King Tides of The Pacific Northwest

At the treacherous mouth of the Columbia River, where the Pacific Ocean collides with the rugged shoreline, winter brings an awe-inspiring display of unbridled power. The Cape Disappointment Collection documents the explosive fury of the annual King Tides.

Standing as a silent sentinel above the chaos, the historic Cape Disappointment Lighthouse provides scale to rogue waves that routinely explode over a hundred feet into the air. Capturing these images requires braving freezing gale-force winds and relentless sea spray to freeze the fleeting, emerald-green translucence of the crashing surf.

A Fine art landscape photograph during the King tides at Cape Disappointment, captured by Andrew Sambuceto.
A Fine art landscape photograph during the King tides at Cape Disappointment, captured by Andrew Sambuceto.
A Fine art landscape photograph during the King tides at Cape Disappointment, captured by Andrew Sambuceto.
A Fine art landscape photograph during the King tides at Cape Disappointment, captured by Andrew Sambuceto.
A lighthouse on a cliff overlooks a stormy ocean with large crashing waves.
Sunset over ocean waves crashing against rocks with a lighthouse on a cliff in the background.
Large ocean wave crashing against rocky cliff with cloudy sky in the background.
Rough ocean waves crashing against a rocky cliffside, with seagulls flying overhead, during a stormy day.
Waves crashing against rocky coastline with lighthouse on cliff at sunset
Ocean waves crashing near rocky shoreline with lighthouse on a hill, trees, and cloudy sky at sunset.
A lighthouse on a cliff with large ocean waves crashing below, overcast sky, and trees on the hill.