- Photographer.
About Cooper
Ron Cooper was born in Ontario, Oregon. He grew up in La Grande and later graduated from Eastern Oregon College. In 1963 Cooper married Penny Westfall and the couple moved to Portland. While his wife was in college, Cooper worked various jobs, unsure of what he wanted to do with his life. It was during this time that he discovered photography. He bought his first camera, a basic 35 mm, and taught himself how to develop film and make prints.
What began as a hobby became a profession when he was hired as a sports editor and photographer in his hometown of La Grande. Though the work was exciting, Cooper realized his passion lay in photography, rather than in writing and began looking for positions as a fulltime photojournalist. The family moved to Salem in 1969, when Cooper began working as a photographer for the Oregon Statesman. He worked for the newspaper for more than 30 years and saw many changes, including its merger with the Capital Journal in 1980, to form the Statesman Journal; the transition from black-and-white to color film; and the move from film to digital cameras.
In his interview, Cooper his career as a photojournalist. Working in Oregon’s capital in the late 1960s and early 1970s, he documented numerous protests and rallies. He also frequently worked in the Oregon State Capitol and photographed legislators, governors, and other elected officials.
For Cooper, there is magic to his chosen medium, “I love the way photography can capture a single moment in time and remember everything. It can remember the facial expression.” Throughout his career and now in his retirement, where he continues his photography, faces still inspire him. As he remarks in his interview, “I always thought the faces told such a story. And I love the story that each face told… If you can tell that story in a single photo with facial expression, to me that’s a successful photo.”
– Interview recorded February 27, 2026