2026 Wallowa County Bird Photography Weekend

Friday, January 23 – Monday, January 26, 2026

Trip Leader Marty Karlin, overall organizer and photography lead. Birding Field Trip Leaders: Mike Hansen, Paul Sullivan and Kendrick Moholt.

Event Dates – Friday, January 23 – Monday, January 26, 2026

Registration opens on December 5th at 4:00 pm. 

To Register: Wallowa Registration Link 

Maximum # of participants: 8 OBA members and others attending from the Wallowa Valley Photo Club.

Description.  The Wallowa Valley Photo Club and the Oregon Birding Association would like to invite bird photographers to a comprehensive winter birding field trip with photography workshops in Enterprise, Oregon in Wallowa County on January 23-26, 2026.

All workshops are from 4-6 pm at Toma’s Conference Center
309 S River Suite D, Enterprise Oregon 97828.

Optional Breakfast and dinner locations will be announced prior to the trip. 

Transportation, lodging, and food are on your own, unless otherwise mentioned.

Schedule (tentative):

Friday, January 23rd 

      • Workshop 1 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm – Camera settings and bird photography techniques. 
      • Dinner at 7:00 pm or on your own. One night in each: Range Rider, Terminal Gravity, and La Laguna Mexican Restaurant.

Saturday, January 24th 

      • Breakfast (optional) at 7:00 am. Location TBD. Possibilities are Red Rooster, Cheyenne Cafe, and The Blythe Cricket.
      • Field trips led by Birding Field Trip Leaders: Mike Hansen Paul Sullivan and Kendrick Moholt and photographers including Marty Karlin. Participants will split into 2 groups and carpool.
      • Workshop 2 time TBD. This workshop will focus on uploading your pictures to your computer or external hard drive, selecting your pictures, and getting ready for processing. 
      • Dinner at 7:00 pm or on your own. One night in each: Range Rider, Terminal Gravity, and La Laguna Mexican Restaurant.

Sunday, January 25th

      • Breakfast (optional) at 7:00 am. Location TBD. Possibilities are Red Rooster, Cheyenne Cafe, and The Blythe Cricket.
      • Field trips at 8:00 am led by Birding Field Trip Leaders: Mike Hansen, Paul Sullivan, and Kendrick Moholt and photographers, including Marty Karlin. 
      • Workshop 3; Time 4-6 pm. This workshop will focus on processing pictures in Lightroom (conceptually applicable to any other software package you may use).
      • Dinner at 7:00 pm or on your own. One night in each: Range Rider, Terminal Gravity, and La Laguna Mexican Restaurant.

Monday, January 26th (optional)

      • Breakfast (optional) at 7:00 am. Location TBD. Possibilities are Red Rooster, Cheyenne Cafe, and The Blythe Cricket.
      • Field trips at 8:00 am led by Birding Field Trip Leaders: Mike Hansen, Paul Sullivan, and Kendrick Moholt and photographers, including Marty Karlin. 
      • Presentation of Photos; Time 4-6 pm. Present pictures that participants have taken.

Traveling. Carpooling is necessary; we don’t have wide pullouts in some spots for multiple cars. Compensating drivers for mileage and gas is encouraged.

Will toilets and drinking water be available? Effort will be made to provide bathroom stops. Please bring your own water for the day.

Additional important information (e.g. parking passes, transportation info, scopes, etc.) 

  • Lodging in or near Enterprise is suggested. 
  • Bring binoculars, camera, a long lens, and if you have a laptop computer, external hard drive, mouse. Trip leaders will have a scope, but it may be helpful to have more than one. Footwear with a good tread, clothing to suit wintry weather conditions, food, including snacks and lunch for each day and water. Additionally, it is recommended that your vehicle is winter-ready. 
  • Cell service may be spotty or unavailable.

The Wallowa Valley Photo Club and the Oregon Birding Association would like to invite bird photographers to a comprehensive winter birding field trip, and a series of related bird photography workshops, taking place in Enterprise, Oregon in Wallowa County on January 23-26, 2026. There will be Photo Club members familiar with all camera brands and computer platforms available to assist.

Participants should have an understanding of their camera settings that includes ISO, shutter speed, f-stop, and perhaps exposure compensation. Bring your camera to the Friday Settings workshop. Those that have processing software on a laptop are encouraged to bring their computer, a card reader, and perhaps an external hard drive for uploading the day’s pictures and subsequent processing. Make sure your battery is charged for each session. Bring a camera, the longest lens you have, teleconverter if you have, laptop and processing software, an external hard drive, a jumpdrive if you have. For birds, you can’t have too long a lens. Consider renting. For those without a laptop computer and processing software you can sit with someone who has or observe the presentation.

There will be two groups of three or four cars on the field trips, Each group of around eight participants will have two guides and at least one photography consultant. Many of the Photo Club members are accomplished photographers, and are available to share their expertise. Each group will go to separate locations each day, and after three days will have visited Wallowa County’s hotspots. Ongoing communication between groups will ensure that unusual sightings will be shared. It takes a village, and we have one.

Target Birds include Bohemian Waxwing, Snow Bunting, Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, Spruce Grouse, Gray Partridge, American Tree Sparrow, Pine Grosbeak,  Northern Pygmy-Owl, and Goshawk. Last year’s OBA trip to Wallowa County included 68 species observed over three days https://ebird.org/tripreport/321823.

This is a free event. Guides and presenters are volunteering their time for the good of the cause. A small donation to the Photo Club to help offset costs of the room rental totalling around $300 is appreciated. The Photo Club will provide coffee and tea at the workshops. Participants are encouraged to bring snacks to share. Participants should prepare or purchase their own lunches ahead of time.

A follow up email adding any other trip details and a survey focused on photography will be sent to registrants. 

Questions?
OBA members – please contact fieldtrips@oregonbirding.org or jillpunches@gmail.comFor more information about Marty Karlin’s photography, please visit mrtk.smugmug.com