sweeping bushes and wind-swept sand.

    The relaxing scene was in contrast with what had been a very stressful vacation with my then six-year-old son. Though I'd wanted to go on a solo photo adventure, my wife stressed I should take some time to be with Doug. I'm sure she also looked forward to a quiet week.

    Doug doesn't know the meaning of the word "no." There's nothing he won't go explore. So you can imagine how he felt when I told him he could not go anywhere in front of my camera until I had taken a picture. Everything to the north, behind my camera, was fair game to explore.

    Doug walked around a bit while I set up. He's very much aware of the time it takes to prepare a larger format camera having been on little jaunts near home with me since he was old enough to fit in a car seat.

    But the draw of all that beach just in front of my lens was really getting to him. I had to grab him by the collar several times and drag him away from the dunes. He didn't care that he had all the beach north of me. He wanted ALL the beach south of me, too.

    In the only good negative I got of the beach, there are some little footprints on the left edge marking where Doug tried to make his entrance into the scene. Later in the day, I found another tremendous little sandy spot, and again requested he stay behind me.

    He snuck off and approached the spot from another mound of sand. I didn't see him peeking over the edge of the dune until after I clicked the shutter. He then sensed I had taken a photo and that it was OK to walk over and see me.

    I did not get a good image on my first try. There was not a second chance, not with Doug's footprints encircling where I wanted to photograph.

    So this stretch of beach will forever be known to me as Doug's Dunes.

    As of this writing, he's 11 and still very adventurous. He still yearns to be in front of the camera. But his patient has gotten a bit better. He listens to his Sony Walkman while I photograph. And he yells every five minutes that he's bored, hungry and "When can we go?"


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