I think there is an onus on all of us who do photography to practise our craft in a responsible way.
Any discussion of street photography or documentary photography will almost certainly include the ethics involved in those types of photography, such as not photographing vulnerable people or not taking images of minors without a parent or guardian’s permission.
Ethics around landscape photography are not given as much thought, or worse, the attitude is, anything goes in the pursuit of a good photograph.
While this is most definitely not the case, it is largely left up to each photographer to take care of the environment in which they are working, and inevitably some are more careful than others.
As part of my work in education I have always felt passionate about enabling children and young people to be custodians of the future, and part of this involved education in caring for the environment in which we live. I undertook environmental awareness training and, with my students, participated in many projects aimed at raising awareness of the many human activities that detrimentally affect our environment, and how we can live more sustainably.
As a photographer I am aware of the damage that is being done to some of our most beautiful locations by lone photographers, groups of photographers and those with phone cameras who all want to capture that perfect photograph. Flowers and young plants are being trampled, parts of plants are being broken off and discarded because they are ‘getting in the way’ of the photograph, and paths are being created through green spaces to provide a short cut to a location.
And that is without mentioning the litter being left at beauty spots!
Protecting our environment and ensuring that our behaviour contributes to its sustainability involves raising awareness in any way that we can, which is why I am prompted to share this website, www.naturefirst.org, which addresses this issue with photographers in mind and gives guidance on how to be a responsible photographer.
To quote from the website:
No one can be “perfect,” reducing their impact to zero, but we can all be mindful and responsible with our nature photography. It’s simply the ethical thing to do.
While recognising that historically photography has played a role in environmental protection, concerns are being raised about current trends of over-visitation of some of the world’s most renowned beauty spots, largely due to social media sharing, and of a widespread basic lack of knowledge of ‘outdoor ethics’.
I love to experiment with close-up flower photography and am always saddened when the beauty of the flowers is spoiled by discarded litter which often blows into the flower beds.
Nature First has produced a set of core principles designed to help photographers to enjoy photography in the natural landscape while also behaving responsibly towards the environment.
What are the Nature First Principles?
The 7 Nature First Principles are:
Prioritize the well-being of nature over photography.
Educate yourself about the places you photograph.
Reflect on the possible impact of your actions.
Use discretion if sharing locations.
Know and follow rules and regulations.
Always follow Leave No Trace principles and strive to leave places better than you found them.
Actively promote and educate others about these principles.
You can read about these principles in depth here.
You can read about how these principles apply to smartphone users here.
The principles are easy to remember and should become second nature to all photographers. In particular, it is important to actively promote these principles and to educate others about them so that we reverse the trend of contributing, as photographers, to increased negative impact on our natural environment.
National Parks are popular places for photography but it is essential that photographers abide by the common principles of environmental protection.
One of the 7 principles of Nature First is to use discretion if sharing locations, particularly on social media platforms, as increased visitation can have a negative impact on sensitive areas.
Another of the principles, always follow Leave No Trace principles and strive to leave places better than you found them, expands into a further 7 principles which are 'minimum impact practices' for anyone frequenting the outdoors and they form a set of practical ways to make a difference as photographers.
As well as leaving no litter, the principles also urge us not to create paths where no paths exist, not to trample on flowers or plants to get a photograph, in other words to leave everything as we found it, and to take away everything that we bring with us. The principles also encourage us to leave places better then we found them by picking up litter even if it doesn’t belong to us.
Areas such as wildflower fields are 'seasonally sensitive'.
On her first visit to a bluebell woods my 3½-year-old granddaughter was tempted to run through the bluebells, but she was happy to comply when we explained to her why she needed to use the path that was already there.
If environmental awareness begins at a young age children are more likely to grow up with a genuine respect and care for nature.
I hope that reading this blog on how to be a responsible photographer will encourage you to visit the nature first website, familiarise yourself with the principles outlined and encourage others to adopt them also.
FURTHER RESOURCES
'In nature, everybody is an influencer' - Nature First
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