Seal Rock State Park
Years ago, I found myself standing at Seal Rock Beach in Oregon, staring out at the sea stacks rising from the ocean, feeling a shift I didn’t quite understand at the time. It wasn’t just another beach trip or a getaway; it was the moment I realized traveling wasn’t about just seeing new places. It was about understanding them, feeling their significance, and noticing how they fit into the larger story of nature and conservation. Seal Rock was where that realization hit, and it changed the way I looked at everything.
I wasn’t a photographer back then, not officially. I had my trusty iPhone 4S with me, snapping photos because that’s what you do when you find yourself in front of something incredible. But those pictures—I still have them today—are some of my favorites to show people when they ask to see my work. There was something about capturing the tidepools, the seals lounging on the rocks, and the rugged beauty of the coastline that made me want to keep doing it, to keep finding places like this and document them.
Seal Rock wasn’t just beautiful, though. It was my first glimpse into how places are protected and preserved. I had a hundred questions buzzing in my head that day: Why here? What made this stretch of coastline so important? Why was it worth saving over any other? I didn’t have the answers yet, but the questions were enough to spark a curiosity I hadn’t felt before. It was the first time I started to understand that there’s more to a place than just its surface—there’s a whole network of life, conservation, and careful management that makes it what it is.
Those tidepools, filled with starfish and anemones, were like tiny windows into a whole different world. The seals, seemingly lazy but actually incredibly attuned to their environment, were more than just a photo op—they were proof that this place mattered, that someone had fought to protect it, and that it was working. The beauty of it wasn’t just natural; it was intentional, preserved for people like me to stumble upon and, hopefully, appreciate.
That trip to Seal Rock was the spark. It wasn’t until later that I’d realize it had set me on a path toward becoming a photographer, a career that lets me dive deeper into these places and their stories. Back then, I was just a guy with an iPhone, taking pictures of things that felt important in the moment. Now, I know just how important that moment was. Seal Rock was where it all started—my love for photography, my interest in conservation, and my drive to keep exploring the connection between the two. And every time I look back at those photos, I’m reminded of why I started and why I keep going.
