Owen Deutsch, an award-winning nature photographer whose work has appeared in National Geographic, will be exhibiting his work entitled “Birds of the Americas” at Fernwood Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve and Tabula Rasa Gallery (819 First St., Baroda) Oct. 24 to Dec. 7.

An opening reception for both galleries will be held Oct. 26 from noon to 2 p.m. at Tabula Rasa and from 3 to 5 p.m. at Fernwood. Deutsch will be at both receptions, which are free and open to the public.

Recently, Deutsch’s image of a bald eagle chasing a great blue heron was named a North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) 2011 Top 10

Showcase Winner, and was cited in a USA Today March 2014 article for the excitement it caused in birding circles. A prolific bird photographer, he has photographed hundreds of rare species and is dedicated to their preservation. All of his commissions will be donated to the American Bird Conservancy to support bird preservation.

Deutsch took some time out of his day to talk about his passion for photography.

 

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Chicago and have lived here all my life, although I have been traveling quite a bit over the last 15 years around the world.

 

How did you get into photography?

As a child my hobby and passion was photography. After school I went to work for photography studios. The first one was at a commercial photography studio doing a lot of food and product. After a few years I went to work for a fashion photographer, Victor Skrebneski, for four years with my ultimate plan to open my own studio, which I did after four years.

I had a successful career in photography, but I also realized that (real estate) is something else I like to do. Since I was in business for myself I had time to work around doing other real estate development. I probably bought a building a year, rehabbed it on my own and continued building a portfolio of buildings.

 

What do you enjoy about bird photography?

Doing bird photography is a big challenge because they don’t sit still. It takes a lot of patience and skill. It gave me the opportunity to travel all over the world because there are beautiful birds all over the world — not just the Midwest. Tropical birds to me are generally more colorful and exciting than the birds in the Midwest. So I’ve traveled a lot to Central and South America… all over.

My heart starts pounding when I see these gorgeous creatures and I get them in the camera. It is so beautiful. As a fashion photographer I worked with a lot of beautiful women, shooting beautiful clothes and that was fun and exciting. It is more challenging to shoot something that doesn’t sit still. It is something that got into my blood very much.

 

Is there a bird you would like to take a picture of that you haven’t?

I don’t have one particular bird. A lot are very hard to get and if you do get one, very often it isn’t a great picture. I am not a birder per say. Those people, all they have to do is see the bird or hear the bird and they are excited and passionate about it. They are a different breed of person. That isn’t me. I just enjoy their beauty and they happen to be outside in nature and it is a lot of fun to be out and capturing those pictures and sharing that joy with other people.

 

What is the photo you are most proud of?

There are so many, but about a year ago a friend told me about a place where Eagles were nesting and asked if I’d be interested in seeing it. I went over and we were out on a boat for three to four hours. All of a sudden a great blue heron came flying in the direction of the nesting eagles. I couldn’t believe it. He is just about to fly in and land on a branch near the eagle’s nest and the eagle said ‘get out of here guy’ and took off to get rid of him. I got a once in a lifetime picture of the eagle chasing the blue heron. You talk about heart pounding out of your body. There was probably 4 or 5 seconds where I was shooting this and almost doing somersaults to keep him in the frame. I say I got lucky because I got both birds. People thought it was photoshopped. It wasn’t. It won an award.

 

Do you have advice for taking good nature photos?

Patience is probably the biggest thing. You also need a good camera, but it doesn’t need to be extraordinarily good. Establish some proper camera techniques and know your equipment. Also, have the patience and take the time to wait for a good shot.