Respect is a big part of filming nature and wildlife. Respect for nature. Respect for the people that share information and their passion. Respect for yourself and your work.
It seems that as technology advances, respect is harder and harder to come by.
This is my take on it and let me know if you agree or disagree.
Indian Creek Nature Center is one of my favorite places to go film. It has a little bit of everything. Prairie, woodlands, wetlands and plenty of trails.
One of the trails that goes through the nature center is the Sac & Fox trail. It’s a really nice trail that is flat and paved with gravel. It’s probably the most popular trail in terms of usage. I see people walking, jogging, riding bikes, walking their dogs and even riders on horseback use this trail cause it’s easy.
I also see dog poop, cigarette butts, plastic water bottles, candy wrappers and even occasionally dirty diapers.
On the other had there is a trail at the nature center that goes up a decent hill at least in Iowa terms. If you’re out of shape like me, you can work up a sweat and huff and puff a bit by the time you get to Founders Grove which is at the top of the hill.
You won’t find trash on this trail. No cigarette butts, no empty water bottles and certainly no dirty diapers.
I think because you have to exert some effort to hike this trail, you weed out pretty much all the people who really don’t have respect for the trail and nature. The people I meet on this trail, and it’s just a handful, care about nature and the only thing they leave are footprints and the only thing they take are memories and photographs.
I think the same thing is going on with photography and filmmaking.
When I first started out in nature and wildlife photography, I had an all manual camera. It took me a while to master shutter speed and aperture to get a good exposure. Plus, it took a week to get my slide film back from the lab so there was no instant results on a LCD screen when I pressed the shutter.
Today, my iPhone shoots 12 megapixel stills and 4k video and from about the time a kid can crawl, they have a smartphone. So it really takes no effort to take a technically good image these days. Even Hobbes my cat has stepped on my phone screen when I had the camera app running and took a decent photo.
I really believe that is things are easy, then people don’t have respect for it. People want access to nature but they want to be able to drive to it, open their car door and have a paved trail with bathrooms, running water and a refreshment stand.
When I go to Yellowstone, I tend to stay away from the main touristy areas. So many people have no respect for anything. I saw a video the other day of a woman walking up to a bison to pet it. But if you step 50 feet off the beaten path, you meet people that really respect the land and all the creatures that inhabit it.
We live in a world of instant gratification. If someone wants to film a Western Fringed Prairie Orchid, They expect to be able to call someone up and get all the locations that they can film one. They don’t understand that when that information is freely given, there usually ends up being a hole where the orchid used to be because someone dug it up.
Indian Creek has several plants that while not endangered are very rare for this area. They certainly aren’t going to point them out to you because they’ve been through the whole hole where the plant use to be thing.
It took me quite a while proving myself to them before I earned their respect and they know that they can tell me where a rare plant grows and it will still be there when I’m done filming it.
Some filmmakers today often don’t even have respect for themselves. They have no code of ethics and do whatever they want in order to get the shot. I regularly see photographers breaking the rules because the shot they want is in a spot past a guardrail that says no one beyond this point.
You know, that’s fine if people really don’t have respect for their work or want to take the time to earn respect from someone willing to share information. If you don’t have respect for nature, then what are you out there for? If you’re going to toss your water bottles and candy wrappers, why are you in nature? Why not walk down a city street and chuck that stuff? You are a part of nature, it’s not there for you to do whatever you wish. Show some respect.
And as always, shoot the ordinary and make it extraordinary!
Hi Kevin. Aye! Aye! to all that you said in this post—the words and the sentiment.
I’ve been on a few treks in India and you are right, the harder a place is to get to, the cleaner the trails are. There is less evidence of humanity’s arrogance and insolence.
If you wish, I’ll send you a couple of links of my posts to share the beauty of nature at 14000 and 15000 ft, up in the Himalayas, where the locals treat their trees like their children and the pilgrims sweep paths and keep the trails clean as a service to their God. For me, nature is the best God, teacher, friend, counselor etc. so I love the vibe there.
And don’t get me started on the pushy photographers…I’ve had a rant on my blog once:)
When I saw a group of imbeciles ripping blue poppies out (in the Himalayas) and posing (like those people who shoot wild animals for fun, do), I lost it. They got told off, but those poppies could not carry on enthralling the rest of us who had gone all that distance to see them.
I hope for people to be more aware of the consequences of their actions. Maybe, posts like these are needed to spread the word.
I love the violet blue flower. What is it called?
Hey Arti,
I’d love to check out some of your posts about nature! Please do post the links.
The flower is commonly known as Bee Balm.
Here’s a better description:
Monarda is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. The genus is endemic to North America. Common names include bee balm, horsemint, oswego tea, and bergamot, the latter inspired by the fragrance of the leaves, which is reminiscent of bergamot orange (Citrus bergamia). The genus was named for the Spanish botanist Nicolás Monardes, who wrote a book in 1574 describing plants of the New World.
It’s pretty prolific here in Iowa on the tallgrass prairies. A beautiful flower and I’ve made some great tasting tea with it as well.
I like the name Bee Balm.
Thank you for the details.
Here’s one with the blue poppies: http://artismoments.blogspot.qa/2015/12/where-blue-poppies-bloom-hemkund-sahib.html
And the last Indian Village:(the rant) http://artismoments.blogspot.qa/2016/02/to-click-or-not-to-click-in-mana-indias.html
Let me warn you: I use a lot of words and I am languid with my writing.
Arti,
I popped in quick to check out your first link. Wow, such beautiful colors!
I’ll be stopping back in soon! Just got a new camera and I have to get it all figured out before I leave for South Dakota to start the prelim work for a job I’ve been hired to do out there.
Look forward to catching up on your posts!