As people of the Pacific Northwest continued to make their way out of our pandemic hibernation period, the world started looking more like its pre-COVID-19 self. Once again, we saw people gathering, connecting, and exploring our beautiful region.
Through their camera lenses, OPB’s storytellers captured this notable period and all its complexities. Visual journalism is a carefully crafted work of art — part historical record, part sociological study. Sometimes the photos allow us to stop and catch our breath, to bathe in the astounding beauty of the Northwest. Other images transport us into the lives of others, learning how they are finding a new normal amid uncertain times. At its best, the universal language of photography helps foster a sense of community and connectedness.
Here are some of our favorite images we published this year, including a few captured in 2021 but shared for the first time in 2022:
(Click photo to see related video) The Portland Japanese Garden is ablaze with fall color, shown In this screen shot from an Oregon Field Guide video, November 2022.
Brandon Swanson / OPB
Craggy mountain peaks are blanketed in wildfire smoke in the Northern Cascade range near Mazama, Wash., in September.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Megan Van Pelt leans on her dorm room bed in September 2022 while going through her dentalium shell collection which she uses for beading projects. Van Pelt says dentalium is meaningful to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
Meerah Powell / OPB
(Click photo to see related Oregon Field Guide episode) The Sumpter Valley Railroad's Christmas train roars through a road crossing on a cold December night in 2021.
Jule Gilfillan / OPB
Oregon’s Governor-elect Tina Kotek, center, is swarmed by third-graders from Arleta School at the Salmon Springs fountain. The children stopped by to greet Kotek at her first press conference following the election in November.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Attendees watch election returns at Christine Drazan’s election night party held at the Oregon Garden in Silverton, Ore., in November.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
Incumbent Portland commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty approaches the stage on Election Night at The Jack London Revue, a jazz club in downtown Portland, Ore., in November.
Meerah Powell / OPB
On Election Day, Perrin Thompson kisses her ballot for luck and does a little dance before dropping it into a drop site outside of the Multnomah County Elections Division in Portland.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
In early November, heavy winds and rain swept through Portland. A maple tree fell in Portland's Sellwood neighborhood smashing a car and taking down power lines.
Stephani Gordon / OPB
Folklorico dancers perform at a Dia de los Muertos celebration at Hermiston High School in Hermiston, Ore., Nov. 4, 2022.
Antonio Sierra / OPB
(Click photo to see related Oregon Field Guide episode) Katie Stearns, with her stallion, Drobo, in July 2021, at the Flying Duchess Ranch in Arlington, Wash.
Ian McCluskey / OPB
In October, Republican gubernatorial candidate Christine Drazan speaks at a campaign event at The Barn at Countryside in Aurora, Ore.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Rena, a person experiencing homelessness in Bend, sits in front of her tent with her dog, Scooby, in October. The City of Bend is planning on removing her and others camped in the area, after the site was declared a public safety hazard.
Joni Land / OPB
The presidential seal is affixed to the podium at East Portland Community Center in Portland, before an appearance by President Joe Biden in October. President Biden talked to a small crowd at the event about his administration’s efforts to bring down costs for Americans.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
President Joe Biden holds a phone and takes a selfie of himself with attendees, following his appearance at East Portland Community Center in Portland, in October.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
A competitor in the Pendleton Round-Up, in September.
Joni Auden Land / OPB
Friends and family gather to remember Alex Simpson, aka "Deb Auchery," at Peace Corner in Bend, Ore. Simpson was Bend’s preeminent queer superstar, a ubiquitous figure in Central Oregon’s burgeoning queer scene, and died in September at the age of 30 from diabetes.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
The towering smokestack at Portland General Electric’s shuttered coal-fired power plant near Boardman was demolished in September, heralding the end of the era of coal-fired power generation in Oregon.
MacGregor Campbell / OPB
Mount Jefferson, left, and Mount Hood, seen from the air, in September.
Jonathan Levinson / OPB
Surfers on a smoky day at the Bend Whitewater Park in September in Bend. Unhealthy air quality from nearby wildfires lasted for several days.
Joni Auden Land / OPB
Sydney Gore and Ellie Gossett attend Rose City Comic Con in Portland, Ore., in September.
Jamie Diep / OPB
(Click photo to see related Oregon Field Guide episode) Bob Koscik, camping in his 1969 VW bus, with acoustic guitar and collection of railroad lanterns, in Mount Hood National Forest in August, 2021.
Ian McCluskey / OPB
Shelby Boyd takes medication at her home in Lake Oswego in August. Boyd, who had COVID-19 in January 2021, is still enduring near-blackouts, brain fog and fatigue and is one of roughly 200,000 Oregonians who've developed long COVID-19.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
As Idaho’s nearly total abortion ban goes into effect, Gov. Kate Brown held a joint press conference with Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette, reaffirming Oregon’s commitment to abortion access, in August.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Amanda Trover directs the Wild Rivers Animal Rescue shelter in Gold Beach. "Some of the old school people think that it’s fine for the cats just to roam loose... And then the new age, they are like: ‘No, let’s get them fixed. Let’s get them real homes, real families. Get them up into a barn where there’s some food, they’re being watched over.’”
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
A drum circle provides the music for dancers at the Tamkaliks Celebration powwow on July 22.
Antonio Sierra / OPB
Tubes from a 30-ton air conditioning unit help cool the gymnasium at Charles Jordan Community Center on July 28, 2022.
Jenna Deml / OPB
Shelly Boyd, Colville tribal member looks over the waters covering historical tribal fishing grounds of Kettle Falls, in June of 2021. Click the photo to read more from this series.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Gubernatorial candidate Betsy Johnson poses with Charles Maes, who is dressed like a stalk of asparagus. Maes' Milwaukie restaurant, Casa de Tamales, hosted a campaign event for Johnson in July.
Dirk VanderHart / OPB
Elizabeth Brown, 17, of Tigard and Ajalon Bell, 20, of Canby pump each other up before their next exercise at the Portland Metro Fire Camp in July.
Jenna Deml / OPB
Fishing guide Amy Hazel rows a driftboat on the lower Deschutes River near Maupin, Ore., in June. She's been guiding on the river since 1999.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
In this video screen shot from an upcoming Oregon Field Guide episode, a herd of bison stampede from one grazing field to another at the Stangel Bison Ranch in Enterprise, Ore., in June. Ranchers Marta and Theresa Stangel are in the process of taking over the ranch from their father Bob, who first brought bison to the Wallowa area in 1979.
Brandon Swanson / OPB
Terry Crawford, next to her horse Ben, at her home in Christmas Valley. She moved to the area 16 years ago, but is growing concerned about the potential of developers building a new landfill in the area.
Joni Land / OPB
The La Jolla, piloted by Dale Justice of Newberg, prepares to touch down on the first morning of the 38th Annual Tigard Festival of Balloons on Friday, June 24, 2022.
Jenna Deml / OPB
Lifeguard Andrew Fox practices a river rescue at Glenn Otto Park in Troutdale, June 2022.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
A windmill, with wind turbines from the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility, in May. Portland General Electric partnered with NextEra Energy Resources to build a first-of-its-kind facility that will use an innovative battery technology that supporters are calling a “game changer” for Oregon’s renewable energy transition.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
The salmon viewing area at the Bonneville Lock and Dam.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Fishing nets dry in the sun at the Wyeth fishing camp in Cascade Locks, Ore., a fishing site along the Columbia River opened only to Indian fishers. Wyeth, along with other sites, were created by the federal government when the creation of dams destroyed traditional tribal fishing grounds.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Salmon spawning at the Carson Nationall Fish Hatchery in Carson, Wash..
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
As wolves have move into eastern Oregon, some ranchers are using larger livestock protection breeds like Akbash, Kangals and Anatolians.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Two turkeys follow North Unit Irrigation District farmer Cate Havstad-Casad around at her family's farm near Madras in May.
Emily Cureton Cook / OPB
Rob Davis, left, takes a bite of food offered by Melody Lea Rose in May, as Blanchet House reopened for indoor dining following more than two years of closure due to the pandemic.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Aztec dancer Maira Barrera Mazatl of Sublimity dances during opening prayers at “Tending Our Roots,” an event aimed at bringing awareness to missing and murdered Indigenous people, held at South Hawthorne Waterfront Park in Portland, May 5, 2022.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Fourth Generation farmer Jake Madison's farm where he grows a wide range of crops from grass seeds to wheat.
Monica Samayoa / OPB
Morrow County Commissioner Jim Doherty is showing Silvia Hernandez her well water test results for nitrates which exceeded the federal safe drinking water limits by nearly five times on April 15, 2022.
Monica Samayoa / OPB
Salami McConneha of Camas, Wash., uses her body to convey her stance on abortion rights. McConneha was one of hundreds gathered in downtown Portland to protest a leaked draft opinion by the U.S. Supreme Court indicating they would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, Tuesday, May 3, 2022.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Katie Fite and her dog Belle walk a ranch road toward a sage grouse lek surrounded by mining claims on Saturday, April 2, 2022. Male sage grouse perform their mating ritual around daybreak in the springtime.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
A spring snowstorm dumped several inches of snow in Portland in April.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Valentina Sedano Valdez considers what consonant blend she hears during a reading lesson in Coral Walker’s first grade class at Lent K-8 in Southeast Portland in March.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Alaska Airlines pilots picket at Portland International Airport Friday, April 1, 2022, protesting an impasse in a nearly three-year contract negotiation. Flights were canceled on the West Coast, including 20 in Portland.
Arya Surowidjojo / OPB
(Click photo to see related Oregon Field Guide episode) Octopuses are incredibly smart, yet the majority of their neurons exist in their arms and suckers, and not in their brain, making them as close to alien intelligence as we can find on Earth.
Stephani Gordon / OPB
A Northern rough-legged hawk is a winter visitor to Summer Lake State Wildlife Area in February. The species migrates from breeding sites in the Arctic around mid- to late- October and usually departs in March or April.
Emily Cureton Cook / OPB
Tundra swans spend the winter at Summer Lake State Wildlife Area in Southern Oregon's Lake County, February 2022.
Emily Cureton Cook / OPB
Diana Rempe, left, hugs Jennifer, right, during a Street Books shift in February. Street Books is a mobile library that serves people experiencing homelessness. Books are free to check out and no ID is required.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Father Volodymyr Yavorskyi, right, prays during divine liturgy at the Saint John the Baptist Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Portland in late February, just a couple of days after learning about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
April Ehrlich / OPB
Robert D. Keys and his dog Sasha, a three-year-old beagle, hunt for truffles in the 2022 Joriad North American Truffle Dog Championship in Eugene, Ore., in February. The event featured 30 dogs of differing breeds who competed to find truffle-scented targets, and the final six dogs went on to compete in a final round of hunting truffles in the field.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Members of a group protesting mask requirements at the Oregon Capitol in Salem try to get access to the building, in February. State police are waiting and turning the maskless away.
Dirk VanderHart / OPB
In this video screen shot, Acosia Red Elk performs a powwow dance. Click this image to view the Oregon Field Guide episode: Powwow Dancing Meets Yoga In The Life Of Acosia Red Elk.
Stephani Gordon / OPB
(Click photo to see related Oregon Field Guide episode) Kailey Kornhauser photographs Marley Blonsky at Frog Lake, in this image from the Oregon Field Guide Episode, "All Bodies on Bikes."
Jule Gilfillan / OPB
Two honor guard members stand in front of Vancouver police officer Donald Sahota's casket at a memorial on Feb. 8, 2022. Sahota died Jan. 29 after being mistakenly shot by a Clark County Sheriff's Deputy.
Troy Brynelson / OPB
(Click image for related Oregon Art Beat video) This video screen shot shows work by Southern Oregon artist Richard Reames, who grows trees into fantastical shapes — peace signs, words, even a boat.
Brandon Swanson / OPB
Monica Sanchez Coria cares for a patient in the hallway of the Salem Health emergency department in Salem, Ore., in January. The department has 53 patient rooms but made space for 100 by adding hallway beds to handle the influx of people seeking treatment.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Onno Husing, the planning director for Lincoln County, can stand on Highway 101 and watch bits of tarmac crumble into the ocean, 80 feet below, “It’d be pretty hard to stand here and look at what we’re looking at, and not be concerned,” he said.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
Over 50 people were waiting in line for a COVID-19 test at the Oregon Convention Center testing site operated by Curative, in January. A staff member told people in line that the wait was 45-60 minutes. Getting access to tests has become increasingly challenging.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
