http://mintonsunday.livemint.com/news/the-ugly-side-of-wildlife-photography/1.0.1386835189.html
created by orionflyer12 on 12/04/2016 at 11:31 UTC
533 upvotes, 25 top-level comments (showing 25)
Comment by GeorgeTheExplorer at 12/04/2016 at 13:05 UTC
180 upvotes, 9 direct replies
Really enjoyed reading this. It's a massive issue and is - pun not intended - the elephant in the room with SO many 'wildlife' photographers.
In fact, just last week I was in a hide watching - and waiting - for a Buzzard to hunt some rabbit/mice/voles/whatever in the cornfield below. The bird would circle, glide for a bit, then perch. Glide, perch, glide, perch, e.tc. Then finally, he/she settled on a nearby telegraph pole for a good 10 minutes, surveying and probably just resting.
Another "wildlife" photographer pulls up his car on the road around 150m from me, hops over the gate, starts snapping some shots to the left of the Buzzard, around 50m away. I think fine, I don't *really* have grounds - other than selfish ones - to stop him, so long as he wasn't disturbing or irritating the bird.
He walks even closer (minimum of 25m away), sets up his tripod, plays with camera, attaches wired shutter release then starts bending over picking things up. I shit you not, he then starts THROWING STONES at this Buzzard which obviously takes off pretty swiftly toward my direction and continues on.
At this point I was pretty pissed, walked down toward the gate (where I'd also parked) and asked this guy WHY the fuck he'd thrown stones at a Buzzard... his response?
"Oh, I just wanted it to fly"
I actually kept fairly calm and asked him how he thought the Buzzard had gotten to the pole in the first instance, then walked back to my car. For a few days afterward I regretted not making more of a scene but man, I was dumbfounded by the whole thing.
Comment by ejp1082 at 12/04/2016 at 16:22 UTC
29 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Wow. I wasn't expecting that to make me as angry as it did. What the fuck is wrong with people?
Part of the joy of of shooting wildlife is the challenge of it. Finding the animals. Catching them doing something cool at the right angle in the right light. Baiting, trapping, coaxing, interfering and freezing them (holy fuck people actually do that?) defeats the damn purpose.
Maybe you'll get a good photo, but so what? At that point it's as fake as if you did the whole thing in Photoshop. Except you got it at the expense of the subject, which makes it even worse.
If you're going to stage a shot go to a damn zoo. Leave animals alone.
And seriously as a reptile lover that freezing thing REALLY pisses me off.
Comment by oblisk at 12/04/2016 at 18:02 UTC
19 upvotes, 2 direct replies
I went to the wildlife photographer of the year last year at the Natural History Museum in London (http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/wpy.html[1]).
1: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/wpy.html
I was disgusted at the number of shots where the photographer baited, or flushed out wildlife. Not to mention the use of a flash array to capture a nighttime predator. Its shocking its even allowed for this competition; then there is also the 8yr olds winning the kids category using $20k worth of gear.
Comment by photenth at 12/04/2016 at 11:59 UTC*
77 upvotes, 4 direct replies
Wildlife photographers that use these corridor safaris to get their pictures aren't wildlife photographers. Same as hunters who pay to shoot baited animals.
I consider a picture of a wild squirrel in the local park more of a wildlife picture than a lion in those safari parks.
There was this B&H video from that wildlife photographers that set up camera traps all over the place to get one or maybe two shots of a wild tiger. That's a wildlife photographer, not your tourist trap safari park.
EDIT: The article summed it up
With easy access to information, technology and quick fame, amateur nature photography is now a threat to the very species and wild habitats it looks to celebrate.
Nature photographers, not wildlife photographers =)
Comment by Willy-FR at 12/04/2016 at 20:42 UTC
8 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I've always thought that if the animal changed its behaviour because I was taking pictures, then I was doing it wrong.
Apparently it's an outmoded outlook. It doesn't really surprise me given that selfies are the main form of picture taking these days.
Comment by [deleted] at 12/04/2016 at 20:43 UTC
7 upvotes, 1 direct replies
When someone asked about this guy's instagram[1], people were pissed off for these exact reasons. There's too many people out there who are willing to cross ethical boundaries in order to one up the next person. Because having 100k IG followers is more important than being an ethical human being.
1: https://www.instagram.com/kpunkka/
Comment by where_are_the_aliens at 12/04/2016 at 16:13 UTC
6 upvotes, 0 direct replies
This happens very frequently.
Take a drive through many of the wildlife parks in S. Africa, and you'll see people doing stupid things to get photographs. Many are tourists, but some are "pro" photogs.
There's a pressure to get stunning images, and *frequently*, especially now that images, as a whole, are completely devalued. They are a commodity to drive web traffic, or gain Instagram followers.
Ubiquitous and cheap tech, easier access to remote areas, and a general lack of understanding of the natural world puts a lot of pressure on animals to "perform" for entertainment purposes.
Comment by natehughesphoto at 12/04/2016 at 11:53 UTC
11 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Interesting article on a topic not talked about enough. Thanks for sharing.
Comment by effortDee at 12/04/2016 at 17:52 UTC
5 upvotes, 1 direct replies
There's a big thing at the moment with underwater photography and sea life. A lot of photographers who take macro photographs are moving their subjects and entering them in to photography competitions and sometimes winning.
People have started campaigns and a few big scuba blog websites have been posting about this problem recently, so this isn't just above water, its in water too.
How the fuck can people think this stuff is right!?
Comment by Tbarbs at 12/04/2016 at 17:04 UTC
9 upvotes, 1 direct replies
There should be a mandatory ethics class when purchasing telephoto lenses. Obviously that's not feasible, but maybe if these lenses came with a "wildlife photography" tutorial guide that offered good tips but had a bunch of ethical practices put in so that you couldn't get the tips without reading through ethical practices.
Comment by [deleted] at 12/04/2016 at 17:25 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Too many people is the ugly side of everything. That's why I venture to get out of town as often as possible. Whatever distance the masses go on the weekend, I go at very least an hour further.
Comment by sharkbait1999 at 12/04/2016 at 17:17 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I think these tour guides tho are embellishing and heightening these situations to make the experience appear more thrilling and dangerous
Comment by [deleted] at 12/04/2016 at 18:46 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
what about those disney nature movies? like monkey kingdom?
Comment by BatMunki at 12/04/2016 at 18:57 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
/r/WildlifePhotography would like this!
Comment by tonfx at 13/04/2016 at 03:01 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Man, I've always wanted to photography the Japanese snow monkeys but seeing that banner photo makes me sad. I can just imagine the smell, noise, and trash a group like that would create.
Comment by Mr-Yellow at 12/04/2016 at 21:50 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Photographic tourism is not sustainable conservation.
It creates market pressure for over-stocked and mismanaged habitats. Elephant dust bowls, devoid of biodiversity is what the tourist unwittingly demands.
Comment by CholentPot at 13/04/2016 at 00:07 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Make it a thing that any wildlife shot worth anything must be done on film. A wildlife photo done on digital is sooo 2015. Anyone worth anything shoots wildlife on film!
This problem would go away fast...
Comment by a_lachlan at 12/04/2016 at 16:53 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Very interesting read - thanks for posting! It's really shitty how many people worry about "getting the shot" more than the wellbeing of the subject, and that many people who organise and run safaris/nature reserves don't do much to stop it. I know there are some that are very strict (a friend of mine has been to a few of them), but there certainly seem to be many out there that aren't as well regulated. I've always thought of wildlife photography as sitting and waiting for the animals to come to you and not interacting with them at all, but some of the stuff that really goes on is shocking...
Comment by [deleted] at 13/04/2016 at 01:36 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
We were in Etosha National Park (Namibia) and some fucking idiot actually got out of his car to take photos.
People and wildlife can be a horrible mix.
Took a photo and showed it to the people at the admin area in the park itself.
Comment by Sfhybridchild at 13/04/2016 at 02:09 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I'm not a wild life photographer but my parents do bird watching pretty seriously. In Thailand there are these horror stories we keep hearing from our bird guides. They said Chinese tourists with their own tour guide would scare the bird with loud noise/rock just to get flying shots. Worse than that, many tour guides have seen Chinese tourists, in well known bird spot, literally shaking the nest. Just so they can make their pictures unique/one of a kind. No one can copy. Thinking about this makes me so angry and sad.
Edit: I am sure there are good Chinese tourist but "mainland Chinese tourist" are what we are told specifically. :/ just putting it out there.
Comment by the-A-word at 13/04/2016 at 10:10 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
That tiger looks fed up
Comment by MeanderingLife at 13/04/2016 at 18:54 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Ah man that made me sad. I am trying so hard to break into the wildlife photography world, I sit for hours in the same place if I need to all for that perfect shot. Knowing that there are people out in the world, who refuse to have patience and instead manipulate animals into doing what they want is something I just cannot agree with. Am I the best Wildlife photographer? No. But I know what is right and wrong when it comes to photographing animals. I cannot and will not defend anyone who infringes on the rights of the creatures we share this world with, that is just my opinion.
Comment by [deleted] at 12/04/2016 at 13:03 UTC
-9 upvotes, 1 direct replies
These are the cunts who are going to spoil it for everyone else. I'd love to get out and shoot some exotic wildlife, but seeing photos like the ones in the article really put me off of it. You get one pissed off tiger and a hundred brown-skinned people in a scene. No thanks.
Comment by x12ogerZx at 12/04/2016 at 23:45 UTC
-3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Haha man this article had me in stitches!! I understand there is an issue with photographers disturbing wildlife, but the length they went to get that point across was so unnecessary!
"The menace of unethical photography..."
I have studied conservation biology and I can assure you that the damage we are doing to the environment by taking pictures of it is a dwarf to the amount of damage the rest of our activities have on the natural world.
Comment by 1millionbucks at 13/04/2016 at 02:39 UTC
-2 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Another day, another "humans trample on nature" story. I'm honestly surprised at the level of outrage here: do none of you think of the natural habitats that were destroyed to make room for your houses, the pollution caused by your travels, the strip mining needed to get the metals for your phones? A lot of indignant wannabe-environmentalists in here. The truth is that humans have been raping the earth since the beginning of time, and it isn't going to end soon. Retarded tourists pissing off animals is the very least of this planet's problems.