KThere needs to be more kindness in the world when it comes to filming or photographing nature and wildlife. Well, there needs to be more kindness in the world period, but I’m not much of a people person so I don’t witness kindness of the every day sort.

The thing about kindness is that it really doesn’t cost you anything but your time. You just need to make the effort.

The thing about kindness is that it tends to be contagious. So whenever I have an opportunity to show  little kindness to someone trying to film nature and wildlife, I hope that it encourages them to spread the kindness as well.

Two acts of kindness I tend to repeat over and over are helping someone learn to use their camera and setting their camera up on my tripod so they can get a good shot.

Typically these people aren’t serious about photography and I have never run into another filmmaker serious or not in the field besides myself.

I always take the time to help them get the best image possible and hopefully they’ll love the results and share the beauty of nature with their friends and family. I guess that’s my ulterior motive, get more people to love nature by seeing the beauty of it. 🙂

I remember one time I was photographing Mount Rushmore in the evening with the spotlights lighting up the monument. I had been waiting since mid afternoon as I was on my way back to Iowa from Yellowstone and I had yet to film the monument lit up at night.

I should also mention that this took place way before digital cameras were around. Today you can take a picture and know in a millisecond if it’s good or not. Not so “back in the day”!

Anyway before the lights came on a man approached me because I had a “serious” camera setup and a tripod and was wondering if I could help him figure out what settings to set his camera so that he could get a good image.

I told him I’d be happy to. If he let me meter the faces of the monument once the lights came on, I’d figure out what he needed to set his camera to. I was worried however that he wouldn’t get a sharp image because he was going to hand hold his camera.

So, once I metered the light striking the faces of the monument I took my camera off, let him attach his camera and we set up his camera to get a proper exposure of the monument.  The man couldn’t say thank you enough times. It wasn’t for the gratitude that I did it, it’s because I truly love nature and wildlife and while this was a man-made monument, knowing I helped him get a good image might have encouraged him to go farther into photography and maybe down the road, he’d be the one that would make a difference in a positive way.

It only took a few minutes to help this guy and I still had plenty of time to get my shots as well.

So if someone asks you for help or you see that maybe they could use a bit of help, give them a moment of your time. Nature will thank you for it!

And as always, shoot the ordinary and make it extraordinary!

Kevin J Railsback is a wildlife and nature filmmaker