any LF forum folks in grant's pass, oregon area?

[the smiling gecko]

hello all,

looking to relocate next year to oregon.

wanting to touch base with LF forum folks in grant's pass area or nearby for insight to the area.

looking at the coastline I am boggled by both the near-endless state parks and the number of in-land forest areas!

i have travelled through the area in the past going to portland and into washington state from texas...but never paused for very long - "have 18-wheeler will travel".

wife and i have been "googling" bend, eugene, ashland and grant's pass and taking in the info we find.
we won't know for sure 'till we are actually there, but grant's pass seems to have the combination of weather, population size and "vibe" we are looking for.

it would nice to hear more about the area than just what we have gleaned from the internet. we appreciate your insights and suggestions for settling in.

it would be great to have a LF person to brainstorm/commiserate/learn/share with also.

the smiling gecko, aka kenneth david (and teresa)

[Racer X 69]

i have travelled through the area in the past going to portland and into washington state from texas...but never paused for very long - "have 18-wheeler will travel".

Were you packing the LF gear while in the Big Truck?

When I was still driving Big Trucks I only carried the digital camera gear. I have been up and down the West Coast of the US from Canada to Mexico, and the Oregon coast is (as you pointed out) almost a continuous "park". Many potential locations for photography. And the forested areas between the coast and the Cascade range also offer plenty of scenic vantage points.

Just leave the Peterbilt and the 53 foot trailer at the yard though, and use a car or pickup for your photographic safaris.

[matthew blais]

I've been to Grants Pass a few times, nice little town. My friend retired there.
And I love Oregon State parks...best I've seen in the country...
From GP just an hour and 20 minutes to Shore Acres, one of the best locales to shoot at on the west coast. All up the coast is beautiful.
I've been thinking of heading there to live myself.

I plan a trip there next spring. Good luck!

[the smiling gecko]

hi racer x 69,

most of my years out on the road it's been 35mm and medium format and maybe my crown graphic.

stepped up to the abyss last year and bought a 1905 seneca city view 8x10 from jim galli, then moved a little closer with a 375mm lens from ari...and then leapt OFF the edge a few months ago buying (not paid for yet) a canham 11x14 :

i have started taking my 8x10 kit with me...along with the rest (shakes head?). i haul mainly refrigerated food and that means i have to stay reallll close to the truck when i am loaded to deter possible theft/hi-jack/etc.

however, there are times when i am empty and have down time and have remotely interesting photographic possibilities to explore. i am increasingly of a mind to use my 8x10 for those possibilities.

we are thinking of making grant's pass home and then wandering up and down the coast and in-land to take in the sights...and run through as much as film (conventional and x-ray) and paper and chemicals as i (think) can afford.

hmmmm, now where to park this kenworth t680 & 52' trailer...best at the yard.

thanks again,
t.s.g

[MIke Sherck]

I was in Grant's Pass once and would love to go back. 20 or so years ago on a cross-country road trip, in February, my wife and I were stuck in Grant's Pass while the highway department cleared twenty feet of snow from the interstate. There was the leather and saddle shop with the one-eyed Husky, where after hearing our story the owner and his wife invited us to spend the day in their wonderful warm loft. There was the little restaurant down the street, friends of the leather shop couple, with the most wonderful grilled chicken salad and another invitation to stay as long as we liked. I can't remember which but I think it was the guy or his wife from the leather and saddle shop; they'd come out to the area from Indiana years before and somehow forgot to keep going. Great, wonderful people and a shining memory of a fabulous trip, crossing the Rockies in February and the Cascades in a brief gap between blizzards. Before my large format days but somewhere around here is a box of 4x6 color prints of the trip. I wonder whether any of those people and places are still there?

Mike

[Kuzano]

More likely to find like minded people in Medford... about 30 miles south of Grants Pass. Bigger community and more monied and likely more creative types. Grants Pass is a nice community, grew up on lumber and logging. Renewable resources turned to Marijuana crops when lumber bottom fell out. Same with Roseburg.

Brookings on the coast is remote and beautiful and just North of the border to California. Redwood forests, can you say BIIIIIIG trees, rampant in N. California, couple of hours South of GP, maybe more.

Those beautiful Ocean Waysides... YESSS!!.

However, The Coast highway is rampant with theft to raise money for the Meth and cheap motel Meth labs up and down that coast. Most parking lots are marked however. I lost two full medium format systems on the coast (You can't park where you can see over the dunes), before I switched to a Suburban, with a steel lock box welded to the floor near the tail gate. I travel the Coast, but with care. It's not necessarily dangerous, but any vehicle where you can see items in the car, or a locked trunk easily popped can result in loss.

Beautiful country, with just a lot of desparate people after lumber took a tumble years ago. Secure your gear and happy shooting.

[Peter Gomena]

Medford has an active photographic community. John Wimberley lives there, as does David Lorenz Winston. I love the southern Oregon coast, it's still remote and pretty wild in many places. Grants Pass is a good jumping off point for many photographic adventures.