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Environmental protection and landscape photography

Shashin

Well-known member
From my own personal point of view, and you may strongly disagree, if there are continuing injustices that result in the loss of life and there is nothing being done by the participants, then what can I say? Carry on, I am certainly out of my element discussing mountaineering but I deal with life and death decisions and situations every single day in my home, and that is more than overwhelming for me.
The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.

--Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dave, I certain don't disagree with you.
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
An airport at Machu Picchu?

https://www.askthepilot.com/express-blog/ (June 17 item)

"What’s happening in Peru, of course, is part of a wider conversation and the great tourism conundrum of our time: how do we encourage people to celebrate and savor a destination without simultaneously ruining it?"
Things like that is only going to get worse. If there's money to be made, there will be an airport.

In their marketing, old photos of a deserted Machu Picchu will still be used of course, just like they do for Angkhor Wat and Santorini, luring even more sheep into the traps. I'm writing this from a hotel at one of the many "undiscovered" towns along the coast of Myanmar. property prices are already skyrocketing in anticipation of the coming tourist Klondyke. I hope it doesn't happen anytime soon.
 

dchew

Well-known member
Things like that is only going to get worse. If there's money to be made, there will be an airport.
Yeah. We are all guilty to one degree or another. Raise your hand if you've used it (as I type with one hand in the air...):



Nothing like having an in-depth discussion with a marmot after topping out from a great climb in the Tetons, then looking down into the valley and seeing the topside of a 737 on its approach. Mr. Marmot just glares and says, "Hey, don't look at me."

Dave
 

spassig

Member
Hi guys.
Some photographers live in thrilling environment.
Or nearby.
Tuscany, Bretagne, Scotland, Lofoten, Yosemite and so on.
What should photographers do when they live in boring environment?

Jochen
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Hi guys.
Some photographers live in thrilling environment.
Or nearby.
Tuscany, Bretagne, Scotland, Lofoten, Yosemite and so on.
What should photographers do when they live in boring environment?

Jochen
There ain't no such thing as a "boring environment".

I come from Norway, but I've never been to Lofoten. I've been to Myanmar more than 20 times, but I've never been to Lake Inle or Bagan. I travel in my work, mostly to dirty, boring places. I take photos of what I see where I go, like a fishing village that we passed on our way to lunch one day, and that we've re-visited many times since then:



... and I take photos at places we stop for refreshments:



... and at places where I wouldn't dare to eat or drink in fear of getting sick:



... or in the workshop of the company I work for:



Being a photographer is about using one's eyes, to be inspired by others but not trying to copy what they do. Always bring a camera, always take time to use it. Walk more, don't drive. Take time, always.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
TBH I’m done with many of my favorite locations due to the selfie crowds and crap they leave behind.

I used to regularly stop over in Iceland when flying to/from Europe. No more. I’d rent a camper to get away from the crowds but even in some of the most remote places I could get to I’d find toilet paper and fecal matter. Anywhere accessible is now overrun with coach loads of selfie stick wielding hoards and really not at all interesting.

Likewise in my own neck of the woods, the Columbia Gorge. Overrun. I explore the backroads and forests and avoid almost all of our most beautiful but overrun waterfalls. Even the ones off the beaten track are now popularized and damaged.

Even the vastness of the desert south west is being overrun. Antelope canyon - a disaster these days. Ditto Horseshoe bend. The best and only approach I find is to search for out of the way locations and intimate landscapes.

Obviously there’s no simple solution when the new middle class of many nations out numbers the entire US population and has the means and ability to travel to photogenic destinations like never before.
 

Shashin

Well-known member
What does wilderness mean?



Naturally, I could have shot this on the other side of the road and given an impression of a wild place. This was my first and so far only trip to the Southwest at the end of the last century. Yes, there was open country, but not much wilderness. That is not all to do with tourism.

(NOTE: there are very, very few places I have been where I could not hear the sound or drone of an engine(s). Those places are becoming rarer, if they still exist.)
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
Here is a case of actual impact on wildlife, elk populations, from human encroachment into wild areas:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/25/hiking-elk-driven-to-brink-colorado-vail
Thanks, Will,

What we don't know is what should know but with all the chaos around us, we never hear it.:(

Hiking is supposed to be healthy, so the younger generations jump into it... not knowing what their impact is.

They are brainwashed into many things such as electric cars. Good for the environment! Yes! It is good! So they jump into it... but they are oblivious to this:

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/co...cratic-republic-congo-cbs-news-investigation/

There is no free ride and there is no excuse for failing to find out as much truth as possible before we do things. Mindfulness in our lives can include being aware, educated and energized to prevent as many negative impacts as possible. But it is all too easy to ignore the responsibilities we all have individually.

I think the OP is a wonderful topic about what we can do to help preserve the beautiful environment, but we also should care about the not so beautiful, and the lives of impacted species, including humans.

So, carbon footprints, animal farts and burning rainforests need our attention.

Where will we (including me) decide to help out? Hmmm...:bugeyes:

We have a difficult job ahead.
 
Veri,

While I agree with most, actually almost everything, in you fabulous blog post, I can't help but think that as Landscape photographer it will be hard for us to help when we are part of the problem. Every image we post online and to social media, every lesson and workshop we give adds to the idea of photography destination tourism. The more outstanding our images the better the marketing effort and the follow on destruction. Sure we can work to be the least destructive "tourist" of the places we love and visit, but in the end we are still actively contributing to a system that aides in their demise.

I totally understand the need to find income sources for our photography, but I for one can't look at the destruction of our landscapes due to excess tourism without feeling more than a little responsible.

Bill
 

vieri

Well-known member
Bill, Dave & others,

that is exactly the point - how to solve a problem when you are a part of it. My solution is:

- Travel in very small groups (maximum three people), both to minimise my impact on the places I go with my groups, and to give the best attention to my participants;
- Fund the planting of 250 trees per workshop participant, to offset his or her carbon footprint (and more);
- Be ecofriendly during the Workshop, i.e. stay in designed paths and areas, don't littler, use as little plastic as possible, etc etc.
- Offer a mix of iconic destinations and "road less traveled" ones, to spread the pressure on the environment out of the usual, famous destinations: besides Iceland, I go to Dorset; besides the Isle of Skye, I go to the Isle of Arran, and so on; it is surprising how much beauty there is to photograph outside these famous places, and I love to see my participants' faces when we arrive to these less famous destinations :)
- When going to one of the more iconic destination, mix the "must go" location with alternate viewpoints, alternate spots, and so on, both to alleviate pressure on the famous ones, and to make the Workshop more interesting.

I might not be able to solve the problem, but at least I try not to make it worse, and I think I also do some good photographically and educationally, by introducing people to different spots, and showing them how a great photo can be found anywhere, not just in Mesa Arch (which is beautiful, and which I love, by the way!).

It's a tough one, but with everyone's help we might save the planet yet - or, at least, manage to not completely destroy it ;)

Best regards,

Vieri
 
Bill, Dave & others,

that is exactly the point - how to solve a problem when you are a part of it. My solution is:

- Travel in very small groups (maximum three people), both to minimise my impact on the places I go with my groups, and to give the best attention to my participants;
- Fund the planting of 250 trees per workshop participant, to offset his or her carbon footprint (and more);
- Be ecofriendly during the Workshop, i.e. stay in designed paths and areas, don't littler, use as little plastic as possible, etc etc.
- Offer a mix of iconic destinations and "road less traveled" ones, to spread the pressure on the environment out of the usual, famous destinations: besides Iceland, I go to Dorset; besides the Isle of Skye, I go to the Isle of Arran, and so on; it is surprising how much beauty there is to photograph outside these famous places, and I love to see my participants' faces when we arrive to these less famous destinations :)
- When going to one of the more iconic destination, mix the "must go" location with alternate viewpoints, alternate spots, and so on, both to alleviate pressure on the famous ones, and to make the Workshop more interesting.

I might not be able to solve the problem, but at least I try not to make it worse, and I think I also do some good photographically and educationally, by introducing people to different spots, and showing them how a great photo can be found anywhere, not just in Mesa Arch (which is beautiful, and which I love, by the way!).

It's a tough one, but with everyone's help we might save the planet yet - or, at least, manage to not completely destroy it ;)

Best regards,

Vieri
Veri,

I think this is a personal choice that each photographer will make based on their own needs and values. For me the problem is that I don't get a say in what happens after I post my images online or to social media (which I don't really use any longer). And I definitely don't get a say in what my students do or post. So even if I do everything you say, which I do applaud, I could still be turning the "road less traveled" place into the next Instagram must shoot places. And for "ME" I just can't look past that reality without owning it.

Anyway, not wanting to get into a debate, and certainly not wanting to get banned. And as always, I greatly enjoy your writing.

Cheers, Bill
 

vieri

Well-known member
Veri,

I think this is a personal choice that each photographer will make based on their own needs and values. For me the problem is that I don't get a say in what happens after I post my images online or to social media (which I don't really use any longer). And I definitely don't get a say in what my students do or post. So even if I do everything you say, which I do applaud, I could still be turning the "road less traveled" place into the next Instagram must shoot places. And for "ME" I just can't look past that reality without owning it.

Anyway, not wanting to get into a debate, and certainly not wanting to get banned. And as always, I greatly enjoy your writing.

Cheers, Bill
Bill,

I totally agree with you, both about it being a personal choice and about what you say re: controlling what happens to our images, turning the road less traveled in the next must shoot one, etc. And, debates are great, exchanging ideas in a civilised way as we are doing here is, IMHO, one of the best ways to pull our energy & brains together towards a common goal, to reach which there might be many different ways - not to forget that a multi-pronged approach, with different people doing different things, might even work better than everyone doing the same thing, which would probably just move the problem from location A to location B, as you said.

Personally, and in promoting my approach through my work, I find some relief in statistics. In particular, in the idea that if there are today 10.000 photographers going to 10 "must shoot" places, they make way more damage than if - assuming my approach has any success and merit, and that it'll work, which are all very big assumptions - they'll then spread to 100 or 1.000 places. This also assuming, of course, that (willing or not) we will indeed be able to turn 990 "road less traveled" places into "must shoot" ones, which is definitely not a given :) But, if this works, I find some relief also in the fact that, even if thanks to our posting images we make the 10.000 photographers into 15.000, their impact on a single location will still be more diluted and therefore less damaging if the location grows from 10 to 100 or 1.000, than what the original 10.000 could do on the original 10 locations. At least, I hope so :) Of course, the numbers above are completely arbitrary, but I hope the idea still makes sense.

Best regards,

Vieri
 
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