Good, Bad & Ugly

In the past, I have been accused of having taken this beluga picture in an aquarium (too close, too perfect) instead of - as it was - freezing my head off, hanging upside down, in an icy river in Manitoba.

I mention this as an introduction to the idea that our audience (the public) is growing ever-more jaded by the prevalence of unethical behavior on the part of nature photographers - taking short-cuts, passing something off as real that isn't.  (See my previous post today for only the most recent, but outrageous, example.) Simply said, digital manipulation and the use of captive animals continue to undermine the impact and value of photography as a true record of the world around us.  Soon, no one will believe anything anymore.

 As promised last week, I have created a link to a timely article on this subject from BBC Wildlife magazine, written by my friend Mark Carwardine.  In it, Mark talks bluntly about ethical behavior, and the value of integrity, in a piece that is very refreshing. Since many people in the US will not see the story, I suggest having a look at it here.

Ridiculous...and obscene

"Incredible" Cat Pictures  - LINK

My friend Mark Carwardine in the UK sent me this link today to a photo story that is circulating through newspapers in the UK, showing a series of "incredible" pictures of lions, tigers and leopards -- all
shot, by the way, in Montana.  (Tigers in Montana?  Oh my...)
The pictures are the usual trite stuff of snarling animals, meant to suggest they are about to attack the photographer.  But the worst part of the whole thing is the text in which the photographer "risked his life" to get these pictures of "wild beasts." "It could attack at any moment," he is quoted as saying.
I don't know where to begin in my comments:  This is so dishonest at every level  that it would be laughable... if it weren't reaching millions of people who may actually believe this crap.  The animals are nothing more than cats-for-hire intentionally harassed to elicit a "threatening" response.  I find this kind of photography truly obscene.
 The photographer (Jonathan Griffiths) should be ashamed of himself, but even more so should be the "news agency", (Solent ) for passing this off as "wild."  It does all photographers, journalists - and the public - an enormous disservice.

Save the Forest Now

Trillium flower, Whidbey Island, WA
Land development is typically a one-way proposition; once habitat disappears under pavement or into private ownership, it vanishes forever. It is rare, therefore, that a chance comes around to protect a significant area of forest habitat close to urban areas from the inexorable spread of development. But that's the great opportunity of the "Save the Forest Now" campaign, whose goal is to buy and protect a 664-acre parcel of forested land - the Trillium Property - on Whidbey Island, Washington, just north of my home. Opportunities like this just don't come along very often. They must raise 4.2 million dollars by June 10.  I am pledging money towards this effort, and I encourage you to do the same.

High-Impact Photography

WWF "Tarzan" 

This picture reflects a theme I talk about a lot, e.g. the power of photography to promote conservation.  In fact, I am scheduled to give a lecture on this subject next week at the Seattle Zoo and had been looking for images to make my point... That's how I stumbled onto this one.

Typically,  I talk about the use of beautiful images of landscapes and endangered wildlife to show what is at stake.  But the World Wildlife Fund often takes a quite different approach - commissioning commercial photographers to take (or make on the computer) images that tell a compelling story, or simply turn heads.  This image, for example, was produced by an ad agency in Denmark in 2007 to illustrate the loss of tropical forests - from a unique point of view.  Whimsical, even a little silly, but arresting and thought-provoking. And arguably more effective than a conventional shot of a rainforest tree, or a resting jaguar. The fact is that we are so inundated with images of pristine nature that their ability to startle us -- or change our minds -- is frankly limited. 

Credits for this ad are below - however, I don't see a photographer listed...?

Company: UNCLE GREY, DENMARK
Creative Director: Per Pedersen
Copywriter: Michael Paterson
Art Director: Jesper Hansen  

Sunny Day Diversion

Haida Totem Poles, Victoria BC

You simply cannot photograph forest interiors when the sun is out. And my plans to photograph old-growth forests on Vancouver Island ended up coinciding with unexpectedly clear, sunny weather.  While most people find the sunshine cheery, it put me in a foul mood since it made photographing the trees next to impossible. (Photographers are a notoriously perverse bunch) 

So, instead, I did the next best thing - I photographed the stunning collection of totem poles in Victoria at dawn.  My favorites are of these in the Haida style, easily the most refined and elegant of the Northwest Coast native art traditions.  

If I am lucky, meanwhile, the weather will turn cloudy again next week (this is the Northwest after all) and I will try again to head into the forest.

Carmanah Valley

Old Growth Forest, Carmanah Valley, BC

Thirty years ago, the chainsaws were ready to cut down the pristine, old-growth forests of Carmanah Valley on Vancouver Island, just as they have nearly everywhere else in the area. But a grassroots effort was launched to save what may be the finest stand of giant Sitka Spruces anywhere in Canada.  In the end, the trees were saved and the area designated a Provincial Park.  Just in time. 

On a pilgrimage to this important site this week, we passed through massive clearcuts and dodged an endless stream of loaded log trucks.   The lesson?  The last remnants of old-growth forest are more important than ever : once these forests are gone, they are gone forever.  The dense stands of monoculture that replace them do not deserve the name "forests." 

Trees as crops, Cowichan Valley

No, clearcuts are never pretty....but as long as we use wood we will have them.  But there is simply no excuse for a single acre of old-growth forest to be cut any longer. It should be flatly illegal across the board: no exceptions.  These ancient trees are just too rare, and too precious.

Big Maya

Ok, today's photo is not mine. It was taken yesterday by my 8-year old grandson Theo of his younger sister Maya - sliding in to home plate.  It was better than anything I got of the game, so he gets his picture on the Blog for today...  Meanwhile, I think he has fallen in love with my motor drive.