Oregon Coast Photo Workshop 

Location - Portland, OR.

Dates: May 22 —  27, 2025

Tuition:

• $2100 per participant before 09/01/2023,
• $2300 per participant after 09/01/2023

(limit: 8 participants). 

Instructor: Alex Mironyuk

Deposit: $500 (payments accepted for the remainder of the balance)

This five-day workshop may be on the most picturesque coast on the entire Earth — the Pacific Coast of Oregon State. Countless sea stacks with the sunset going down behind them, tide pools with colorful starfishes, hard-packed beaches, and lighthouses are waiting for us!

You will get a chance to see with your own eyes and photograph the Pacific Ocean as you have never seen it before. I will lead you to photograph my favorite places around the coast. 

This workshop will help you master your photography skills and boost your creative process. It is hands-on, and I will be with you every step. We will cover composition, camera settings, chasing the light, nighttime photography, focus stacking, panorama shooting, and much more.

We picked the time for our workshop based on the tide prediction and the annual average weather conditions for Oregon’s coast in December.  

Workshop highlights:  Every day, we will have sunrise and sunset sessions on the beach while we gaze at the beautiful beaches, trying to find the best angles for our shots. During the daytime, when lighting conditions are harsh and contrasting, we will rest and improve our editing skills in Lightroom and Photoshop. We will have two classes during our workshop: one for photography techniques and one for post-production.

Physical Difficulty: Easy to moderate. This workshop Involves short hikes from the parking to beaches and features anywhere from 0 — 300 ft of elevation gain. In case of inclement weather, we will take short walks in the closest mountains toward some waterfalls.

Fitness Level: Like any outdoor nature photography workshop, a reasonable degree of fitness is ideal. We will not be engaging in strenuous physical activity, but every participant should be able to hike 1 — 2 miles with all photo gear.  

Transportation:  is included in tuition.

Lodging: The simple hotel/motel lodging (double occupancy) is included in the tuition. Every room will have two beds and a shower. In case of inclement weather, where we need to change the itinerary, cancel our booked hotels, and book new ones, we will only be able to get last-minute hotel availability. Under those circumstances, we can’t guarantee the quality of the rooms and the amenities.

Day 2. May 23, Friday

We will start our journey toward the Pacific Ocean in the early morning (way before sunrise). We will go toward the famous Ecola State Park. We will get the first sunrise in our workshop on the steep cliff.

Our next stop that morning will be Cannon Beach, with several sea stacks along the shoreline. We will take our morning pictures for at least an hour in that fantastic location.

After breakfast in Cannon Beach, we will drive south on one of the most scenic roads in the USA — the Oregon Coast Highway. We will stop many, many times at countless viewpoints and parks. 

By the end of the day, we will get to Thor’s Well, the unique place where you can see, with the proper tide level, how the ocean drains into “a funnel.” This is our very first sunset location in this workshop.

But our day is not over yet. We will try to get to one more photo destination at twilight—the Heceta Head Lighthouse—and capture the light beam that goes toward the endless ocean.

Hotel in Yachats, OR

Day 3. May 24, Saturday

We will meet at one of the Yachats' beaches at the first morning light with countless sea stacks. Afterward, we will go to Bandon, OR, for two days.

After checking into our hotel, we will have our first class.

We will teach a variety of photo techniques that will help you improve your skills and your artistic vision, focusing on several professional tricks for shooting robust nature images, such as:

• Working with dramatic light during sunrise and sunset
• Using regular midday light to your advantage
• The fundamentals of powerful composition

Our Sunset session will be at the famous and beautiful Bandon Beach.

Hotel in Bandon

Day 4. May 25, Sunday

In the morning, we will be at Bandon Beach again.

Today, we will spend some time in the historic Bandon Old Town, and after lunch, we will have our second class. We will also teach professional “Digital Darkroom” secrets and the fundamentals of image processing, including but not limited to:

• Raw converting in Lightroom
• Using some Lightroom filters
• Working with adjustment layers
• Layer masking and image blending techniques
• Color management and special effects for artistic expression
• Preparing images for optimum web presentation

In the evening, we will be at Bandon Beach again, trying to position ourselves against the sunset to get a perfect shot of the sea stacks' silhouettes with some tide pools.

Hotel in Bandon

Day 5. May 26, Monday

Coquille River Lighthouse — is a small but lovely and recently renovated lighthouse just 20 minutes from Bandon. For the morning session, we are headed towards this lighthouse.

After breakfast, we will start driving north along the coast and have one more chance to take additional pictures of Thor’s Well. Also, we will perhaps visit the highest cliff on the Oregon Pacific Coast at Cape Perpetua. Here, we can see the shoreline with the waves crashing onto sea stacks and shore cliffs from the height of a flying bird.

We will go to one of the Yachats' beaches for our sunset session again.

Hotel in Yachats, OR

Day 6. May 27, Tuesday

On the last morning of our workshop, we again will be at one of the Yachats' beaches with countless sea stacks.

After breakfast, we are going to the Yaquina Head Outstanding Area, which has one of the tallest Oregon lighthouses and one of the best tide pools along the shoreline.

We will have our workshop’s last lunch in one of the countless seafood places at Newport with fresh crabs, oysters, and a wide variety of fish (catch of the day)

After that, we will go to Portland, where our workshop will officially end. Remember that we will be in Portland just around 4 — 5 PM, so you can’t fly from Portland before 7 PM.

Payment schedule and cancellation policy:

The total price for the trip is $2100 if you book this tour before 09/01/2024; after that date, the price is $2300. 

A  deposit of $ 500 is due during sign-up to reserve a space for this trip.

Cancellation Policy—Your deposit is fully refundable up to 60 days before the trip starts (March 22, 2025). If you decide to cancel your trip after that date, your deposit becomes non-refundable.

The final balance is due by March 23, 2025. Full payment is due at this time, and there will be no refunds on the total amount owed if you cancel after the final price. However, if we find another client to fill your space, you will receive a full refund minus your non-refundable deposit.

If we cancel this trip— you will get a full refund.

What is included:

• Basic lodging (2 persons per room);
• Transportation (minivan or 12 seaters van);
• Expert instructions and guidance to a beautiful variety of Oregon’s Coast locations.
• In-field instruction on capture technique (composition, compensating for high dynamic range, focus stacking, creating influential sun stars, night photography, light painting, and much more)
• In-field recommendation on your photo gear.
• An incredible, unforgettable experience, full of adventure with amazing people and loads of great photos!!!

What is NOT included:

• Airfare to/from Portland, OR;
• Hotel in Portland on the last day of the workshop;
• Meals and snacks;
• Medical Insurance & Incidental Costs.