The link below has been up for a while and normally I'm sceptical of any attempt to collect names and signatures but in the case below I am assured by a good friend that it is genuinely not an underhand attempt to populate an email list. (hence why I have signed it)
Ethics have been discussed a lot in the past on NPN and UKNP so maybe this is the time take that a new years resolution about your wildlife photography?
Wildphotos - lead by Mark Carwardine - have created an ethics statement for 'responsible photographers of wildlife'.
There are four main parts to the declaration and instead of repeating them here I will simply point you to the website which can can be found here - Wildphotos Ethics Declaration .
T (UKNP mod)
Posted by Brad Hill on January 10, 2011 at 9:36 AM
Hi Tom,
Thanks for posting this - I consider the issues addressed (especially those in the Audience Survey Results at the top of the page following the link) exceptionally relevant to today's wildlife photographers. Makes me wish we had a forum specifically dedicated to Wildlife Photography so many more from the Fauna Gallery would see this. I'll do what I can to give this Ethics Declaration exposure on my own website...
Cheers...
Brad
Posted by Jim Erhardt on January 10, 2011 at 1:19 PM
Makes me wish we had a forum specifically dedicated to Wildlife Photography so many more from the Fauna Gallery would see this.
We have one for Avian and ESS, no reason we can't have one for Fauna!
If you think it will fly, we'll do it.
Posted by Ron Dudley on January 10, 2011 at 8:46 PM
I also thank you for posting this Tom Very interesting to read the audience survey results. I signed the ethics declaration.
Posted by Ron Bielefeld on January 11, 2011 at 1:42 PM
Done. Signed it. Interesting results for the survey.
Posted by John W. Wall on January 11, 2011 at 6:46 PM
Considering the audience that took that survey, I'd be shocked by the results if I wasn't such a jaded old cuss. Too jaded to sign the declaration, too, since the wording isn't crystal clear. For instance, "We will never use live bait or any bait that will adversely affect the behaviour of an animal." So using bait is okay if, in our own humble opinions, it won't adversely affect the animal's behavior? Or it's fine to bait as long as you don't dose the bait with poison or some other "adversely affecting" substance?
"We will never use digital manipulation to misrepresent a subject or mislead the viewer." Does that mean you won't clone out an unsightly stick?
"We will always be honest in declaring the circumstances under which a photograph has been taken." Why not name which circumstances we're talking about?
"We will always put the welfare of our subjects and care of the environment above any photographic aims." Again, the lack of specifics makes this very subjective.
How about a simple "Wild and Natural" pledge? "All my photos will be of wild critters going about their natural business." No baits or other food, no lures, no calls, no backyard perches(!), no decoys, no scents, no captive or ranched animals. Images may not be altered during processing in any material way -- and you'll just have to trust me on what I think is material!
Posted by Ron Dudley on January 11, 2011 at 8:05 PM
John, I had some of the same concerns as those you mentioned but decided to sign anyway and I'm still glad I did.. I thought about it very carefully before signing and just did what works for me. I do like your version of the pledge better - though I'd fine tune that last sentence a little...
Posted by Brad Hill on January 13, 2011 at 1:22 PM
Hey John,
To be honest, I prefer the four guidelines from Wildphotos to yours. For instance, I have no issue with images of captive animals, as long as they're not represented as wild animals. This is excluded in your statement, but is covered by their point #3 ("We will always be honest in declaring the circumstances under which a photograph has been taken."). And I see as many shades of grey in your statement as theirs - such as (and I know you poked fun at this yourself) - "Images may not be altered during processing in any material way" - uhhhh...what's "material"???. That one could be bent or twisted to allow anything...
But each to their own...totally respect your right (and decision) to not sign. I agreed with their list and thought it was found quite inclusive and well-thought out (and that the areas that were a little vague were necessary, otherwise if one specified EVERY single non-allowed "circumstance" we'd have a 100-page document - and not 4 simple bullet points), so I signed it.
Discussion
7 repliesEthics have been discussed a lot in the past on NPN and UKNP so maybe this is the time take that a new years resolution about your wildlife photography?
Wildphotos - lead by Mark Carwardine - have created an ethics statement for 'responsible photographers of wildlife'.
There are four main parts to the declaration and instead of repeating them here I will simply point you to the website which can can be found here - Wildphotos Ethics Declaration .
T (UKNP mod)
Thanks for posting this - I consider the issues addressed (especially those in the Audience Survey Results at the top of the page following the link) exceptionally relevant to today's wildlife photographers. Makes me wish we had a forum specifically dedicated to Wildlife Photography so many more from the Fauna Gallery would see this. I'll do what I can to give this Ethics Declaration exposure on my own website...
Cheers...
Brad
If you think it will fly, we'll do it.
"We will never use digital manipulation to misrepresent a subject or mislead the viewer." Does that mean you won't clone out an unsightly stick?
"We will always be honest in declaring the circumstances under which a photograph has been taken." Why not name which circumstances we're talking about?
"We will always put the welfare of our subjects and care of the environment above any photographic aims." Again, the lack of specifics makes this very subjective.
How about a simple "Wild and Natural" pledge? "All my photos will be of wild critters going about their natural business." No baits or other food, no lures, no calls, no backyard perches(!), no decoys, no scents, no captive or ranched animals. Images may not be altered during processing in any material way -- and you'll just have to trust me on what I think is material!
To be honest, I prefer the four guidelines from Wildphotos to yours. For instance, I have no issue with images of captive animals, as long as they're not represented as wild animals. This is excluded in your statement, but is covered by their point #3 ("We will always be honest in declaring the circumstances under which a photograph has been taken."). And I see as many shades of grey in your statement as theirs - such as (and I know you poked fun at this yourself) - "Images may not be altered during processing in any material way" - uhhhh...what's "material"???. That one could be bent or twisted to allow anything...
But each to their own...totally respect your right (and decision) to not sign. I agreed with their list and thought it was found quite inclusive and well-thought out (and that the areas that were a little vague were necessary, otherwise if one specified EVERY single non-allowed "circumstance" we'd have a 100-page document - and not 4 simple bullet points), so I signed it.
Cheers...
Brad