Jaime Uribe, a Mexica Aztec man, puts on his headdress made of red pheasant feathers and a jaguar head at the Veterans Powwow at Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Ore., on Nov. 8, 2025.
Eli Imadali / OPB
In 2025, OPB’s visual journalists shared the moments that inspired, delighted and defined life in Oregon and Southwest Washington over the past year in thousands of photos and videos.
Our work helps connect and inform our communities, but it also plays an increasingly critical role in today’s visual-based society at a time when it can be hard to trust what we see.
AI and digital editing tools are used to create fake content in an attempt to fool viewers. Old photos are presented as current events or in a false context. Videos are manipulated. It is increasingly difficult for viewers to believe what they see – and when they do believe it, sometimes it’s not real.
The good news is that in just a few minutes, many visuals can be verified.
Try doing a reverse image search on TinEye or Google Image to see if the video or photo has been used online before. Look at the date and origin of the video footage. Check for inconsistencies in perspective or lighting, and for unnatural movements or audio-sync issues. Ask yourself critical questions about why and how an image or video was made, and the purpose of publishing it.
But perhaps the biggest way to verify the authenticity of a visual is to inspect the source of the content. Most news outlets have a strong set of standards that govern visual reportage.
For visuals at OPB, you can rely that the work you see, watch, read and hear is rooted in accuracy and truth.
Here’s a collection of our favorite photos from this year.
A crowd celebrates Holi in Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland on March 29, 2025. Holi is one of the most sacred holidays in Hinduism, celebrating the end of winter and the beginning of spring.
Joni Land / OPB
Skylie Steringer and Tyler Nelson embrace while watching the king tides at Tolovana Park in Cannon Beach, Ore., on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. The king tides were visible on the Oregon Coast Nov. 5-7 and will return in December and January.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
PDX Crusade attendees take part in live musical worship in the Moda Center in Portland, Ore., Aug. 2, 2025. This free two-day event set out to spread the gospel in the city of Portland and to allow the “lost” an opportunity to be saved by Jesus, according to event organizers.
Morgan Barnaby / OPB
People participating in a naked bike ride protest in front of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Portland, Ore. on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. The ride began at the Convention Center Plaza and eventually made its way to the ICE building.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
Demonstrators take a break from protesting at the “No Kings 2.0” rally in Portland, Ore., Oct. 18, 2025.
Eli Imadali / OPB
Rebecca Zuber comforts her husband, Randy, on the anniversary of their daughter Sarah's death, at their home in Rainier, Ore., on March 13, 2025. Sarah Zuber, 18, was found dead 400 feet from her front door. Six years later, her family is still searching for answers about what happened to their daughter.
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/kwgphoto/?hl=en" class="Link" target="_blank" >Kristyna Wentz-Graff</a>
Veterinary students from Oregon State University and professionals from the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at OSU perform a necropsy on a beached whale near Yachats, Ore., on Nov. 18, 2025. Left to right: Kaitlyn Oliver, Makenna Bailey, Jose Cruzado Diaz, Caitlin Gaffney and Dr. Rachel Fost.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
Spectators watch the fireworks show at Sellwood Riverfront Park in Portland, Ore., July 4, 2025.
Sarah Nairalez / OPB
Parishioners light candles during the Paschal Liturgy at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Portland, April 25, 2025.
Joni Land / OPB
AshLe’ Penn, at her home in Bethany, Ore., Sept. 25, 2025. In 2021 Penn was in dire need of a vehicle and had bad credit, but was able to get a loan through Exeter Finance at a 28% interest rate.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
The Clackamas River surged amid the atmospheric river on Dec. 19, 2025. Floodwaters inundated the Carver Mobile Home Ranch park.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
A person is detained at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Portland, Ore. on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
CE Farm Management employees move their ladders to another part of the orchard to continue their harvest in Wasco County, Ore., July 2, 2025. Many farmers across the country are experiencing worker shortages due to recent governmental deportations that lead to a number of crops being left to rot, unharvested for the season.
Morgan Barnaby / OPB
People dance at a Hanukkah rave, the night before the first evening of the Jewish holiday, as a blow-up menorah glows behind them at the Barrel Room in Portland, Ore., on Dec. 13, 2025.
Eli Imadali / OPB
A protester in an inflatable axolotl costume wrapped in a Mexican flag navigates a cloud of tear gas outside of the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement building, where federal officers deployed tear gas, flash-bangs, and fired pepper balls in Portland, Ore., Oct. 18, 2025. Officers continued using a barrage of chemical agents and munitions on the nonviolent protesters after the driveway was cleared. About 500 people gathered outside the facility to continue protesting following the “No Kings 2.0” rally.
Eli Imadali / OPB
Luis Lamas loads his belongings into a car, as he prepares to leave his home in Woodburn, Ore., May 17, 2025. Lamas arrived in the United States in 2021 looking for economic opportunity and overstayed his temporary tourist visa. Lamas chose to leave the U.S. on his own accord, saying, “I don’t want to find out if they’re going to put me in a detention center.”
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Moné Sellers, center, stands with family in front of her cousin, Barry Washington Jr.'s memorial dedication in Bend, Ore., on Oct. 25. Washington, who was Black, was allegedly shot by Ian Mackenzie Cranston, who is white, outside of a downtown nightclub. Washington was unarmed at the time and his death sparked protests against racism in Bend.
Kathryn Styer Martínez / OPB
An eight-year-old protester holds her homemade sign as her mother adjusts her gas mask outside the U.S. Immigrations and Customs building in South Portland, where about 500 people gathered to continue protesting following the “No Kings” rally in Portland, Ore., Oct. 18, 2025.
Eli Imadali / OPB
Protesters wave to passersby as they wait outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in South Portland, where U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is visiting, Oct. 7, 2025.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
