How To:
Photograph Birds in the Desert

Tara Lemezis   Website

voices

John Cunningham, ONDA member and volunteer

John Cunningham, ONDA member and volunteer

Restoration is hard slow work. It takes hold, or it doesn’t, in fits and starts. The immensity of the need can be discouraging, but we must carry on. I am so thankful ONDA carries on.

voices

Scott Bowler, ONDA member from Portland

Scott Bowler, ONDA member from Portland

“The desert speaks for itself, but very softly. I support ONDA to promote and enable discovery of the amazing beauty and recreational opportunities of the high desert by much broader groups of people; and most especially to protect forever the full and diverse landscape of the Owyhee Canyonlands, a place without parallel or equal in our country.”

fact

Young Horny Toad Lizard

Young Horny Toad Lizard

In the summer these lizards begin foraging for food as soon as their body temperature rises as the heat of the day increases. They feed on slow-moving, ground-dwelling insects. In the fall they hibernate by burying themselves in the sand.

Latin name: Phrysonoma platyrhinos

Cooper's hawk

Common nighthawk

Burrowing owl

Tara Lemezis   Website

  1. Get to know your subject and plan your scene.

    What do they eat? Where do they hangout? Do they prefer open habitat, rimrock, wetlands, juniper and sage, or tall, sleepy oak? Are they more active at dawn or dusk, what perches do they sing from and when? When you understand behavior, you’re more likely to capture something unique. Taking the time to connect and respect wildlife often rewards you with a glimpse into their lives and they stick around long enough for you to make a pretty photograph.

  2. Observe, be patient, and give wildlife space.

    Be a silent observer and remember that you are a guest in this space. When you’re quiet and unobtrusive, birds are generally curious enough to get a bit closer to you as they carry on about their business. Be patient and wait for the moment they move into great light or onto a natural perch. And always remember your ethics by giving wildlife space, especially during breeding and nesting season.

  3. Composition and lighting is everything.

    Include the landscape in your photos and stray from the “bird in a box” look. Plants, rocks, and the big sky make your image more interesting. And this is a photography 101 tip, but good lighting evokes mood. The high desert has many moods all day long; shoot in all of them, with a special focus on sunset in summer.

photographer

About the Author

Tara Lemezis (she/her) is a wildlife photographer based in Portland. She’s been photographing birds (and mammals, wildflowers and amphibians and reptiles, and kicking up dust in Oregon’s high desert since 2013. She’s drawn to this ecoregion for many reasons: the geologic wonder that is Steens Mountain, the seemingly endless sagebrush steppe, the Alvord Desert playa, stargazing into the darkest night skies you’ve ever seen, solitude, and the swaths of protected and public land along the Pacific Flyway, where over 320 bird species spend some part of their life cycle.

See Tara's Instagram

Wild Desert Calendar Submissions

Calling all photographers! Use your creativity and talent to support conservation! Submit your best shots of Oregon’s high desert for a chance to have your photos featured in our iconic Wild Desert Calendar. ONDA’s Wild Desert Calendar Features the stunning landscapes of Oregon’s high desert Inspires action to protect and restore public lands and waters […]

Read More

How to Take Better Photos of Oregon’s High Desert

Author: Lace Thornberg  |  Published: March 9, 2018  | Updated: April 13, 2021  |  Categories: How-to   Five landscape photographers share their advice: knowledge, persistence, patience The arid landscape that covers 27.6 million acres of Oregon is packed with opportunities to make interesting photographs. You can fill your frame with impressive canyons, alkali flats that tend […]

Read More

Category: How-To

Learn a new skill that will help you enjoy and protect the high desert.

burrowing owl

How To:
Photograph Birds in the Desert

By on May 3, 2021 | Posted in: How-To

ONDA is collecting submissions for our 2022 Wild Desert Calendar through June 12, 2021. Leading up to this deadline, we’ll share tips from a few of the photographers who have generously shared their work for this publication.  Author: Tara Lemezis  |  Published Date: May 3, 2021  |  Category: How-To    The variety of bird...

Read More
View of Abert Lake from Abert Rim at sunset.

Start 2021 Anew

By on January 10, 2021 | Posted in: How-To

Author: Corinne Handelman  |  Published: January 10, 2021  |  Category: How-To Fresh Ideas for your New Years Resolutions If living through 2020 taught us anything, we have reinforced lessons on developing healthy routines, practicing gratitude, and finding personal healing by spending time in nature. Fortunately, ONDA members might be a step or two ahead...

Read More

Winter Wildlife Watching

By on January 2, 2021 | Posted in: How-To, Phenology

By Scott Bowler What’s there to do in the desert in the winter? Watch wildlife! In many ways, especially at lower elevations, winter’s cold weather can provide some great hiking and exploring opportunities and it’s definitely a great time to be on the lookout for the rich array of wildlife species that inhabit Oregon’s...

Read More

The Perfect Gift
for Everyone on Your List

By on November 30, 2020 | Posted in: How-To

A Completely Subjective, All-ONDA Gift Guide Looking for a beautiful, non-perishable, one size fits all, no need to wrap, easy-to-mail gift that you can give to many, many people on your gift list? We’ve got you covered. ONDA’s Wild Desert Calendar makes a great gift … For anyone you can’t spend too much on,...

Read More

Add Your Voice

By on November 18, 2020 | Posted in: How-To

Author: Corie Harlan  |  Published: November 20, 2020  |  Updated: May 13, 2021  |  Category: How-To The Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act provides Malheur County with vital economic development opportunities that support local economies and communities while safeguarding the Owyhee Canyonlands and surrounding public lands for recreation and wildlife habitat for current and future generations....

Read More

Six Unique Ways to Give

By on May 28, 2020 | Posted in: How-To

An inky night sky studded with endless stars. Quirky sage-grouse dancing at dawn. A soothing soak in a peaceful hot spring. Discovering delicate desert blooms. Spotting soaring migratory birds. Sage-green vistas that stretch out for miles and miles.  Scenes like these – which you can see in the photos below – are just a...

Read More
Basalt Beardstongue

How to Identify Native Plants

By on April 29, 2020 | Posted in: How-To

By Scott Bowler Hey, what’s that cool flower? After leading wildflower discovery and identification trips for 40-plus years, I can tell you that people’s most common reaction upon encountering a new flower is: “Oh, cool! What’s that?” They want a name. In this blog post, I’ll guide you through the key steps to figuring...

Read More

Appreciating Stormy Skies

By on January 22, 2020 | Posted in: How-To

Maria Mudd Ruth, author of “A Sideways Look at Clouds,” is fascinated by clouds. In this post, she identifies the clouds seen in the stormy skies over Oregon’s high desert. She’ll be presenting “The Remarkable Clouds of Oregon’s Desert” to kick off ONDA’s High Desert Speaker Series for 2020.

Read More

Five New Year’s Resolutions
that Help Oregon’s Desert and You

By on January 2, 2020 | Posted in: How-To

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, there’s no denying that New Year’s resolutions are a thing. In “8 Reasons We Really Do Need to Make Resolutions,” Dr. Theo Tsaousides concludes that goals keep people connected. As he writes, “Common goals are the foundational block upon which we build communities. From families to sports teams, from small start-ups to...

Read More

How To Upcycle
Last Year’s Wild Desert Calendar

By on December 9, 2019 | Posted in: How-To

ONDA’s Wild Desert Calendar is chock full of desert beauty, and, each year around this time, we hear from members who simply can’t bear to just throw last year’s calendar away. Here’s an easy craft project that will allow you to upcycle all those gorgeous landscapes, by turning those pages into envelopes.  

Read More