Quark Philosophy

1. Wildlife Photography Ethics: The well-being of the animals I photograph takes precedence over any photo. I use the North American Nature Photography guidelines as a model.

I generally photograph with a long lens (600mm equivalent) and do my best not to disrupt the animals. If my presence causes distress in any way, I leave the area or move to a spot where I’m unobtrusive. I do not stay and repeatedly photograph an animal to a degree that its normal behavior is disrupted.

I am extremely cautious about photographing young animals and nesting areas. I’ll take photos only if I can do so without jeopardizing the safety and well-being of both parents and young. I keep my distance and avoid alerting humans or non-humans to the locations of young and their nests.

I came upon this article by Robert Winkler entitled A Wildlife Photography Primer. He discusses how even checking a Robin’s nest outside your doorway can leave a scent trail that marks the young for predators.

Unless otherwise indicated, all of my photos are taken of animals in their natural habitat. If I photograph an animal in a captive setting (wildlife rehab facility, animal park, etc.) I indicate “captive” in the photo description.

I do not bait. Occasionally, I will take some images of songbirds in home garden settings, near existing bird feeders.

I posted some additional thoughts here on wildlife photography behavior and ethics

2. Comments: Feel free to comment, disagree, to challenge – I’m a believer in the First Amendment.

3. “Entertain the Possibility” … My three favorite words. I come at my subjects from the perspective of an observer and voyeur, so it’s all subjective, it’s all interpretation. But so is most of life.

4. On the Topic of Anthropomorphism: I don’t believe in stripping an animal of its individuality and personality simply because he or she is not human. We share some traits with non-human animals, and I respect that similarity as well as an animal’s unique and rightful entitlement on this planet. I love biologist Marc Bekoff’s term deep ethology: “Respecting all animals, appreciating all animals, showing compassion for all animals, & feeling for all animals from one’s heart.”

5. Truth: I’m not a scientist and I don’t claim pure objectivity in my ruminations.Taking into account that truth is often subjective, my personal truth is what you’ll find on these pages. I don’t have any vested interest in promotions or cross-links or any other reciprocal relationship. So, if in my posts, I link out to or reference another website, commentary, product or event, it’s because I found that link pertinent to something I was thinking or saying.

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