Photography exhibition celebrates Oregon State Parks 100th anniversary—Video: Grant’s Getaways on KGW8

Peter Marbach is interviewed on Grant's Getaways SEE THE FULL VIDEO

PORTLAND, Ore. — There’s a big birthday party underway and anyone who enjoys camping or playing at an Oregon State Park is invited to join the fun. We recently caught up with a famous photographer whose birthday gift for all Oregonians is not to be missed. 

Peter Marbach prides himself on his search and capture method of finding the best light on the land. 

On a recent trip to Washington County’s Bald Peak, he took full advantage of the stunning view into the Tualatin Valley from atop the small, quiet state park.

“You must be a fanatic about it! If you find a place that you love, you must be willing to come back again and again and be willing to get up at zero dark thirty to get the perfect shot. That’s the simple approach to how I do it," said Marbach.

Sounds simple enough but proved far more complex for the longtime landscape photographer. For more than two years, his shots spanned the seasons and covered a hundred thousand Oregon acres.

The famed landscape photographer recently wrapped up his birthday gift to all of us as Oregon State Parks turns 100.

His show offers a breath-taking collection of 30 photos that capture the soul of the entire state – it is an exhibit called, “A Century of Wonder: 100 Years of Oregon State Parks” on display at the Oregon Historical Society.

“It was a blessing to be in this project for me to be out there, to be outside! To be on the road … as much as possible. It was wonderful!" said Marbach. 

Wonder has always been easy to find for Oregonians who’ve an itch to travel and get away from it all.

But in the early days that wasn’t exactly the case. You see, the first state parks – like Sarah Helmick SP, established in 1922, were designed for picnics, a rest stop and then the visitors went home.

But by the 1950’s, a new generation eager to explore Oregon took their homes on the road.

“The Oregon state park system was one of the first camping opportunities that wasn’t just catering to that adventurer who had skills, able to pitch a tent, cook over a fire and all that,” said Chris Havel, a spokesperson for OPRD. “From the beginning, there were places for recreational vehicles, trailers mainly, and car campers too. This was meant to be the most accessible outdoor recreation experience that Oregon could offer.”

Today, the Oregon state parks are more popular than ever! Places like Silver Falls State Park draw more than a million day-users a year. The same holds true for distant parks like Wallowa Lake State Park and Smith Rock State Park.

Last year, more than 3 million campers enjoyed a night’s stay at an Oregon state park.

“Bonding with a place (through a state park trail or campground) is how we learn that it’s important to take care of them,” added Havel. “The more we expose ourselves to the full spectrum of what Oregon is, I think the better care we tend to take of it.”

Marbach said that the two-year-long project was a blessing that took him to more than a hundred state parks and across every corner of the state.

Travel wasn’t easy during a statewide pandemic and summer fire seasons that lit up the sky and spread smoke across the countryside.

“A lot of the parks were closed, and I had to think about my own safety,” noted Marbach. “Extreme weather, lingering smoke from wildfires that lasted for months. It was all a lot more difficult that I thought it was going to be.”

Still, Marbach hopes folks will come and see and find joy in his celebration of places that are prized by so many people.

“It is a great representational slice of the best of the Oregon state park system! It represents all of the different geography regions in a blend of scenic, historical places and when possible, images of people recreating. Consider the exhibit a sort of a geographical armchair travel experience across Oregon." said Marbach. 

Be sure to watch the weekly half hour program of Grant’s Getaways. The show airs each Saturday and Sunday at 4pm on KGW. 

For something different, you can follow my Oregon adventures via the Grant’s Getaways Podcast: Each segment is a story-telling session where I relate behind the scenes stories from four decades of travel and television reporting.