(Above: Grasslands, John Day River by Gary Tepfer)
By Randi Bjornstad
Two longtime Oregon landscape photographers — Gary Tepfer of Eugene and Rich Bergeman of Corvallis — have their work on display at the White Lotus Gallery in a show titled From Steppe to Steppe.
The photographs vary widely, from brilliant color to starkly sharp black-and-white images, as well as picturing vastly different landscapes that range from the Oregon High Desert to the Altai Mountains of Asia.
Both came to the habit of exploring desert environments much earlier in their careers, but their paths diverge greatly, as shown in this exhibit.
Tepfer began his career photographing landscapes from Eastern Oregon and the American Southwest to the stark steppes of Siberia and Mongolia over the past 40 years and presents much of his work in vivid color, often including details that relate to the ancient rituals of people who have lived in those landscapes for thousands of years.
Bergeman, in contrast, emphasizes black-and-white photography that details eastgern Oregon’s Great Basin, although he, too, concentrates on the ancient aspects of the landscape, especially in terms of the visual remnants of the great inland seas, called paleolakes, that covered much of the region 10,000 years ago.
At White LotusGallery: From Steppe to Steppe
When: Through June 7, 2025
Where: 767 Willamette St., Eugene
Gallery hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday
Information: Telephone 541-345-3276; email Lin@wlotus.com; or online at wlotus.com
Pond Under Winter Ridge, by Rich Bergeman
