BUSINESS NEWS
Coast River Business Journal
Meet the Merchant
May 2021 • 11
Interview by Emily Lindblom elindblom@crbizjournal.com
cameras from Fuji fi lm.”
Oh okay. And what kind of lenses do you use?
“I have wide lenses and telephotos and everything
in between. I always carry three lenses. I used to be
against zoom lenses but now I use them all the time
because it’s improved so much. Even 35 millimeter
cameras are pretty good. With the medium format, one
advantage is the ability to crop it.”
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I do all my own printing.
Laurie: “Ron’s a self-taught photographer. He learned
by reading books and magazines, whatever he could
get a hold of. When he shoots he thinks of places peo-
ple have been to so it creates a memory.”
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Ron Keebler, wearing a clear mask to protect from the coronavirus, stands in front of his photographs at Oregon Gallery in Cannon Beach.
Oregon Gallery
Ron Keebler , owner and photographer
223 N. Hemlock St., Cannon Beach, 503-
436-0817
You said “we.” Who do you mean?
“My wife, Laurie, and I. We’ve been married
forever.”
Laurie: “I do the framing and buying for the
stores. We started doing consignments and now we
buy from artists we know personally.”
15 Broadway St., Seaside, 503-738-0577
252 Taylor St., Eugene, 541-684-0045
oregongallery.com
Could you introduce yourself?
“I’m Ron Keebler.”
Could you tell me about the gallery?
“We’ve been here in Cannon Beach for 34 years and
at the Seaside gallery for 12 years.”
How did the gallery start?
“We started out doing art fairs in Eugene and the Port-
land Saturday market. The fi rst store we owned was in
Corvallis. The owner of this building here contacted
us when a previous business moved out and that’s how
we got here.”
And how did you get your start in photography?
“We started in the 70s, that’s when I picked it up and
decided to make a living doing it. I kind of taught
myself. I was going to University of Oregon at the
time.”
That’s great, thank you.
Ron, what’s the inspiration behind your
photos?
“It’s the Oregon landscape, the best in the world.
The Oregon Coast is over the top.”
Yes, I’m sure many people would agree with
you! What are your favorite places, times of
day and types of weather to photograph?
“I really like here. Cannon Beach is really pretty.
The North Oregon Coast and mid Oregon Coast
too are beautiful. I’m an early riser so I do a lot of
sunrises. It seems like the sunset ones usually turn
out better. Sunrises tend to be pinker.
“Clouds defi nitely add to a picture, it could work
either way. Like this one here, the clouds make it
an entirely diff erent picture.”
What advice would you give to an aspiring
photographer?
“You have to take a lot of photographs and move
around a lot. Take sunrises and sunsets, the photo-
graphs are best when the light’s the lowest.”
What are some challenges to enter into the pho-
tography business?
“Getting yourself out there is the biggest challenge.
And you’ve got to be sort of a weather predictor.”
Oh wow, so you pay a lot of attention to the
weather? Are there other things you take into
account, like the tides?
“Tides are a very important deal and you have to
worry about it taking you out there as well. I’ve
been hit by a sneaker wave.”
Oh no! Well, what do you like to do in your free
time at the coast?
“Walk and hike. I like walking down the beach. It’s
the absolute best. We’re lucky to be around here.”
How is it being a part of the Cannon Beach pho-
tography community?
“Jake and Gina Bentley have worked here the
whole time.”
Laurie: “Gina manages the Seaside store and Jake
manages this store.”
Do you have a favorite photo?
“It’s hard to say. This triple one here is 30 years
old. The quality is just as good as modern cameras
because it’s from fi lm. This was taken with a large
format camera using three diff erent negatives. It’s
changed so much over the years. I used to use a
fi lm camera and now I use medium-format digital
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