Photographing Thor's Well at Cape Perpetua: A Local's Guide
Thor's Well has a few nicknames — "the drainpipe of the Pacific," "the gate to the underworld" — and standing next to it at high tide, both feel earned. It's a gaping hole in the basalt shelf at Cape Perpetua that appears to swallow the ocean whole, then spit it back out in a geyser of spray. It's one of the most photographed spots on the Oregon Coast, and one of the most dangerous. Here's how to shoot it — and how to come home with the shot and your shoes.
Where is Thor's Well?
Thor's Well sits in the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area, just south of Yachats off Highway 101. Park at the Cook's Chasm pullout or the Cape Perpetua day-use area and walk out onto the rock shelf toward the sound of the surf. You'll usually spot other photographers out there — follow them, but don't follow them too close to the edge.
When to go: tide and light
Timing is everything. The Well "performs" best on an incoming tide, roughly an hour on either side of high tide — too low and it's just a hole in the rock; too high and the whole shelf floods (and turns deadly). Always check a tide table before you go.
For light, sunset is the classic — the wet basalt glows and the sky lights up behind the spray. Winter brings the biggest swells and the most drama, along with the most danger.
A serious word on safety
People have died at Thor's Well. The basalt is slick, sneaker waves arrive without warning, and the same surge that makes the Well dramatic can take your footing in a second. Never turn your back on the ocean, keep well back from the edge, and when the swell is big, shoot from higher ground. No photograph is worth it.
How I made "Above the Well"
Most photographers shoot Thor's Well from the rock shelf, right at its lip. I went the other way. For Above the Well, I climbed the hill above Cape Perpetua and used a long lens to look down into it during a high-tide swell. From up there you see what you can't from the ground — the geology, the scale, and the danger, all in one frame, and not a single person in the shot.
It's a different way to see a place everyone photographs the same way. That's usually what I'm after.
Tips for your own shot
- Bring a tripod and a neutral-density filter if you want to smooth the water or shoot longer exposures at sunset.
- Protect your gear — salt spray gets on everything. A rain cover and a microfiber cloth are essential.
- Try the high angle from the hill for a perspective most people never get.
- Be patient. Wait for the surge that fills and erupts the Well, and shoot a burst.
Take it home
If you'd rather have the shot than risk the rocks, Above the Well is available as a signed, archival fine art print — made to order in my studio in Newport. See more of the Oregon Coast in The Gallery, or read the stories behind each frame in The Working Frame.
