![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.williamneill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Autumn-Sunset-on-El-Capitan-and-the-Merced-River-Yosemite-National-Park-California-2013.jpg\")
Autumn Sunset on El Capitan and the Merced River, Yosemite NP, California 2013 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Yosemite has the blessing and curse of being a small mountain valley surrounded by massive cliffs. The popularity and commercial development, begun many decades back, make it a prime destination for domestic and international tourism. A mecca for landscape photographers, our impact has damaged meadows and riverbanks in the great Valley. The National Park Service has begun to close off popular meadows to protect them from severe overuse and implemented restoration projects designed to restore natural vegetation while still providing easy access to thousands of visitors.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n\n
NATURE FIRST:
\nIt\u2019s more important than ever for photographers to approach wild\u00a0places with a sense of responsibility and stewardship
\nOriginally published in Outdoor Photographer
\nText & Photography By <\/span>William Neill<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.williamneill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/201110_0582-Edit-3-su60-\u00a9-William-Neill.jpg\")
Autumn forest and slickrock wall, Zion National Park, Utah 2011<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
National Parks have become magnets for photographers, including Zion National Park. To protect the natural resources and ensure the safety of visitors, Zion has implemented a tripod ban for workshop groups. For more info, see https:\/\/www.outdoorphotographer.com\/on-location\/featured-stories\/understanding-the-tripod-ban\/<\/em><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
El Capitan Meadow is now closed mostly except for a couple of spots for \u201cclimber viewing.\u201d Has overuse caused this drastic measure? It is good to remember that the National Park Service has multiple mandates: to provide a recreational and educational service to the public AND also to protect the resource.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Intimate scenes such as this photograph of a forest in Maine are\u201d non-iconic.\u201d Sharing the location, which is Baxter State Park, doesn\u2019t threaten the resource. Anyone would have a hard time ever finding this location.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
The world is spinning out of kilter all around us lately and my favorite survival strategy to keep my life in balance is to seek out the beauty of nature. What better time to balance out the craziness by taking a walk in the woods or strolling along a quiet stretch of shoreline by a lake or the sea. Hopefully, you have a bit of nature that is accessible nearby, and if not, perhaps bring home some flowers from the grocery store. Don\u2019t worry about making photographs, but maybe have your camera nearby. Just in case inspiration hits. The key to getting into the creative flow is to absorb the experience without the pressure to perform, to click the shutter. But if you find a photograph to make, do it for your soul, not Likes. I have two windows in my dining room that provide excellent, soft light for still life imagery.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
One major \u201cout of kilter\u201d issue for Planet Earth right now is our environment. As I\u2019ve mentioned here before, my college degree is in Environmental Conservation from the University of Colorado way back in 1976. The issues I studied back then, such as climate change, species extinction, overpopulation, and habit preservation, are more critical than ever. What can we do as individuals? First and foremost, we can take care of our impact on the earth. In my family, we try to minimize our carbon footprint by buying locally grown foods. We drive hybrid cars. When we built our home here in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, we used non-toxic paints and installed evaporative coolers instead of a high-impact air conditioner. We have solar panels as well. We certainly are not perfect, but we try hard.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
For nature photographers, we have the responsibility to behave in ways that protect the environments where we photograph. Popular locations for landscape photography have become sites for overuse and abuse with the prevalence of people using social media, especially Instagram. Many years ago, the North American Nature Photography Association developed a recommended set of ethical standards to educate its members and nature photographers in general. Their website provides a strong set of advocacy statements that are well worth reading: <\/span>http:\/\/www.nanpa.org\/advocacy\/ethics\/<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
More recently, a new organization Nature First has started an international campaign to educate nature photographers so that all of us can enjoy and photograph our favorite locations. One of the founders and gifted nature photographer Sarah Marino shared an article with me that she wrote on the issue and Nature First\u2019s goals. <\/span>https:\/\/www.naturephotoguides.com\/blog\/nature-first-7-principles-for-minimizing-the-impact-of-your-photography<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u201cHistorically, nature photography has been a force for good. Conservation photographers have promoted the preservation of many ecologically sensitive and magnificently beautiful places. Nature photographs have motivated scores of people to experience nature for themselves, and in many cases become advocates for the preservation of wild places. Photography also offers a personally meaningful way for many of us to engage much more deeply with the natural world and then share those experiences with others through our photos. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
In recent years, this positive legacy has been upended. It is now easy to make the case that pursuing and sharing photographs of nature has much darker consequences. Nature photography has undergone a dramatic transformation in the last five years with the rise of platforms like Instagram, easy access to detailed location information online, and technology advancements that make photo-taking much easier. These trends are leading to the irreparable destruction of some special natural locations, overcrowding in places that can\u2019t handle the volume of visitors, and a sharp increase in injuries and deaths from people seeking to \u201cget the shot\u201d or see the view they saw featured in a super-popular Instagram post.\u201d \u2013Sarah Marino<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
Erik Stensland is co-managing director for Nature First. He states, \u201cOne of our primary goals is to see nature photographers once again become ambassadors for the protection of our natural and wild lands. Somewhere over the last decade or two we seem to have lost our way and become a liability for many of these places. If we who celebrate the beauty of our world can once again become caretakers and voices for these places, we stand a much better chance at preserving them.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
[Editor: We can cut these quotes down if needed. Since this will be online only, I\u2019m hoping for a bit more leeway]. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
THE NATURE FIRST PRINCIPLES <\/span>https:\/\/www.naturefirstphotography.org<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u2022 Prioritize the well-being of nature over photography.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u2022 Educate yourself about the places you photograph.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u2022 Reflect on the possible impact of your actions.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u2022 Use discretion if sharing locations.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u2022 Know and follow rules and regulations.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u2022 Always follow Leave No Trace principles and strive to leave places better than you found them.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u2022 Actively promote and educate others about these principles.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
In practice, no nature photographer is perfect. We need to police ourselves, to pass on valuable guidelines like the principles above to other photographers, and to be educated about the resources we photograph to better preserve them for future generations. I suggest supporting groups like Nature First and NANPA and become active if you are so inclined. Nature First has people committed to practicing these principles in 52 countries, plus they also have an active team of Nature First Community Advocates representing 11 nations and growing. These community advocates are actively promoting these values in their languages and cultures, trying to ensure that these principles are fully adopted in their national photo communities. If you teach nature photography, you can educate your students and run your workshops accordingly.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
Most importantly, whether you belong to an organization or not, don\u2019t be one of those photographers that are trampling wild landscape, ignoring regulations, damaging sensitive areas, interrupting and diminishing the experiences of other users, disturbing wildlife, and implicitly or explicitly inviting the public to do the same.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
The world is in great need of a sanctuary from chaos, with many current events being out of our control. Our images, and the places we cherish and share, can be a valuable source for healing and solace. We can control how we see the world, and all too easily, we can choose to see the darkness more than the beauty. My photography has grown out of the need to counterbalance the dark, the negative. I prefer to focus on nature\u2019s beauty in my art, to give me visual respite, the sanctuary we all need.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
And we can choose how we treat those sources of beauty, how we respect our environment. Leave no trace.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NATURE FIRST: It\u2019s more important than ever for photographers to approach wild\u00a0places with a sense of responsibility and stewardship Originally published in Outdoor Photographer Text & Photography By William Neill National Parks have become magnets for photographers, including… Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-landscape-photography"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.williamneill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/201110_0582-Edit-3-su60-\u00a9-William-Neill.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.williamneill.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.williamneill.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.williamneill.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.williamneill.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.williamneill.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7652"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.williamneill.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7687,"href":"https:\/\/blog.williamneill.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7652\/revisions\/7687"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.williamneill.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.williamneill.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.williamneill.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.williamneill.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}