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A Cliff With A View:
Part 1: Being Honest About Nature Photography And Our Natural World
"I'm here to scrape the burnt chili off the bottom of the pot. It might not taste great, but it'll make you think." - Mark F. Twight
Nature photography is very unique. It is typically done by people who first have an interest in nature, and then the photography follows. This is unlike the fields of photojournalism, commercial and studio photography where an interest in photography and art develop first, and their interest(s) dictate what type of photography they do.
Most professional photographers take photos of people and human-made environments. They do so because this is what they've been taught in school, and it's what the market demands and sells commercially. Nature photography is a specialised segment that isn't nearly as large or lucrative. Though nature photography has never been more popular, it is still a minority overall. Why? Nature is distant for so many. The majority of people on this earth live in cities and are isolated from nature. Few people from cities are willing to go find it.
Nature photography understandably tends to isolate nature from humans or humans from nature. Portraits of elk in a meadow in morning light or a photo of a beautiful mountain vista with wildflowers in the foreground are in vogue these days. It is escapism for many: in a world such as ours, we find solace in nature. However, one cannot travel to many natural or protected areas on this earth and not see evidence of humans. Banff National Park for example has some 5 million (yes million) visitors each year. Without venturing into the backcountry, an average visitor would be shocked at the amount of development in Canada's first national park. While the mountains are beautiful, they cannot hide the scars that lay at their feet.
Nature photographers (myself included) tend to ignore these scars and filter them out when taking a photo. This is particularly true of North American nature photographers. "Now only if that bear would move away from the road and closer to the woods so it will look more natural," is something a roadside photographer would say. Most of the wildlife photos that you see in magazines, calendars, greeting cards, books and webpages (like this one) are taken from the road. Yellowstone has several roads that run through the park, and one does not have to venture far from the road (or car) to get a great wildlife shot. Yet our photos do not reflect this. We North Americans have this "wilderness" image very much ingrained in our psyche and culture, and want to portray this in our work.
A trend in nature photography that I would like to see is an inclusion of human presence and developments in our photos. While this may sound counter intuitive and undesirable, perhaps we should be honest with ourselves about the realities of our natural world. National Geographic has been the leader in this type of photography for over 100 years, as have many European photographers. To quote Scottish photographer Niall Benvie from the October 2001 issue of Outdoor Photographer: "The pursuit of the wilderness ideal has been much more central to the development of the American style of wildlife photography...than it has been in Europe. [In Europe] we've been working in a deeply modified landscape since we started taking photos." Indeed the landscape is highly modified in most of the continental U.S., even in the west. "Wilderness" is in very small pockets. Southwest Canada is changing rapidly as well. Perhaps we do not want to admit that our "wilderness heritage" no longer exists in the majority of the continental United States and southern Canada.
This type of honesty should permeate to the admission of the means by which we take photos. In some ways I feel that I am lying when I submit photos that portrays the animal or landscape as something "wild and natural" when I really just carefully framed the shot to omit the road or some sign. In the past, many nature photographers were angry that some pros took pictures of captive animals and pass them off as being wild. They demanded that photographers clearly state that these photos were taken in a captive setting. Why not state such details when we submit photos of habituated animals taken from the road in a national park or when we crop out human developments in landscape shots? Did you hike for 3 days in the backcountry of Banff or Yellowstone National Park to get a shot of a grizzly bear or did you take that photo from the road? Admit it. I do not feel that my self worth as a photographer is any less if I admit my means.
This is not to say that nature photographers should abandon all the nice animal portraits and broad sweeping landscape shots. Everyone enjoys them, and for the professional they sell. Personally I love taking and viewing them. However, the market is satiated with these photos. We as photographers should find room to portray our environment the way is it. I do not feel it will take away from any creative or artistic expression, and can only enhance it.
By being up front and honest about our work, we can further the protection of our natural environment. Wilderness is not increasing in this world. Our protected areas are under the constant threat of development both inside and out. Perhaps as nature photographers we can give more to this world than just pretty pictures.
©Cliff Nietvelt Photography 2003-2004
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