Capturing the 'Wallouse': A Photographer's Paradise

WAITSBURG – Semi-retired geologist Bill Rodgers moved to Waitsburg almost exactly two years ago and says he absolutely loves living in "a photographer's paradise." His landscapes have been featured in a collection of books by the Blue Mountain Land Trust and Rodgers hopes to offer landscape photography workshops in the not-too-distant future.

Rodgers says his love of the land developed at an early age.

"When I grew up in Spokane, there was a little undeveloped hill behind our house; a big pile of basalt known as The Mountain. I knew every inch of that – the rocks, the caves, and all that stuff. I'm sure that imprinted at an early age. I've always loved the mountains, the creeks, and the valleys," Rodgers said.

Rodgers graduated from Whitman College with a biology degree (because they didn't have a geology program) in 1970 and went on to teach high school in Canada for a couple of years.

"I loved teaching earth science and finally realized I should have been a geologist and went to the University of Washington and became one," Rodgers said.

He then spent ten years as a professional prospector in the mining industry, looking for new mineral deposits, mostly in the western United States.

"When I got tired of living in mining camps and hotels for 330 days a year and getting laid off every two years, which is the mining industry – boom or bust – I got into environmental consulting," Rodgers said.

He consulted in the Seattle/Vancouver B.C. area for several years and still does some part-time consulting. He spent the last three years prior to retirement working at Hanford while living in Walla Walla, and moved to Waitsburg in February of 2016.

Rodgers said he bought his first camera in 1969, while attending college at Whitman.

"I grew up loving landscape paintings and wanted to be a landscape painter, but I can't paint for beans. The camera kind of allowed me to do that, and it's just evolved over the years," he said.

"I was very frustrated at Whitman because I found the landscape kind of boring. I wanted jagged mountains and waterfalls and things. But now I feel like I'm in Heaven. It's a photographer's paradise. I just love what is possible to do here," he added.

Rodgers became involved with the Blue Mountain Land Trust (BMLT), which works with private landowners to preserve the natural, scenic, and agricultural value of privately-owned lands, and has been on the advisory board for just over a year.

Each year, the BMLT offers Learning on the Land, a series of educational classes and excursions that connect the community to area resources. Rodgers said he first learned of BMLT four or five years ago when he took a Learning on the Land photography class led by Whitman geology professor Ellen Bishop.

Last year, he and fellow photographers lead some classes of his own and more are planned for 2018.

"I'll be doing two photo classes in the fall. There are a lot of other really neat things they're going to be doing. There will be a ride on the dinner train from Elgin to Enterprise and we'll visit farms and grain elevators," he said.

Several area photographers have pooled their talents to produce The Blues Collection, a series of books that celebrate the landscape of the Blue Mountains. Rodgers edited the first and third volumes and his photos are included throughout the series.

Rodgers said the books raise some funds for the BMLT but were created mainly to raise awareness of the need for conservation and to protect private lands, since private lands don't have advocates. The Blues Collection can be found at bmlt.org/the-blues.

Rodgers said he sells prints through his website billrodgersphotography.com "every once in awhile," has been in some pop up shows in Walla Walla and hopes to get his work into more wine tasting rooms. He said Lane Hill is planning to do a show of his work at Ten Ton Press in Waitsburg.

"I'm a good photographer, but a terrible marketer," Rodgers said, laughing.

His next endeavor is to begin offering landscape photography classes of what he calls "The Wallouse," the 50-mile area surrounding Waitsburg. Rodgers said the Palouse is a hot spot for photography, but he believes the Waitsburg area offers superior photographic opportunities.

"I want to offer workshops focusing on the Waitsburg area. I think it's got a lot more variety in landscapes. A lot of things for people who like rolling hills but we have so much more. I'm hoping that people will be interested in coming here since there is much more going on in Walla Walla than in Colfax, where people tend to stay now," he said.

Rodgers said he also hopes to distinguish himself from other photographic workshops by focusing more on the artistic aspects of photography. Walla Walla artist Leslie Cain will help teach classroom-setting sessions, when groups aren't out in the field.

"We'll be talking about principles of composition and we'll be looking at a lot of landscape paintings. Painters have been painting beautiful landscapes for a long time. There's a lot to be learned from looking at them and learning some of the concepts they used," he said.

Rodgers says he loves living in Waitsburg and practicing his art here.

"I go to town on Clodius Road. It's amazing how different it looks based on the light, the season, the changing crops. I don't know how may times I've driven that road but I always take my camera and I always get good stuff. And it's not a duplicate of what I did last year at the same place. It's really amazing," he said.

Interested parties can follow Bill at Bill Rodgers Photography on Facebook and at http://www.billrodgersphotography.com and learn more about upcoming workshops at http://www.waitsburgslp.com.