Ethics in Nature Photography and Wildlife Photography

This story has been ruminating in my head for a while now and today, after listening to a podcast, I have decided to share it. This opinion of mine is definitely going to put me in a corner more so then I am, but I have never been popular, and can withstand some heat.

It started back in March when I came upon a group of people standing around a tripod with a camera and a long lens perched pretty close to a family of Great Horned Owls. Mama Owl had made a home in a tree on the side of a residential road, just as they have done throughout the years.

This year, word got around in the photography community - and if you don't know, owls are coveted photography subjects.

The tree with the owls is wrapped in caution tape. I believe that is because ConEd was doing work on the trees in that area and the homeowners/residents wanted to protect the tree from being cut down.

As they stood chit chatting around the tripod, awfully close to the nest, the owlets had their backs turned towards them.

Image cropped and taken with a 150-600mm telephoto lens with a focal distance of 42.20 m. This equals an approximate 46.5 yards distance

I thought it was so intrusive. Like, back up.

According to rumblings in the photography community, at some point Mama Owl was originally caring for three owlets but one had toppled out of the nest prematurely, and was cared for by a rehabber.

These 3 humans didn't necessarily cause the poor owlet to fall. I honestly do not know the specifics of how. But this human interaction with nature demonstrates the exact behavior that could cause this to happen.

PLEASE BE RESPONSIBLE PHOTOGRAPHERS

Ethics in nature and wildlife photography matter now more then ever before.  

If you did not know, organizations such as Naturefirst, the National Park Service, and the National Wildlife Foundation, each share similar ethical guidelines for nature and wildlife photographers to follow.

For example, below is an infographic from the National Park Service with guidelines for photographers on the minimum distance you should keep between yourself and most wildlife.

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/idkt_lnt6.htm

NatureFirst, the Alliance for Responsible Nature Photography, organized in 2019 by a group of nature photographers, developed The Seven Principles of Nature First Photography.

"The Seven Principles of Nature First Photography were developed to help educate and guide both professional and recreational photographers in sustainable, minimal impact practices that will help preserve nature’s beautiful locations. #naturefirst"

THE GATEKEEPING OF IT ALL

In my opinion, nature and wildlife photographers can be very hypocritical creatures, gatekeeping bird and animal locations so that they appear ethical, as if they are not disclosing locations of animals. But then these same people turn around and share locations with their circle of photographer friends.

Word travels fast these days - that's how I ended up at this tree with the owl family. I heard about it from another photographer I met walking in the woods. So I drove by the nest and stopped for 5 minutes before scurrying away like an angry little karen. For me to learn where an animal or a bird lives is rare folks, because like I said, I am not popular and do not run with any of these photographer circles.

Cropped image taken with a telephoto lense (150mm-600mm) and photographed at a focal distance of 23 m which equals 25 yards.

Another thing I am seeing is nature and wildlife photographers sharing locations of species ONLINE via Instagram, or on their websites, and even on podcasts, just to drive traffic to their websites, or to be seen.

You are also drawing a larger crowd of people into these animals homes, over-flooding them with human interaction. It's wonderful to encourage time in nature, but disclosing locations of animals is a safety concern especially when you reveal nesting sites.

It makes me ask, what are your intentions? Do you really have nature in mind, or numbers?

The next time you are out in the field, or sharing something online, I hope you consider the impact you are making on nature and wildlife. Is it positive or negative? Is drawing people to these locations helpful or hurtful?

If nature and wildlife are truly sacred, are we being a good steward and photographing them with the care, respect, and ethics that sacred things deserve? Or is being a nature photographer and/or wildlife photographer more about popularity and recognition for you?

This blog post is part of my continuing journey with conservation photography and documenting the natural world with care and respect. To learn more visit,

https://www.lesliearchambault.com/conservationphotographer

xoxoxox