Impact on Nature

Concerns of Photography

 

            It seems that photography of all things would be harmless to the rest of the world, but in all actuality it’s not.  There are many things that can go wrong with it when you are not careful about what you are doing when you are out there.  Tourists can affect animals in ways that I never thought possible.

            I always wondered why there are signs up at national parks saying, “Don’t feed the birds.” It never once occurred to me that this could cause them to become dependent on human food sources that they would forget how to hunt on their own and find their own food.  To me the idea of baiting animals into the perfect scene is ridiculous.  The articles didn’t focus on baiting but in a couple of them it was implied. 

            As was stated in the research paper where they tested the effects of photographers on the animals it amazes me that something as quiet as that can have such a large effect on the animals.  The shutter sound coming from a camera is not that loud, but it’s pretty scary when it has the same effects that the predators to the Anole have.  Their behavioral changes make me wonder what just walking through the school campus has on the animals that live in the environment. 

            When I read the Wikipedia article I was startled by the amount of bad that human interaction has on animals when people don’t understand what they are doing can harm the animals.  It amazes me that an animal can think the ship, where tourists are watching the young, is its mother.  This could be a serious threat in the animals that are endangered. 

            Finally, I do have one problem with the “Wildlife Photography Ethics & Philosophy.” In the blog the author states that you shouldn’t disturb birds nesting sight. I am a hunter and every time I’m out hunting I flush up pheasants and I chase deer over many miles of land to hunt them.  Should they show signs of distress like the animals that he talks about?

            Overall it amazes me how humans can disturb animals and decrease their breading success.  But as we have talked about it doesn’t surprise me because of how stupid, i.e. people walking up to bears and elk, some people can be.  With conservation efforts these  things can all be returned to their natural settings.

Africa

Five Ideas for Africa. 
   1)  In one article he said he didn't take a Tripod due to lack of vehicle space however, I would take a tripod in order to get better quality pictures. 
   2)  I would make sure all of my camera accessories were in tip top condition.  That way I would avoid the chance of it malfunctioning when I arrived in Africa.
   3)  Make sure I have plenty of batteries and make sure they were charged.  Maybe consider getting so sort of small solar panel to make sure I could charge my batteries in case there wasn't enough power in the camp. 
   4) As was stated in one article I would consolidate my belongings as much as possible and double check the weight of my gear before I left my house. 
   5)  Lastly while taking pictures in Africa I would need to make sure that my pictures were taken with precision.  Not cutting out anything, animal limb, or part of the animal or herd. 

Rut

This picture was taken at the Redlodge Ski Resort with my Canon Power Shot SX120 IS camera.  I like this picture because it reminds me of my first hunt.  The buck that I killed was behaving in a similar manner.  The White snow in the front distracts from the rest of the picture and the fact that the buck and the doe on the left side of the picture are cut off take away from the picture. 

Winter (11-15-12)

This picture was taken just south of Hayes Montana with my Canon Power Shot SX120 IS.  Earlier this year I took a picture in the same spot.  I chose to post this one because of the change in weather.  This picture reminds me of hunting, something that I haven't gotten a chance to do much of this year.  I really like this picture because of the different elements that it shows.  I also like how you can see that its snowing.  With editing this picture could be lightened up a bit.  I don't like how the foreground has dark shrubs in it while the rest of the foreground is completely white. 

Highway 87 (11-8-12)

This photo was taken along highway 87 with my Canon Power Shot SX120 IS.  I like this picture because it captures many elements.  With the many different fence lines my attention is taken from the front of the picture all the way to the back of the picture.  I also like how the shack is in the middle right third of the picture, this was done unintentionally.  I don't like how the picture has the edge of the highway in the lower left hand corner.  With some editing this picture could be made better.  One thing that I am going to try is turning it black and white. 

Norms

This photo was taken with a Nikon Coolpix L18 camera at Norms Island.  I like it photo because of how the tree in the lower left hand corner takes you to the center of the picture.  The lines from the tree make all sorts of angles.  I don't like how cluttered it looks in the middle of the picture.  I would have liked to of kept it with more branches rather than just leaves.  I like how blue sky acts as a backdrop from the dark branches.  With editing this picture I might make it black and or at the least darken the trees a little more to make them stand out.