I’ve been taking photographs for Salem Reporter for about two years now and I’m always grateful for the opportunity to be able to take readers along on an assignment through my lens.
I want readers to see what I see — and in order to do that I need to get you to the right place and right time with the right lighting. Sometimes it’s pouring rain and I’m shooting through a trash bag wrapped around my camera body, sometimes it’s so cold I can’t feel my fingers and at times it’s so hot I have to wipe sweat off my face to see into my viewfinder. For some shoots I have to get up at 4 a.m. to get the best shots or stay up real late to close the show. Almost all the time I am getting dirty as I am crawling around, getting down low, climbing up high, and laying on the ground to get the right angles.
I hope you enjoy my pictures as much as I enjoy taking them. They are not always happy, at times I find myself having to work in very emotional environments- but that is the photojournalist’s primary duty- to capture these scenes with respect and dignity and bring them to the reader so that you may also bear witness.
These are my picks from 2024.
Participants in the Awesome 3000 race at Bush Park on Saturday, April 27, 2024 (Laura Tesler/Salem Reporter)Participants at a meeting to address gun violence held South Salem High School on Monday, March 11, 2024 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Luis Oliva Barrientos, Chávez Elementary, gives his mother a kiss on the red carpet at the Crystal Apple Award event at the Salem Convention Center on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A low rider takes a place of pride at Riverfront Park during the Tianguis event on Saturday, May 11, 2024 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Musicians perform during Make Music Day in downtown Salem on Saturday, June 21, 2024 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A Hoopla player makes a basket in front of the Capitol on Friday, July 26, 2024. (Laura Tesler/ Special to Salem Reporter)Maia Watson, 2024 Ironman winner, crosses the finish line at Riverfront Park on Saturday, July 20, 2024. (Laura Tesler/ Special to Salem Reporter)A participant in the Unified Games throws shotput on Saturday, May 11, 2024 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A member of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps makes final adjustments to their uniform before presenting the flag at the Unified Games on Saturday, May 11, 2024 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)An attendee enjoys music at the Punx in the Park event held at Marion Square Park on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2024 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A new graduate gives a teacher a hug at the Roberts High School graduation ceremony held at Sprague High school on Friday, June 7, 2024 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)An artist with their wares at the Salem Art Fair in Bush Park on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)Salem Pride attendees watch a dancer perform in Downtown Salem on Saturday, June 8, 2024 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)A Hoopla player makes a hopeful shot on Saturday, July 27, 2024. (Laura Tesler/ Salem Reporter)Jaripeo attendees admire a horse and rider at the Oregon State Fairgrounds on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024 (Laura Tesler/Salem Reporter)A Hell on Hooves barrel racer competes at the Oregon State Fair on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024 (Laura Tesler/Salem Reporter)A dancer during the fancy dance competition at the Chemawa Indian School on Saturday, May 11, 2024 (Laura Tesler/ Salem Reporter)An attendee at the Juneteenth event held at Willamette University on Saturday, June 19, 2024 (Laura Tesler/Salem Reporter)A dancer at the World Beat Festival at Riverfront festival on Saturday, June 28, 2024 (Laura Tesler/Salem Reporter)Governor Tina Kotek joins in the fun at the Fairmount Halloween Parade on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (Laura Tesler/ Special to Salem Reporter)A member of the Casa de la Cultura Tlanese dance troupe waves to the crowd in the Downtown Salem Holiday Parade on Friday, November 29, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)
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Laura Tesler has lived in Salem, Oregon for 20 years and is originally from Flint, MI. Laura has been an underwater photographer for 15 years, and is an avid scuba diver. Topside, she has been taking photographs since age 12, and currently works on assignment for the Salem Reporter, and full time purchasing land for fish and wildlife habitat in the Willamette Valley. Laura attended Oregon State University, and has traveled extensively all over the world and the United States.
