Walk date: August, 2022
Today I will be showing another VR gallery from my road trip from Salt Lake City to Seattle. While some of this journey was inland, I managed to stay on highway 101 right along the coast from San Francisco up to somewhere around Depoe Bay in Oregon. I would like to return and do more of the 101 at some point, as this drive was absolutely breathtaking – following right along the shoreline and driving over inlets at some points, while climbing into the hills, or through redwood-filled forests at others. Seeing the changes to the coast itself when crossing between states was fascinating as a non-US visitor – the flat rocks jutting out at odd angles along the coast in Oregon, or the golden sands and misty forests along the shore in California.
I stopped countless times on this drive, pulling in whenever I had the chance, while trying to stop my journey-time spiralling out of control! As I mentioned in the last post, my air-conditioning had already died at this point, and the odd break helped me keep my sanity. This stop at DeMartin Beach Picnic Area was one of the most visually interesting. DeMartin beach appears to be the Northern part of Wilson Creek beach, though apologies to any locals if I have misunderstood the map! The view from this stopping point included the highway bridge crossing over the creek and sandy beach below – this juxtaposition of nature and mass transit made for an interesting subject.
The view in the other direction shows the path of the highway and is exemplary of the kinds of scenery I was presented with for the roughly 600 miles for which I followed this road. The photograph below shows the mist that was covering the forest and road as it slowly flowed out to sea.
The featured image for this post shows the rocks that are on the shore opposite the highway bridge. When taking VR photographs I try and find interesting geometry such as this to include to help provide the sense of depth and immersion. Learning how to frame a photograph that takes up the entire 180 degrees in front of the camera has been a challenge that I have enjoyed! It is satisfying to find a shot like this with objects of interest that can lie along the edges of the scene and keep the sky and background nicely framed.
For a helpful guide on navigating the images in the VR gallery, please see the tips pinned to the left-hand side, or follow the link to the How To page. The gallery can be viewed on a non-VR device such as a mobile phone or laptop and will allow you to pan around the images. The gallery contains 8 images and will loop when you get to the end. Please click the image below to enjoy the VR experience:
