Roger Dorband photographs

The Roger Dorband photograph collection consists of photographic prints, transparencies, and negatives taken during 1985-2009. Selected images from this collection were used in collaborative book projects with author Ursula K. Le Guin. The books are “Blue Moon Over Thurman Street,” published by New Sage Press in Troutdale, Oregon (1993), and “Out Here: Poems and Images from Steens Mountain Country,” published by Dorband’s Raven Studios publishing company in Astoria, Oregon (2010). They are arranged in two series as originally established by the photographer: Series I: “Out Here,” 1993-2009 and Series II: “Blue Moon Over Thurman Street,” 1985-1990.Each series contains an assortment of prints, transparencies, and negatives. Prints are randomly numbered without any attempt to create a geographic sequence paralleling their placement in the book or their aesthetic ranking.

For “Blue Moon Over Thurman Street,” Dorband’s work includes all negatives and transparencies, including outtakes and contact sheets. Images depict documentary photography and candid portraits of residents living and working near Thurman Street in Portland, Oregon. There are 24 (15 x 12”) original black and white vintage fiber prints divided among 2 folders and housed in 1 (18 x 13”) flat box. They are printed on double weight Oriental Seagull fiber paper and lightly tinted with Selenium. Also included are 47 archival storage sheets containing negatives, compiled in 1 folder and housed in 1 (12 x 12”) flat box. Images used for the book are interspersed throughout the sheets, indicated by black marker notations.

Dorband’s “Out Here” photographic materials feature selected prints, color negatives, and transparencies. Images depict landscape photography of southeastern Oregon’s high desert country near the Steens Mountain. A CD containing all of Ursula K. Le Guin’s sketches for “Out Here” is included and housed in a protective sleeve stored 1 ( 5.5” x 5.5”) flat box. There are 14 (11.5 x 9”) color pigment ink prints printed on Epson Exhibition Fiber Paper. They are contained in 1 folder and housed in 1 (18 x 13”) flat box. A selection of 12 (9 x 7.5”) paired matted prints are mounted on 13.75 x 25” mats. They are divided and housed among 3 oversize folders. The paired prints contain hand-written titles and dates. There are 78 archival storage sheets containing 12 color transparencies on average per sheet. Transparencies dated 2008 and 2009 are so indicated on each sheet without any more specific information. In addition, there are 59 color transparencies that were selected for use in “Out Here.” These materials include written page numbers indicating their placement within the publication. The majority of negatives and transparencies are unordered without specific dates or locals.