Neal Keny-Guyer could tell you what it feels like to go fly-fishing in Kamchatka. He could express the lasting impact of his trip to the Thai-Cambodian border at the height of conflict in 1980, or what it feels like in Beirut after a car bomb explodes in the middle of an otherwise pleasant afternoon.
We sent photographer Aubrie LeGault out to Heppner and highways 207 and 74 to capture what we thought might make an interesting photo subject—grain elevators. She stunned us with this beautiful tribute to farmers in the Blue Mountain Valley. Her photos represent a heightened attention to detail and a love affair with the subject. Here we created an online gallery for Aubrie’s excellent photos.
In the colorful landscape of Oregon’s film industry, a place connected with such names as Gus Van Sant and Carrie Brownstein, Martin Vavra struggles for recognition. Portland-based Vavra does film and video production through his company, Galaxy Sailor Productions, which came to life after the 40-year-old lost his middle school science teaching job in 2008.
The plan for Jesse Lange was already in the soil of tiny Dundee when he moved there as a 9-year-old. It wasn’t preordained determinism. Oregon’s wine industry back then couldn’t yet be called much of an industry. The soil was new to the noses in the wine world, and most clear thinkers were clearly skeptical of its potential. Oregon wine was what Californian wine-growers considered to be the hooch of a few hippies who had lost the points on their compass, errant souls swept up in a northerly trade wind.
Mat Kearney was born in Eugene, played soccer at South Eugene High and again at Chico State University, a Division II program in California. It was there that he picked up his roommate’s guitar and distinguished himself as a talented crooner and balladeer.
The Skyline Forest is a 33,000-acre tree farm west of Bend that was once owned by timber company Crown Pacific. In 2003, Crown Pacific filed for bankruptcy, and its assets went to its creditors. Ownership of Skyline Forest fell to Fidelity National Financial of Jacksonville, Florida and its subsidiary, Fidelity National Timber Resources. The dissolution of Crown Pacific and its use as timber lands led to a struggle with many stakeholders. The plot’s owner, Fidelity, seeks legislation that would change Skyline Forest’s land use to accommodate residential units.
Wei Wang sat down in his lab at Oregon State University with an inkjet printer and an interesting question. Why can’t solar cells be made simply by printing them with an inkjet printer filled with a solution of solar-transmitting compound? His answer was the subject of a four-page research paper published in the industry journal Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells and the focus of an article from the BBC. The 28-year-old Ph.D. candidate from Shanxi Province, China had discovered an easy process for making solar cells with a printer, a substrate and a combination of metal salts called CIGS. Wang’s discovery could revolutionize the solar industry as a cheap and environmentally friendly alternative to the traditional siliconbased solar cell, and, as a by-product, bring inkjets back into the avant garde.
It is an understatement to say that Rachel Bristol is passionate about her work. Vigor, pride and frustration are Bristol’s constant companions after twenty years as chief executive officer for the Oregon Food Bank. Her deep concern for the people of Oregon who struggle to feed themselves and their families is palpable and her enthusiasm to bring change is contagious.
Rounding a bend in the Rogue River’s Wild and Scenic section near Winkle Bar, rafter and guide Eddy Miller pointed to a clearing on a hillside along the river’s northern banks. “There,’ he pointed, “is Happy Hill.’
