Bald eagle catching a fish.
We have all been there. You see an animal that is just minding its own business, not really paying any attention to you. You whip out the camera, and start snapping pictures like the wildlife paparazzi (that’s kind of what wildlife photographers are you know). You chimp on the LCD screen, and say to yourself, “I need to get a little closer.” The next thing you know, you’re walking forward, closing the distance. Click! click!… chimp. “A little closer.” The animal looks up, gives you the metaphorical good-bye gesture (whatever that may be), and flees. You the human, have just negatively influenced the animal because you wanted a good picture, probably to share and get likes on your social media platforms. Unfortunately, I’ve done it too. In fact, I’ve been there more than I care to admit and still have to caution myself.
This piece isn’t meant to be a primer on ethics, that’s coming soon; it’s only purpose is to get us wildlife-chasers to consider our intentions as photographers. By-the-way, if you take pictures of birds or any other kind of animal with your phone’s camera, you have become a wildlife photographer (to one level or another).
Selflessness in wildlife photography can be extremely rewarding. Quietly watching an animal, uninfluenced by man, is astounding! My hunter friends can certainly identify with me here. You’re sitting in a tree stand, watching off-limits wildlife go by. You can’t legally shoot them, so you just observe. You see behaviors that you wouldn’t normally see. When you become an observer, not concerned with how many insta-likes you’re going to get, you realize that animals do neat things. The image above is a bald eagle hunting. He has just caught a fish, and is either going to eat it, take it to his young, or to his mate. If I had gotten closer and had gone for the mega-up-close portrait, I would have never seen this! And this is WAY better, IMO.
My psychologically-astute friends are probably saying, “You still aren’t being selfless.” True. I totally agree with this statement. I love wildlife photography because of the images I capture. However, we can capture great images and leave animals uninterrupted. I have been very close to some amazing animals, knowing that if I get closer they’ll flee; so I stop. Error on the side of caution. Every photography has to ask the question “At what expense to the subject do I get the shot.” Will the eagle go hungry for the night because I scared it away from its fishing spot? Is that worth getting the shot? If you say yes, you are not being selfless. Sorry for the rash attitude, some of this is self-preaching.
Why is any of this important? Well, I’ll answer that question with a question. What is photography about to you? To me its about capturing nature, whatever it may be (i.e. humans, eagles, etc.), in its purest form, and showing that to the world. This can only be done, at least in part, with a selfless disposition.
