In my quest to (1) get more exercise, (2) stretch my photography a bit, and (3) singlehandedly clean up the beaches of Oregon (!), I set out at a minus tide with my camera and just a 10-17mm fisheye lens.
Well, I got a lot of exercise, picked up a lot of trash, and came to the conclusion that a 10-17mm fisheye lens isn't the most versatile lens for this terrain/subject matter. I stopped first at an overlook just south of "my" beach to photograph the rocks below and a sign that is looking a bit rusty and weathered these days. I find the headine, "Welcome to Our Home," quite sad, given the amount of garbage I found on the beach.
By pointing the camera downward I can really exaggerate the curvature of the lens, which is actually kind of cool. In moderation. Here my back is to the ocean and I'm looking across a large tidepool toward the bluffs in the distance.
And then finally you see part of what I picked up on my walk. I put whatever I could find into my plastic bag until my back gave out. During my two-mile walk I picked up trash along just a half-mile of it. What I'm finding is PLASTIC. Lots and lots of plastic. Water bottles, lids, caps, scraps, and parts of white fish containers (like the containers in my previous eel photographs). I'm finding soda straws, styrofoam, baggies, bits of fishing nets, and flip-flops. I left behind a very large bleach container, a plastic shoe (Croc), and a baggie full of dog poop. One can do only so much.
P.S. Happy birthday to you-know-who and also to friend-of-you-know-who. Love, Carol, Chris, and, of course, Abby! ©Carol Leigh
