You are here

Photography In The National Parks: A Wildlife Advocate's View Of Wildlife Photography

Share
Alternate Text
Bear cubs don't always look both ways for oncoming traffic. Sometimes humans should provide that service/Deby Dixon.

What is more important, the animal or the shot?

Nearly every day someone tells me that I have the dream job as a full-time wildlife photographer in Yellowstone National Park, but if they knew that a Dutch photographer nearly punched me out yesterday, when I was trying to assist a black bear in crossing the road on a blind curve, they might think again.

When I arrived in Yellowstone, in October of 2012, to spend the winter learning about wolves, I was a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed photographer who had visions of magnificent shots of the animals as they moved across the landscape.

What I did not count on was that there is much more to wildlife photography then picking up the lens and shooting as they stand still and pose, or run across the sage filled Lamar Valley - much beyond the patience in waiting for the animal to appear, or being in the right position, at the right angle with the right light.

I did not know about the animals themselves and how much they go through while living in a national park. My photographic adventure soon turned to one of advocacy for the wildlife as it relates to many aspects - the hunting of the wildlife, getting too close to the animals and blocking them from moving freely and so much more. Driving cautiously because the animals like to use the roads. My time in Yellowstone, that has now stretched out to nearly two years, has been the greatest, single learning experience of my life.

Not only have I learned that wildlife photography is an extremely competitive and jealous business and my year-around access to Yellowstone does not make me very popular amongst other photographers, but also that the welfare of the animal is more important than the shot.

Yes, I have become an ethical photographer who puts their camera down in favor of helping an animal across the road safely or by removing myself from a situation where the animals are crowded and stressed. And, yes, if need be, I will call upon rangers to come and assist the animals.

Alternate Text
Jockeying for that perfect photo/Deby Dixon

Yesterday, someone told me that calling the rangers would only ruin things for myself but what they do not know, is that I have to live with myself. And, so when a black bear sow with three cubs prepares to cross the road on a blind curve, I will alert people to slow down or stop if necessary, in order to keep those animals safe. In the case of yesterday, the cubs did not appear on the road but there was no way to know that when the adult was crossing.

Another wildlife photographer told me that it was okay for them to be close to a sow and three cubs because they were a 'œprofessional wildlife photographer.'

'œYou are not a professional if you are going to get that close to a sow and three cubs,' I replied. The woman walked off.

The problem for the wildlife is that not only do they have to worry about the visitors with the point and shoot cameras who want to get the same close-up shot as the wildlife photographer, but also the professional photographer who is willing to do anything to any animal or anyone to get the shot.

Meaning that photographers will step in front of and prevent other photographers from getting their shots, while some will use animal calls to lure the bird or wolf to their lens. Others will feed the animals - such as supplying owls with mice or fresh road kill.

I do not believe that the majority of the wildlife photographers, or visitors with point and shoot cameras, intend the animals any harm when they get too close or they feed them, but that they do not fully understand the cause and effect of such actions. I believe this because I did not understand much about the animals and the integrity of wildlife photography until spending nearly every day of the year inside of Yellowstone and watching the problems play out time and time again.

Animal calls make the wildlife easy prey for hunters and poachers and feeding an animal can make it become aggressive towards humans in its attempt to extract food. Being too close to the animals can make them lose their fear of humans, making them easier prey for hunters and some times causing them to be too comfortable around the roads and places where people congregate. These are just a few of the problems related with not giving the animals their wild spaces and allowing them to be free to move about. Animals can be caused to spook and run into the path of a car or in the direction of a predator.

It is our responsibility to alter the animal'™s behavior as little as possible in order to keep them safe. After all, if the animal is dead our photo ops have ended.

Now, having said all of this, I am not perfect. I, quite often, find myself closer to the animal then is allowed in the national parks, but this is usually due to the animal moving closer to me, rather than me moving closer to them. I tend to read the animals and watch their eyes and behavior for signs of stress. When an animal is grazing peacefully beside the road, they are doing fine, as long as I am not going any closer to them.

Alternate Text
How close to wildlife is too close?/Deby Dixon

Just two days ago, I watched as an habituated wolf - one that has been way too comfortable around humans - was hazed by a law enforcement ranger. The beautiful wild wolf has had a habit of coming way too close to people who have watched her in the landscape and she has done so without any signs of aggression whatsoever. I believe that she is just curious about us and wants to check us out, which would end in fatal consequences if she were to leave the park during hunting season.

The law enforcement ranger hit her with a bean bag and then fired a cracker shell between her and the people and road. The wolf took off running for the hills, hopefully a little less curious about humans. For myself, I would rather see this wolf safe then to ever get another close shot of her because she came too close.

So, the next time that you go to photograph an animal, ask yourself, is this animal safe or am I causing it harm. Then, ask yourself, will I enjoy looking at this shot later, knowing the full story about how it came to happen. I have many photos in my folders of times when an animal was photographed under less than ideal circumstances and even though they might be terrific images, the story behind the shot never goes away.

Comments

Wow.  So much drama...

To get back to the topic (a bit off I know) of clueless tourists, it seems that it's true in every country.  As a child, we climbed a Puy (peak of an old mountain) in central France.  It may have been 200 to 400' climb from the base, but it was steep (all stairs) and going up the spine of the hill with some severe penalty for falling off to the sides.  At the bottom, before the climb, there was a sign with the number of deaths for the prior 3 or 4 years (1 or 2 a year IIRC), and a warning to pay attention and walk.  Of course, there were a fair share of morons who were running up or down the stairs, even though it was pretty crowded.

Like everything, the gene pool follows a bell curve like distribution.


A couple of quick comments . . . .

I still feel good about stopping on a California highway a couple of years ago, so that I (in my car) and a road cyclist together could move a king snake off the highway before it inevitably got run over in the next two minutes. I parked the car right on the highway and turned on my flashers. People very nicely stopped and waited until we'd gotten the snake safely into the brush.

The photo of those stopped cars, people running about, and the (probably blasé and thus unnaturally acting) animal is off-putting, just because the animal (a wolf?) is so unnatural. I like to go to places where, if I see some fox, elk, moose, bobcat or snake, I can stop (usually on my mountain bike) and watch it for as long as I want and/or it wants, without a dozen other people pulling over in cars and grabbing their cameras. Is it true that the 1960s-era program called Vision 66 is responsible for introducing so much mass auto-oriented tourism into the national parks? Or was it there before?

On the civility thing that's cropped up again here, I would politely ask Kurt not to kill threads when people become rude. That gives them the power called the "heckler's veto" in public forums: i.e., the heckler can determine when to shut down a discussion by being sufficiently vulgar or nasty. I'm not sure what the solution is, but it's not handing the end-of-debate decision over to people who allocate their scarce time (time is scarce by definition and, these days, practically for most people) in ways most people wouldn't choose to do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler%27s_veto


A very interesting post imtnbke, thank you. Like you, I stopped one day on a California highway to move a large, beautiful King snake off the road. There was not much traffic, so it was easy to do. Road kills of park wildlife are an issue and are usually the result of people driving to fast. On heckling, I have no answers, I do think it is important to read and consider an array of opinions, there is no one answer to many of the issues presented by "Traveler".  Rarely do I find myself just deleting a comment.  On the other hand, personal attacks do detract from the issues at hand, I think they diminish the point the person is trying to make, persons focus on the attack not the discussion, it is counterproductive at times.  I think "Traveler has a point. Civil discussion is important and extends to our conversations within our own families, on the job, etc. , but I do see your point.  


The one time I saw a bear, it was running across the trail and up the hill and it was not interested in humans (which was a good thing).


Thanks, rmackie. Nice that we had that common experience!


I was attacked and slightly injured by a Coyote in Yellowstone a few years back. The animal had obviously been fed by people I stood on next to my car as the animal moved along the road. Then suddenly, it ran towards me at full speed and knocked me off balance. It was then on top of me. I was lucky not to be bitten and the animal was lucky not to be put down.


Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.