a large body of water with a small island in the background

This thing is bigger than it looks. Here’s a gray whale I captured along the Oregon Coast near a small town called Depoe Bay. Nature is so freaking awesome. 

Dan Meyers

Getting whale video and photos with a drone has long been on my photography bucket list. I filmed mostly video tonight but here’s one of the stills I took of a resident gray whale near Depoe Bay in Oregon. It was a rare sunny day so I used an 8 stop ND/PL filter on my Mavic 2 Pro to cut through the glare. The Mavic 2 is an awesome drone but you have to use manual controls and the right filter to capture barnacle-level detail. This gentle giant’s spout is wide open and as this photo was processing, it exhaled and got mist on my lens filter. Totally worth it.

If I had chosen a more lucrative profession, I would definitely buy one of these houses. There's a cool and mysterious cave at the back of this small cove that actually leads all the way to the other side of this strip of land that sticks out into the Pacific Ocean in Depoe Bay, Oregon.

Gotta love whale tail. Here’s the last of three photos I’m uploading of a gray whale I spotted off the Oregon Coast near the town of Depoe Bay. I’ve tried whale watching with a drone before but this is the first time a whale and the volatile Oregon coast weather cooperated. I used an 8-stop ND/PL filter and a Mavic 2 Pro drone to photograph this magnificent marine mammal.

a large body of water next to a rocky shore

Waves breaking mere feet away from ocean-side mansions. How long will the natural barrier last?

Alex Moliski

White concrete bridge along the Oregon Coast on Otter Creek Road, near Devil's Punchbowl State Park.

Steven Trotter

Notice the man standing on this pretty and colorful strip of rock sticking out into the Pacific Ocean? I like how the tip appears to have broken off and is now floating out to sea. And since this will likely be submerged in a few decades because of melting ice caps, might as well appreciate its simple and natural beauty while we have the chance.

white and blue boat on sea during daytime

Depoe bay