Leave No Trace: Tips for Ethical Photography

I’m a big believer in ‘ethical photography’. I believe that, as photographers, we are in a great position to record what is happening in our environment and share our stories with others.

One of the aspects of photojournalism is to be able to objectively record what is happening and provide a visual record of events. 

If conservation is important to you and you want to minimise your impact on the environment, there are several things you can do:

Research and Planning

Understanding the species you’re photographing: behaviours, active times, and habitats. And be aware of rules in your location that support conservation.

Pack Smart

Use eco-friendly gear (e.g., biodegradable cleaning kits, and reusable items), and protect your equipment.

Tools to minimize impact, such as silent shutters and remote triggers.

Minimizing Physical Impact in the Field

Staying on established trails to avoid trampling vegetation or disturbing burrows.

Avoid litter and ensure that no personal items are left behind.

Respecting Wildlife

Maintaining appropriate distances: use telephoto lenses.

Avoid flash photography, especially with nocturnal species.

Observe wildlife without disturbing it (for your sake and theirs).

Know what to do if an animal reacts to your presence.

The Role of Technology

Buy good quality gear that will last a long time.

Buy used equipment where you can.

Storytelling and Impact

Use your photography to educate and inspire conservation without sensationalism.

Collaborate with conservation groups and share your images with advocacy organizations to raise awareness.

Personal action

Adopt a "Leave No Trace" mindset in their photography.

Use resources, such as guides, workshops, or community groups that focus on responsible wildlife photography.

And… share your experiences by joining me on the podcast!

It's time for another podcast...

Transcript

>> Graham: 0:17

Hello again and welcome to the podcast. Now in recent podcasts I've been talking about how to get the most from different types of photography. But in this one I really want to share with you some thoughts and tips that you can apply which make your photography more eco friendly, let's call it, call it that. And this really comes down to respecting the environment you're in, both physically and culturally and how to basically get engaged in sustainable photography, which I think is hopefully important to, I know, ah, for a lot of people listening to the podcast that is a big thing. So please hang on ah, and listen to the end because there's ah, a lot of tips here. Before I start though, please remember to like and subscribe so that this podcast gets to a wider audience. It doesn't cost you anything to do that, but it certainly helps me out and you're also welcome to donate as well. Okay, so why does it matter? I guess that's a good place to start. Now you probably already know or have an opinion on it, but one of the things I'm a big believer in with photography is leaving only footprints and taking only photographs. And I think so it depends on what you're using your photography for. But one of the things that we can do, particularly as visual storytellers and what do we do with those stories? What's the purpose of telling the story is to document what is going on without necessarily and perhaps ideally not becoming a part of what's going on. So this is at the heart of photojournalism, which is about recording just the facts or as far as possible, the visual facts of what is going on in a particular environment. So if you are photographing wildlife, it's to capture animals, perhaps in a natural environment, but also perhaps to tell a story that relates to the conservation of that species and maybe the threats that they are under. Because a lot of people aren't aware that a lot of iconic animals are in real danger of going extinct. And what we don't want to do is get to a situation where we're kind of mourning their loss without having really taken action when there is still time to do something. So that to me is one part of conservation photography and hopefully you agree with that equally. We might be photographing people. If we photograph, if we're using this for travel, it's great to get a record of different cultures. the world changes all the time and we're certainly in very uncertain times at the moment. So recording cultural activities and events is Also I think a very important part of photography. And also if, if you're just using your photography for fun, maybe you'photographing sport, that kind of thing. It's great to be able to take photographs that are very natural and record what is happening in a certain situation. So how do we achieve that? What are the things we can do to, let's call it, engage in ethical photography? So the first thing is to research it'to understand where you're going, what you're likely to see and if it's an animal being familiar with their behavurs and that might change at different parts of the year. There might be different places, they might have period of the year where they're mating, they might have other periods where feeding or migrating or there are other things going on. So if you've listened to other podcasts, particularly about wildlife photography, you'll know that research is a big part of it. But in doing that research it's also good to know what are the threats, what are perhaps the reasons why the numbers are dropping or maybe the numbers going up. So equally having an understanding of that allows you to tell that story as a photographer, equally when it comes to going to certain locations. So here I'm thinking of when I went to southwest Uganda to photograph gorillas. And that was in essentially rainforest. I mean they're in the foothill of the mountains. So, the terrain is not flat. And also we're going in rainy season because that's when the gorillas tend to be on the ground eatn bamboo shoots. But also that time of year, it's wet, it's quite slippery, you've got to take care just to make sure you don't get hurt. So that kind of thing is well worth it. From a research, angle and also knowing what the animals are doing, are they likely to let you approach them? Or what's more likely to happen is that you stay put and you let them approach you, which is really the best way to photograph animals. But also can you get close to them? Because there might be times of view when you can't. So this will have a bearing on the kind of gear that you're taking. So telephoto lenses, that kind of thing. which is always a good thing to have anyway because it allows you to get these really good close up portrait shots without having to get physically close to the animal and perhaps disturbing them. And in fact one of the things I did see while I was photographing the gorillas was a lady in our group. Now in the groups that we were in, they were also very limited. It was one group per day, which might be, I think it was, about 12 people somewhere around there. So it's quite limited. but a lady, was taken out a self stick basically, and was taking photos of herself with gorillas in the background using the selfie stick. And one of the gorillas really didn't like it and actually came out and pushed her aside. Now gorillas are very powerful animal, so this animal was clearly not intending to hurt her, but definitely wanted to make it clear that it was not happy with that selfie stick. And we don't know precisely why, but one thought maybe that there's a memory of them being hunted and people would use spears is one method of hunting gorillas. So maybe there's a memory there. So things like that, those kind of anecdotes are useful to know really for your own comfort and safety as well as not distressing the animal. And that's true of any environment you go into. So if you're photographing people, there are some cultures where they don't like being photographed anyway. They have certain beliefs around it. And also it's not particularly polite. You let's have some good manners here and respect where we are and the people who are photographing. So it's often much better to just ask permission. Now if people say no, absolutely respect that. If they say yes, they might be perfectly happy. I'm a big believer actually, particularly with urban photography where you want to take a photograph of somebody, the best thing is to approach them and just say, look, I'm a photographer, I'm doing some photography in the area. I really love your outfit, I love the way you look. Would you be okay with me taking your photograph? And I'd be very happy to send you copies of those images. They're digital images, so it's easy. if you're willing to give me your email address, I will send them on to you. if you're not, then here's my card with my email address and you're very welcome to just drop me an email and let me know where you would like the photos and obviously show them the pictures once you've taken them. And again, they might not like them, they may ask you to delete them. So in that case, respect those beliefs. So obviously what I'm talking about here, I'm going on the kind of environmental stuff, but also to me being kind of eco friendly. It's also about respecting the environment, respecting who and what is in the environment and when it comes to taking people, photographs of people. So this obviously relates perhaps more to travel photography that you might be doing urban where you live, it's to respect that environment. So again, leave only footprints, take only photographs, don't be intrusive, don't be disrespectful. And I think if you adopt as an approach, be respectful to where you are and who you're with, it doesn't really matter where you are, whether it's perhaps a vulnerable environment where you've got to be very careful and definitely not leave rubbish around, that kind of thing. but equally if you're in a place where you wouldn't normally think about those kind of restrictions, do think about it because it's a great way to get photographs that perhaps other people won't get. And if you think about it, certainly with urban photography approaching somebody, it's quite a compliment, in most cases, depending on how you handle it. But it's quite a compliment for somebody to ask to take your photograph. So I think if you do it that way that is really these are just tips to help you perhaps get photographs that you wouldn't otherwise get. Now another thing to do is think about the gear and what you're packing. So getting eco friendly gear in one sense can be difficult. things like tripods, you can start to get them now they're made from bamboo or recycled aluminium, that kind of thing. So have a look at that. The other thing is also to just think about where you're getting your gear. now I'm a big believer in buying good quality gear so I tend to go, well I tend to buy the sort of pro or almost pro level cameras. so I tend to use Canon, but obviously Nikon and there are others who build professional quality cameras. I don't buy plastic bodied cameras because of the environments I'm in. Although I take a lot of care with not hitting things with the camera. So accidents happen. I always buy bodies that are metal either aluminium bodies or they've got some kind of a structure in there that makes them a little bit more rigid and a little, a bit more tolerant let's say of the odd bump here and there because accidents will happen. And I'll also buy things like zoom lenses so I'm not carrying a lot of gear. Now zooms are great because it does give you a lot of flexibility in how you frame subjects. And being able to zoom in close is a real benefit. They're not as fast as dedicated lenses, as prime lenses, but equally they're much more practical if you've got to change your focal length very quickly. Just switching lenses is not that fast compared to what's happening. And also you can be in environment where taking the lens off the body is not recommended. If you're in an environment that's very dusty, you really want to minimize that. And in fact, I tend to use a spray cover, when I'm using, my long focal length, my 100 to 400milm zoom on my body, in environments where it's very dusty, I actually use the spray cover more in those environments than I do, wet environments. So have a think about all that. So the reason for saying this is if you buy good quality gear, it's going to last a long time. And secondly, if you think about what else you can use, so a spray cover, something like that, it helps to protect that gear. And the other thing is photography gear, good quality gear isn't that cheap. So it is an investment. So you really want to protect it. But it means that you're not buying bodies very often. I last bought a camera body, probably just, trying to think. Must be at least seven or eight years ago now, so they'll last a long time. When it comes to lenses, again, buy good quality lenses, ideally from manufacturers who make professional quality gear. But my lenses, there are people listening to this, I'm sure, who weren't born when I bought some of the lenses I used a lot. So some of them are over 20 years old. And why would I change them? I look after them. so I always leave the lens hood on the lens. So if it's on the camera body, if it does swing against something. And here I'm talking about being in boats at sea. So everything's moving, there's a lot of metal about. So lots of potential places where my camera can just swing in a moment and hit something with the lens hood on. The chances are that is the bit that's going to hit something hard. And because it's plastic, it will absorb a certain amount of energy and it protects the end of the len. Without that, it would be the end of the lens that's hitting something hard and that could do real damage to it. So think about m the quality of what you're buying. And I absolutely recommend good quality gear because it will probably perform better. it will last a lot longer and all of that helps to reduce the number of new items that have being bought. Now obviously people in selling camera gear won't be too excited with me saying that, but I am a big believer in that. The other thing of course is to buy second hand gear where you can again buy good quality gear but you'll save money on it. do always check it out. So if it's a lens, try and just test it on your camera first of all and make sure everything works. have a look at the photographs it's taken to make sure there's no damage in the lens itself. And if you can, I always recommend getting a guarantee maybe only three months, but that should be more than enough to take test shots, get them off the camera, look at them on a laptop screen so you can really zoom into them, make sure there's nothing in the lens that's causing problems. And it's a great way to not only save money and get you access to perhaps better quality gear than you could afford if you bought new, but also recycle things. We don't recycle things I think as much as we should. These, days it's all about buying new stuff. And that needs to be a message to manufacturers as well that they need to be building gear that will last. That's the important thing. So that's the lecture on gear but I hope that's helpful in terms of features on the gear. M Again, the cameras I have have a silent mode. So when you press the shutter button they're much, much quieter. I've heard some old gear that doesn't have that and it's terrible. it's like a sewing machine going off. And if you're a, particularly if you're shooting wildlife you really want to be as unobtrusive as possible, particularly if you're in a situation where you've tracked them. So I've shared the story before about tracking a pair of rhino on foot and finding them though you're both sleeping in a little thicket and I'm sort of carefully moving around, making sure I'm downwind of them, trying to get a shot. But of course it's all very well being downwind so they can't smell you. But if when you press the shutter button you get a real racket going off, that is not going to end well because rhinos can be pretty cranky and they will charge first and ask questions later. And you really don't want to be on the receiving end of that. So again, these are the kind of things to think about. You also might want to consider remote triggers, so that you can just shoot without having to press on the shutter button, particularly if you're doing a longer exposure, that kind of thing. And then of course another aspect of it is just minimizing your footprint from an eco perspective as well. The less gear you're carrying, the better. so again, good quality gear, telephoto lense is a good way of doing that. And just think about where you're going. I've already mentioned not littering. So when you're in the field, just keep everything with you. I use a flask normally, but that's a metal, sort of vacuum type flower. So it keeps liquids cool, which is good. I will occasionally take snacks with me, but any wrappers and things like that I'll just keep with me and get rid of when I get back to wherever I'm staying so I can dispose of them properly. So just this sort of basic stuff. And just one word about balloons. I'm just thinking about being at sea and photographing whales. Some people think it's kind of fun and trendy to just release hydrogen filled balloons up into the air as a celebration for birthdays or whatever, which, fair enough, I can understand that. But if you live near the sea, the chances are that's where they're all going to end up. And of course at some point what goes up will come back down again and then they're a threat to animals like turtles, which will assume they're jellyfish. They eat jellyfish. And if you look at a turtle's throat, it has these sort of downward facing, they're not really teeth, they're more like spines. But of course once it swallowed something like a balloon, so thin plastic, anything like that, it can't get it back up again because these spines are designed to stop it'prey escaping. And of course it gets stuck in its throat. And then of course what happens is as it's trying to feed, it can't feed anymore because food can't get down to its stomach. So they basically star to death. This is why these things are such a nuisance. And I do remember going out on a whale watching boat, I think it was first trip of the season actually. And we saw a little group of about six balloons that have been tied together, maybe from a wedding or somewhere. So we were pulling over and just pulling this stuff out of the sea. But do be, do think about where bits and pieces are likely to end up. So balloons are a definite, you know, just don't use them really. just find something else. But anything, wrappers, that kind of stuff, anything that ends up in the ocean, it's likely to be eaten because animals are not aware of what we do. They're not aware of wrappers and what they are. They just think they're food. And then it can be absolutely fatal when they try to feed on these things. O so another thing to just think about. And this is very true again when I was in Uganda, but it's true wherever you go. Just make sure that you're aware of what to do if an animal approaches you. So in the case of the gorillas, I had a young male run at me. Now we were briefed on this and what they'll do this as a way of trying to just. They're kind of test, testing their authority. They're making it clear who's in charge. And frankly, if a young adult gorilla is coming at m me, they're in charge because they're pretty strong animals. So the briefing that we had was to basically stand still, just look at our feet, don't make eye contact because that's seen as a challenge. And this gorilla ran up right next to me and I just stood there studying the grass. And after well, it felt like a while. It was probably no more than maybe 20 seconds. I don't really know. it then moved off. But remember, eye contact is generally you don't want to be getting into a situation where the animal is running at you. if it' likely though, always get local guides, get local people who know what they're doing. unless you are really familiar with the animal. But yeah, just make sure you understand what to do if that sort of thing should happen. make sure you know where the restricted zones are. There might be areas of national park, for example, where there's no access because they are maybe trying to let the flora recover, but it might be to let the animals have a bit of a break as well. So again, always understand what the restrictions are and the rules are, where you're going, stick to tracks, all that kind of thing. So this all comes down to, just doing the research, basic research, and being very conscious of what the rules are. coming back to the storytelling. When it comes to your photography, think about how you're going to tell the story of where you are and what you're seeing. a good way of doing that is to run little sequences of photographs because they work well on social media, they work well in a photo book. So you might have the environment, you might have the animals, you might have detailed shots which might show threats to the animals. If there's areas of damage, or something else that's going on. There might be evidence of people doing things they're not supposed to do. So it could be traps, it could be poachers, could be anything. But again tell the story, be aware of what the likely stories might be. So it again comes back to research what are the threats to animals in that area and what can you do to raise awareness because you might help funding. For example, there can be groups who are working in that area. Most of them are organization that rely a lot on volunteering. They might be getting some government funding, but possibly not very much. So they certainly have to be generating money themselves in order to allow them to keep going and to continue with their conservation efforts. So if they have things you can buy, that's always a good thing to do. But also make people aware of it, share their website address, that kind of thing and be aware m. Be conscious that they might well appreciate you sharing your images with them. So it's something I've done with projects I've worked on, I've worked through, I've gone through images, I've done my post processing and then I've sent them off in a reasonably high quality JPEG forms so that they can use them, they can resize them, they can do whatever. But it can get your credit which is also nice to have your photographs used by an organization. But you're also helping them ah, because you might well photograph something they hadn't seen. with one with some tosure I did in Namibia with ea. who are ehra Namibia. I've done work with them and Rachel Harris, who's the managing director there has done a podcast with me. But one of the things I noticed when I was going through photographs I'd taken of young animals, were lumps on one particular individual had lumps on the trunk. Now this is the form of herpes which young elephants get. But just purely from the health perspective, I sent those images across because one of the things that er, does is that it monitors the health of the local elephant population. And I don't know, I'm not particularly medically savvy but that was definitely something I hadn't seen before and just wanted to share that and make them aware that this particular animal had this infection. Apparently it's something that young elephants do get. Generally, my understanding is it's not fatal. But here again is a place where you can use your photographs for the greater good, as it were. And I also use them just to raise awareness. This is just something that happens to young elephants and I wasn't aware of it before I saw the photographs. So again, it's just sharing things that I've learned through the people who, look at my images on social media. So primarily Instagram, but also Facebook and Blue Sky. so I'm there, what else can you do? So I'm going to suggest, of call to action here, maybe more of a challenge to you. And that is to, first of all, wherever you are, whether, whether you're shooting wildlife or if you're doing travel photographs or just shooting your local environment, I do recommend that you adop, as kind of leave no trace attitude to what you're doing and be conscious of the environment you're in. because if we're all doing it, then things will get better. And even if you think about an urban environment, a lot of places, a lot of litter, things like that, them just pick bits and pieces up if there's been nearby, that kind of thing. But definitely not contribute myself. So I do recommend that you adopt that approach and make it a habit. And you're very welcome if you have stories of conservation or your encounters with wildlife or things you've learned to, feed you on a podcast if you have a story to tell. this podcast is about, wildlife, travel, adventure photography. And I'll share my stories, but it's always good to have other people coming on who have their stories. So different experiences, you might have a different perspective. And I'm always open to that because the purpose of this podcast really is to try and provide some education, provide a perspective. So obviously one aspect of it is just using your camera. And I have my online courses where you can dive in and do that in, a deeper way. And I also have the occasional workshop now I've just started to do those. So you're very welcome to come along and join me on those so you can learn more about the practical aspects of different styles of photography. But what I think is really valuable though is people sharing their stories. So you're very welcome to get in touch and we can record a podcast together. I do also recommend that you take a Look at any guides that are available. So I've recently started publishing ebooks. At the time of recording I have three. So there's a general kind of introduction to photography. It's tips and things. these are very much they're not very wordy documents. I'm not really into that. they're more covering different topics and then really tips and things you can do things to think about if you're buying gear, sort of things you need to consider. So they are intended to be very practical. And there are three at the moment. As I say, there's more of an introduction to photography and then there's one on portrait photographs and there's another one on wildlife. So that's what I've got at the moment. So again, if you would like to have access to that kind of resource, price wise they're sitting at about €5, just under. So they're intended to be fairly cheap and available. In fact, I've got a 30% off right now as I'm recording. so those sort of guides, you're very welcome. I do have groups, Facebook group and just say you're very welcome to join me on the podcast. So I guess to wind things up. I hope I haven't rambled too much, but it is something I feel quite strongly about. This is definitely how I approach all of my wildlife photography and I just wanted to share some of the things I've seen, maybe get you to think about ways that you can enjoy your photography, but in a way that is just sort of on the right side of being sustainable again. Individually we can't do that much. but I remember this going back years. So this will be before some of you were born for sure. But back in the late 80s, there was a whole issue about the ozone lets. If you're older, you probably remember this. And I do remember people, writing somewhere. I was living near London at the time and what we were doing was not using aerosols, had CFCs in and refrigerators were the other things that were a real problem. And somebody was saying, but what difference can I make if I change my deodorant? So I'm not using a deodorant with CFCs in it because it makes no difference at all. But somebody just pointed out that, yeah, individually you're absolutely right, but if you re. You want to be on the right side of these arguments's not on the wrong side because if all of us felt that way, then nothing will change. Whereas if all of us getting the right side and do the right thing then it does make a big change. And one of the reasons that you don't hear much about the ozone hole these days is that to a large extent it has been repaired because we took as a community, I'm going to put it that way as a world community. Those of us who did have the choice, made the choice and CFCs have now gone. It shows that where there's a communal effort we can make a big difference. So I would say to you if you feel that your individual actions, pretty irrelevant, you're not going to make a difference. I would say think again. Get on the right side of what we're doing and just be a part of that. And if enough people do that then things will change. So that is I think probably important point to leave on. Just to recap, think about the gear that you're using. Minimize what you're carrying. Honestly it's a good tip anyway because if you're hiking for hourss it's a good idea to minimize what you're carrying. Because if you are hiking FR hourss you're probably carrying water, snacks, maybe raincoat, things like that. so you want to keep that weight to a minimum. But do think about the gear that you're buying. Buy the best quality you can afford, if you can. I used to buy a lot of second hand gear. certainly when I was starting out in photography. I think pretty much all of my gear was used. It was second hand gear. I managed to put together two complete systems. This is my old Minolta X700, the old film camera. But I had two complete sets of bodies with motor drives. And then I had a good selection of lens, not quite as long as I use now but they were pretty good. I think 70210 was my main lens but it allowed me to do a lot. So do have a think about that and do buy the good quality lenses. the other thing about buying good qualities is you can always get them serviced and it's good to do that every now and again anyway but it means they will last a long time. And this is why I'm still using lenses that I bought 25 years ago or 20 years ago and it over that period they're really good value. So that I think is it. thank you for listening. I hope you found that useful. I hope it's given you some food for thought. That was really why I wanted to record this podcast and I will speak to you in the next podcast. Bye for now. Well, I hope you enjoyed that. Now, I just want to say thank you for tuning in and joining me in, the Wildlife and Adventure Photography podcast. If you have enjoyed today's episode, please give me a like a subscribe, maybe tell your friends and, by all means, leave a comment. And if there is a subject you would like me to cover in the future, please let me know and I'll be very happy to do my best. So thanks again for, joining me, and I look forward to seeing you again. Next podcast. Bye for now.