This is not about the loquacious passerine in Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem, “The Raven.” Eugene photographer and artist Sandy Brown Jensen is quick to point out that her vision of the intelligent, big and sooty birds align with the creature’s predatory nature, “the raven of evil and portending death,” she says. Still, Jensen’s photography exhibit — Ravenscapes: Oregon Dreams in Gold now at The O’Brien Photo Gallery — gives the raven an ethereal glow of 24 karat gold as the watchful guardians of Oregon’s wild places, coastal sunsets to forest depths, in roughly 20 pieces. “It’s really a good core representation of my work,” says Jensen, a veteran artist who also hosts Viz City on KLCC. Beyond the technical work of the pieces, the raven has been a family presence, Jensen says, and, perhaps, her work on this exhibit is in some keeping with Poe’s enduring poem. She notes that as her sister was dying late in 2023, she turned to Jensen to say, “Whenever you see a raven, I will be near.” Jensen pauses at the thought. “It has been an ongoing thing with me and my siblings.”

Sandy Brown Jensen’s gold leaf photography exhibition Ravenscapes: Oregon Dreams in Gold is Nov. 2 through Jan. 2 at The O’Brien Photo Gallery, 2833 Willamette Street, suite B. An opening reception for the exhibition is 1 pm to 4 pm Saturday, Nov. 2. FREE.