On the Ethics of Nature Photography

On February 26th, news broke that well-known Florida based bird photographer and workshop leader, Jim Neiger of Flight School Photography plead guilty to violating the Endangered Species Act for approaching too close to an active Snail Kite nest on numerous occasions (Article here). In the past, (and likely in the future) I’ve been appalled by the behavior of some wildlife and bird photographers. I’ve watched photographers chase flocks of resting Sandhill Cranes forcing them into flight. I’ve seen a cluster of shooters run (fruitlessly) after fleeing caribou, their long lenses bouncing along on their certainly bruised shoulders. I’ve watched an arrogant photographer refuse to leave the platform at Brooks Falls, even when asked by a ranger, to allow space for other visitors who had not yet had the chance to view the bears. I could go on, but won’t.

At the news of this guilty plea, I spent an hour browsing the internet today, looking for reactions from the photographic community. On the website BirdPhotographers.net where Jim, some of his close colleagues like Arthur Morris, and many clients from his trips congregate to share images and tips I was sadly unsurprised to read comments about how he was being unjustly persecuted. There were rants about how the biologists studying the ecology of Snail Kites were SO much worse than photographers, how this was an example of government over reach, and a persistent vilification of those who caught and prosecuted Neiger. Disgusted, I eventually stopped reading.

I don’t know that Neiger was having an impact on the birds, I don’t know him and I don’t know the situation. He may be extremely ethical, and he may not (though it seems pretty clear he was breaking the law in this case). So I don’t criticize his defenders so much as the conversation as a whole. Not once in that long string of comments did anyone suggest that maybe, we need to reassess our own ethics and our own behavior. That rather than become defensive and vilify others we should take this opportunity to improve ourselves and be sure that what we are doing does not harm the wildlife and landscapes that we photograph. On BirdPhotographers.net there are endless discussion strings on how to make better images, but few if any, on how to make a better world.

I hope when the sparks stop flying that we can have that discussion. We need to. We need to because the images we make have the power to influence change, the power for good, the power to protect, and defend the world’s wild places and wild things. And we need to for our own self interest. With the growth in outdoor photography, and bird photography in particular, the impacts too are growing. If we do not learn to police ourselves, I guarantee that someone is going to start policing us.

Maybe we deserve it.

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