Impact of Wildlife Photography on the Environment

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Viathelens said:
Isn’t this question political in nature? A big NO on this site. Let’s stick with the more helpful photo subjects.
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I don’t think the topic is necessarily political in nature. How we as forum members respond is what could be problematic. As I read through the thread, there are a variety of views expressed. If we keep the commentary respectful, there’s no reason to close the thread, in my opinion.
 
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RikWriter said:
I think the parks are more crowded now not from social media picture-sharers but more because of COVID. People couldn't travel to their usual destinations and started going places they could camp and recreate with a perceived lesser danger of getting sick. I think it's going to die down from the current peak eventually, in another year or two.
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andthewest.stanford.edu

How social media videos are changing the experience of national parks

Across the American West, influencers— both people in search of the ultimate selfie and promoters of park landscapes—broadcast their experiences to tens of thousands of followers. But at what cost to parks?
andthewest.stanford.edu andthewest.stanford.edu

For those willing to geek out with a scientific paper on subject:

 
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aolander said:
To say, "Nope not a thought given", says you give no thought to the negative side of tourism.

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lol ok. Believe what you wish. To say one sits and worries about living their life is a waste. The footprint little old me has on this huge planet sure is a lot less than the wealthy that fly around on private jets telling the rest of us to do less to protect the planet. But you do you. Sit and worry and waste the little time we have.
 
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I do my best every day to pollute the air so nobody else can get the landscape shots I captured, trample the flora so that my macro wildflower photos are that much more valuable and ensure all the woods are cut into lumber and animals have no place to live.

Of course, I care about the environment and impact on wildlife, plants and the areas where they live. I don't see how anyone could be a wildlife photographer and not care. In fact, one of the goals I have for my photography is to educate people about the beauty that surrounds us every day. We don't always need to head to the far reaches of the globe, beauty is usually no farther than our own back yards, local city parks and areas within 100 miles of where ever someone happens to be standing.

Jeff
 
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I find this thread very sad.
I am not a wild life photographer. I photograph birds because I can't draw, and am unable to fly. To reduce this question to one group versus another is similar to the two flies on the horse's rump arguing about who controls the horse. [ bit of philosophical thought I remember ]
I have been visiting this forum for several years. I enjoy looking at the photographs, and getting advice on how to do things.
Lot of 'I's in this post.
It is impossible to understand a person's views on any issue unless you know the person.
My background is varied. I get bored with things easily. Some things I have been interested in for a long time. Photography and birds are two, sight fishing for wild brown trout is another. Primarily it is my children and grandkids that are paramount.
Some info about me:
1. Age 73
2. Born in UK [ England ]
3. Did a degree in Mechanical Engineering [ spent a lot of time in pubs ]
4. My father died within weeks of my getting a very bad Pass Degree. I went from being a kid to an adult trainee with the NCB [ National Coal Board ], while doing an HND in Mining Engineering.
5. The situation with the NCB was less than ideal so I moved to Australia. I was carried out presumed dead in 1977. All very interesting.
6. A year after arriving in Australia the mine I worked at blew up. A year and a half later I moved companies with a 'double promotion'. Those eighteen months were too interesting.
7. Seven years later I walked away from the mining industry.
8. Decided to learn about financial stuff. Got kicked out. Only thing I found interesting was a couple of post grad courses.
9. Bought a fishing lodge in NZ. Total failure at that, but caught a few fish.
10. Worked for Coal Corp in NZ mining coal. No idea what they were doing.
11. Worked in Indonesia mining coal for a couple of years. Too interesting. Got a 'golden handshake' partly due to the financial crisis of 97-98.
12. I had always been interested in philosophy but didn't know what it was. Ended up giving up on the fishing lodge and studied philosophy in Australia for fifteen years. Ended up with a PhD. Spent time in China doing some pre-reading.
I now live in a granny flat and try not to be a nuiscance.
Anyone interested in discussing this matter can pm me. I don't want to get banned for stating the obvious.
 
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I am a cotton farmer in West Texas and much of my wildlife photography happens on this farm. At the same time I am able to go to Oil Leases in cattle pastures and other areas in a wildlife transition zone that most people don't get to.

The reason I am able to go to these places is because the people know me and that I am also a farmer with no agenda but to get good wildlife images of animals and plants native to our area. They know that I am not going to try and stop them from drilling a new oil well or sue them. Property owners, farmers, ranchers and even oil pumpers fear people coming onto their land. They are fearful because they see those people who come onto their land as environmentalists government officials or others who might try and take away from their ability to run their business and live their lives. We have all heard where and oil producer, farmer or rancher has had to fight because of a possible endangered plant or animal or stop doing something they have done for decades. Face it, some wildlife photographers are seen as environmentalists. Think about it. You go out and take a picture of a Lizard and show it on social media and suddenly there is someone going to court to stop you from working in your livelihood.

I have seen more wildlife on my farms in the last 15 years than my father saw in his 82 years on this planet on the same farms I am farming now. That has happened because our ways have change to help support wildlife due to better farming and ranching practices. I drive around these farms daily and I may see a hawk change his flight path because I am driving down a turnrow. I might also see that same hawk dive on a rabbit that i scare up while planting my cotton. Whenever i am in the fields on my tractor, if I see a nighthawk nest because I scared him to flight, I look very closely and raise up the plow to find the nest so I don't run over it. When plowing fields around a playa lake I watch closely for avocet nests or other water bird nests.

I also try and get around the oil lease and pasture quite often. Maybe a couple of times a week. Driving around those pastures I will see many types of birds, deer, reptiles and such. I also see the pumper trucks on the same roads going to check oil wells. Of course much of the wildlife has become accustomed to those trucks and humans. More than once I have photographed birds nesting on the pump jacks and seen different species of Horned Lizards on the roads around the pump jacks. I also frequent a stock pond and just take my chair and sit and watch. The birds, coyotes, badgers and many other wild animals still come to that stock pond for a drink. These stock ponds are and oasis for the wildlife around the llano Estacado and Yellow House Canyon.

My point in this is that as farmers and ranchers and even oil men, we know we are only borrowing this land for a short period of time. I do numerous things like crop rotation, create sources of water for the wildlife and grow cover crops. During the hot and dry August, I had covey's of scaled quail and Bob White Quail at every filter system for drip irrigation. Ranchers do things like get rid of invasive species of plants on their ranches, create stockponds that support wildlife and new things like rotation of livestock pastures. Because of fear of government regulations and oversight as well as negative contact with environmentalists is keeping people away from their land that could do a lot of good.

I know that first hand as I have taken many photographs for different organizations that do a lot of good not only farmers and ranchers but the wildlife and plants on the land. Organizations that improve land to its native ecology that work directly with farmers and ranchers.
 
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The moment I read the OP's "question" I knew that it would only lead to the same polemic seen too often in other realms of life. Like discussions of politics and religion at Thanksgiving, I think topics like this should be avoided at all costs. I'd prefer that we just stick to subjects more directly related to nature photography rather than venture into pointless discussions of moral rectitude.
 
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Larry S. said:
Lot of issues here….this is not the first time this issue has come to the forum. First… How close is too close..? When you encroach into nesting areas the damage is done. If these “nipple-heads” with cameras insist on being close they should consider a trip to a zoo. The “super-shot” does not justify damages and disruptions to the animals routines. This includes mindless exploration into areas where these animals live in hopes of “flushing” out wildlife that may or may not present a photo-op. I consider these yahoos “wildlife paparazzi”. Remember Princess Dianna?😟 The bird watching hordes are also an issue……..Pass the popcorn Anjin…
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Popcorn? I thought you were a beer-man :)
 
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Abinoone said:
The moment I read the OP's "question" I knew that it would only lead to the same polemic seen too often in other realms of life. Like discussions of politics and religion at Thanksgiving, I think topics like this should be avoided at all costs. I'd prefer that we just stick to subjects more directly related to nature photography rather than venture into pointless discussions of moral rectitude.
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I get where you are coming from, however I am isolated so I learn a great deal from what other people are doing or saying in these threads. As a farmer and steward of the land, I would like to be able to tell my story of the land that I am borrowing for a short period of land.
 
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Well we have had a couple of great examples of sustainable practices; wildlife tourism in Africa and evolving farming practices. Hard to argue against those. But it would be nice if firms could deliver faster on alternatives to unsustainable practices.
 
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Alistair said:
Well we have had a couple of great examples of sustainable practices; wildlife tourism in Africa and evolving farming practices. Hard to argue against those. But it would be nice if firms could deliver faster on alternatives to unsustainable practices.
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Sometimes it is difficult to convert over to sustainable practices for various reasons. As I said we are a semi arid area and we try and conserve every drop of water we get. We also know that cover crops will help hold the soil better from wind and water erosion while also increasing infiltration rates in the soil. I have been no-till or minimum tillage for over 20 years and have built my soil up doing that. However, in todays world some may say that what I have been doing for the last 20 years is not sustainable. Everybody seems to have their own definitions of sustainability.
 
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A big factor devolves to why each of us photograph the natural world. An individual's portfolio might not be overtly linked/directed at personal, ecological literacy, nonetheless shared images influence perceptions of others and help inform scientific studies.

Each georeferenced image of a bird, insect, mammal etc becomes a datum, and feed into real time distribution maps, amenable to time series analyes etc. The educational and scientific values of shared images are immense, particularly with citizen science supporting management and conservation of particular species and threatened ecosystems.

And media reach raises environmental awareness widely. The international natural history photography competitions are a high profile example. These images get considerable coverage in mainstream media (eg BBC, Guardian etc).
 
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Petrphotosss said:
Hello everyone,

I’d like to ask if any of you consider the impact of constant gear upgrades and trips to exotic destinations on nature.
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On this aspect – for me a yes.

Gear upgrades allow me and many others to achieve either better or more wildlife photos than was possible before - and wildlife photography contributes significantly to the public perception of nature.
Also, when I sell older gear, its lower price enables others who could not otherwise afford to do so to progress in wildlife photography at a lower price point.

I try to restrict the "pollution aspect" of trips to exotic destinations by staying in one destination as long as possible rather than having many long mileage trips for just one or two days.
There is a personal balance in my opinion between an individual reducing their pollution effect whilst on the planet and having a reasonably enjoyable life.
 
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Wow, this thread just blew up more than I expected! I got home from work and finally have some time to read the comments and maybe explain why I started all of this. When I began my wildlife photography hobby, I assumed everyone involved would have an environmentalist mindset. However, after a couple of years, I encountered people who didn’t seem concerned about environmental aspects at all, or perhaps they just forgot about them while chasing photos. Unfortunately, I think that a misbehaving photographer can be much worse than an uneducated public, as most people simply don’t notice or care about the species.

Here are some behaviors I've encountered that worry me:

  • Overconsumption: This is potentially the most controversial point. Many photographers I’ve met are obsessed with constantly upgrading their gear—cameras, lenses, computers, tripods, you name it. This leads to material waste and environmental harm. I’m not saying people should never buy anything, but I would expect them to be more conscious about their consumption. The same goes for travel; many photographers I’ve met take flights more than five times a year or choose flying over buses just for convenience. They often don’t refill their water bottles and instead bring new plastic ones. This behavior is unfortunately common among humans in general, but I would expect nature lovers to lead by example.
  • Harassing animals for photos: I’ve been shocked when I had to tell a group of photographers not to take bugs in plastic containers for later photography session or to stop shining bright lights on nocturnal animals for over 15 minutes. Additionally, some nesting sites for birds were destroyed or abandoned because people were cutting off branches for a better view.
  • Paying for hides where businesses feed animals: Some photographers pay to photograph bears that are conditioned to come close to humans for food. They also visit places where animals are kept in poor conditions.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any solutions to these issues, but I wonder what your moral compass is regarding them. Some of the comments have been very insightful.

As for the political aspect of this discussion: anything can be twisted into a political debate, whether people like it or not. Without the efforts of environmentalist groups, there would be far less to photograph now and even less for future generations. After all, we are borrowing this planet from them.

Thanks to everyone for being respectful and for taking the time to reply!
 
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Patrick M said:
All. This thread was bound to go sideways. Please refrain from personal comments. I’m so tempted just to delete this entire thread. Remember this is a photography forum.
Thanks
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Please!!! @Steve was on the Ugly Hedgehog forum before creating his on. UHH is a mess now, This has been a great place but as it grows so does this type of stuff. I've learned a lot here but this kind of stuff quickly goes off the rails and is meaningless.

You could almost compare the increase of people here, some with maybe not the best intentions with the increase of folks at the parks being stupid.

Just my 2 cents worth...
 
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