TILLAMOOK, Ore. — Oregon’s coastal scenery may beguile you into believing that all is calm and serene where the ocean meets the shore. That’s not always true! There is also risk and danger for fishermen crossing the bar at Tillamook Bay.
Sometimes, the best scenery is hiding in plain sight. That’s certainly true of the over-the-shoulder scene that’s lost to most folks driving up the new mile-and-a-half Cape Meares Loop Road along Tillamook Bay.
But Don Backman knew it was a keeper shortly after the road reopened last fall following a decade long closure.
“The view you have from this high spot looks north across Tillamook Bay all the way up to Neahkahnie Mountain and it’s amazing," he said. "I think it’s one of the better ones on the coast.”
Don promised us the best was yet to come. He was right! A new scenic overlook created by Tillamook County Road planners to Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge is unique and stunning.
“A million-dollar shot,” said Backman. “You would not have seen the view before the new road was built. This is the only place you’re going to see it. I’ve hiked most of the Oregon coast on the coast trail, so I’ve seen all the views and this is right up there with any of them. The contrast between the whitewater and the dark rocks is beautiful.”
Backman’s beauty shots are easy to come by in his corner of the state. The lifelong local and retired teacher makes the most of gorgeous outdoor neighborhoods in Tillamook County. The area offers views to eagles and herons and egrets galore.
Not bad for a fellow gifted with an eye for the wild who was hooked when he bought his first camera at age 12.
“Photography was like a whole new world,” exclaimed Backman. “I could go out and take an image and develop it in a darkroom and see it come to life. It was a way to tell a story and really a lot of fun.”
Backman’s latest storytelling challenge takes him where the wind and rain and towering surf are fierce — atop the jetty rocks at Barview at the mouth of Tillamook Bay, when the hardcore fishers go to work.
“If you watch the crab fishermen go in and out, and how they read the water and how they pick their way crossing the bar, it’s amazing skill that they do what they do,” Backman said.
Don does what few photographers ever try — capturing up to two dozen Oregon Dungeness crab boats crossing the Tillamook bar, day and night from January through spring.
Bob Browning is a longtime fisher and owner/skipper of the Lady Lee.
“Every day is different — every swell is a different direction, a different period length,” said Browning. “There will be times when you have to make a decision to keep going or to turn around and you only have a split second to do it and you’re either safe or you’re not.”
Browning said the trips are never twice the same and you had better know the way to cross safely under ever-changing conditions. Backman’s photos get it right, he added.
“Don knows the minute to hit the button!" Browning said. "He doesn’t just catch you in the action, he catches you at the peak of the action. The wave surf hitting the boat or the spray coming off the boat when a wave hits. He gets the shot at just the right moment and he’s really good!”
Backman’s commitment to capture fishermen’s wild and dangerous commute with his camera is an important story of the Oregon men and women who put the food on our tables.
Be sure to watch the weekly half hour program of Grant’s Getaways. The show airs each Saturday and Sunday at 4 p.m. on KGW.
You can also learn more about many of my favorite Oregon travels and adventures in the Grant’s Getaways book series, including:
- "Grants Getaways I," Photography by Steve Terrill
- "Grant's Getaways II," Photography by Steve Terrill
- “Grant’s Getaways: 101 Oregon Adventures,” Photography by Jeff Kastner
- “Grant’s Getaways: Guide to Wildlife Watching in Oregon,” Photography by Jeff Kastner
- “Grant’s Getaways: Oregon Adventures with the Kids,” Photography by Jeff Kastner
The book collection offers hundreds of outdoor activities across Oregon and promises to engage a kid of any age.
You can reach me: Gmcomie@kgw.com