Kirk, you could be right -- the lake I'm thinking of is very near the southern border, close to the California-Nevada border (Oregon borders on both). I passed through there once on the way from Ontario (at the Idaho border on I-84) to Crater Lake, but that's been more than ten years, and at the time that was a place to get through quickly, hoping the air conditioning in the car wouldn't fail, not a destination...
If a contact print at arm's length is too small to see, you need a bigger camera. :D
Some areas I've really enjoyed are: Columbia River Gorge, Eagle Cap Wilderness/Wallawas (it's aptly been nicknamed Little Switzerland), Crater Lake, Mt. Hood and vincinity, in Central Oregon- Three Sisters Wilderness Area, Smith Rock State Park, various viewpoints and trails from the McKenzie Scenic Hwy such as Proxy Falls and trail hiking up Black Crater. McKenzie River Trails.
Some spots I havn't been to yet but hope to soon are : Southeastern Oregon in particular: Steens Mountain, Succor Creek State Natural Area, the Honeycombs near Lake Owyhee, Snake River. Central Cascades Mount Jefferson Wilderness in particular Jefferson Park. John Day Painted hills and other areas.
As mentioned get a guide book, I don't know of any that are geared for photography but some
others I'd recommend are: 100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades by William L. Sullivan, Oregon Desert Guide 70 Hikes by Andy Kerr and Backpacking Oregon by Douglas Lorain. Also the Oregon Road and Recreation Atlas by Benchmark Maps is a handy tool too. Just pick an area, research it a bit and enjoy, this state is blessed with a wonderous variety of natural landscapes as you probably already know.
Besides the coastal areas, I've explored the Jefferson Wilderness near and around Three Finger Jack, and was quite impressed. There's even a perennial glacier there . . . although I wasn't hiking with LF equipment at the time.
I have also been to Jawbone Flats in the Suislaw National Forest.
Also in Suislaw, in the Drift Creek Wilderness area just south of Lincoln City (off Siletz Hwy) you can check out the Drift Creek Falls with a very cool 100' spanning bridge. Took my first LF photo there! *sniff*
The wind power plants in north eastern Oregon might be fun for abstract, assuming you have a good zoom from the road . . . you will see hundreds of them. Very neat. Just take the interstate east out of Portland toward Washington state.
Very interesting that NE Oregon is stark desert compared to the lush Willamette Valley. If you're headed that way, as others have recommended, the Columbia River Gorge and it's 11 waterfalls would be spectacular, I'm sure. Haven't gone yet. Of course, those hikes are long, so if you're an 11x14 masochist kind of guy, it may or may not appeal to you.
I love Oregon! Couldn't be happier that my in-laws live in Salem and Portland. :-D
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