Oregon II

by Archie Satterfield

Book by ATKESON, Ray

191 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1974

About the author

Archie Satterfield is the author of several books about Alaska and the Klondike.

Reviews

[Scott Benowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the title implies, this book is a photo essay, traveling through Oregon. This book was published in 1974,, it appears that the photos in this book were taken during the early 1970's.
This book predates digital cameras, drones and digital photography software. While the technologies which are available to photographers today in 2023 are worlds away from the 35mm film technologies which photographers had been using throughout the second half of the 20th century, the fundamental concepts of what constitutes graceful compositions in terms of interplay between shapes, use of colors and the contrast between light and shadows have not changed. The photos in this book are all quite beautiful.
If you enjoy landscape photography, outdoor photography, nature photography or if you enjoy traveling in Oregon or in the Pacific northwest region then you will thoroughly enjoy this book.

[Em Daugherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful photo book about Oregon by my fav photographer to capture the state, Ray!!

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the second book I have read from this author [1], and like the other book, a classic coffee table book [2]. Like its predecessor, it has a large amount of beautiful photos, most of them of the Oregon countryside. If you are fond of traveling around the wilderness of rural Oregon, there are a lot of places that this book shows that will likely be familiar [3] and bring back fond memories of one's previous explorations. For those who have not seen the beautiful vistas that Oregon has to offer, this book is a subtle and gorgeous encouragement to such people to leave the confines of their current place and engage in some exploring. The trip gave me some ideas for future exploring, although admittedly some of those places were quite remote--like rural Eastern Oregon as well as Jacksonville. The author clearly has a fondness for certain places he goes to over and over again--Cape Kiwanda comes to come as it is photographed often--but he does show parts of the entire state and those who like the beauty of Oregon will find a great deal to appreciate here.

The contents of this book are even more straightforward than they were in the previous book I read from the author. At the beginning of the book there is a somewhat lengthy discussion of the origins of Oregon and its relative neglect in terms of the iconography of the West, where the author of the text comments that Oregonians have a love of beauty, a dislike of being too densely packed into space, and that Oregonians unlike some people are not prone to bragging about the beauty that they have in the state, and that seems pretty true. After this introduction, though, the only text is the fairly minimal captioning of the next 150 pages or so of photos, which makes for some very gorgeous views of places as different as the sand dunes of Florence or the Columbia Gorge near the Dalles, the waterfalls of the Mackenzie or Columbia Rivers, the wild plains of rural southeastern Oregon, or the rugged and remote Wallowa Mountains. If one wants to be encouraged to go on tours to see historic towns or enjoy rugged and beautiful treasures of Oregon's creation, this book has a lot to choose from, taken by a skillful photographer who deserves credit for his fondness for shots of plants and animals and the occasional person.

So, what kind of audience would most appreciate this book. Do you like somewhat old but beautiful books that would fit in well on a coffee table and make guests from other parts of the United States jealous? Do you like looking at sights that make you wonder when you are taking your next trip to some remote area for camping or hiking or a driving tour? Do you like photos of horses running across an open plain, or Mount Hood rising over the Portland skyline, of farms in the Tualatin Valley, of sand dunes and waterfalls and forests and waves and flowers and the gentle flow of lazy rivers through remote wilderness? If any of these is true, then you will find a lot to appreciate about this book. I have found quite a few of these volumes lying around, and as someone who enjoys the sight of beautiful photographs of creation, I have the feeling I will be reading and reviewing more books by this author given the fact that they capture the beauty of Oregon to such a great degree, even if the books are as old or older than I am. Thankfully, many of these sights are ones that a tourist can still see, and that is something to appreciate.

[1] http://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016/...

[2] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015...

[3] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://marklindner.info/blog/2015/03/...