Reconvic Loc: clermont Fl

An hour ago I posted the topic "very ANGRY mom". It was a photo of a mother osprey on the nest that was angry that I approached. The circumstances were that the nest was no more than 25 feet from a very busy highway and I pulled the truck off onto the shoulder and stepped 5 feet out of the truck. Even if the nest was out in an open field and in my attempt to get close I angered the osprey, is that disrespecting nature?

very angry mom

(Download)

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Would you have been less offended if I'd used "stress" instead of disrespect?

btw, I deleted your pm without reading. Perhaps after you've had time to settle down, you'll reconsider your public reaction here to my comment.

I'm also a military retiree - support, not combat. Thank you for putting yourself in harm's way to help keep our country safe. As with many on this forum, there are veterans of Vietnam and there are survivors of lives lost from that era.

Paul Best. Loc: California desert

Hi Reconvic--Now that is one angry bird. In the Download you can see she is looking directly at your lens.
She must have thought it was a big eye. Great shot!

Reconvic Loc: clermont Fl

I'm not taking this personal. I genuinely want to know if a photographer in an endeavor to get a sharper image causes an animal to react in anger or flight is stressing and being disrespectful to nature or the animal.

Eddy Vortex

No

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

I don't think there are any hard and fast rules, but generally speaking the less interference for thew sake of a photograph the better, in my view. It certainly would make my life easier to go "off trail" and tromp or drive through the woods this time of year searching for the best wildflower opportunities, or to remove the plants for photographing under controlled conditions, but I don't. I try to do as little damage as possible to plant life, and disturb critters as little as possible. If nature is interesting enough to photograph, then it ought to be interesting enough to respect. I encourage people to err on the side of caution.

Here are some interesting thoughts on the topic from nature photographer Paul Bertner:

Ethical Exif (EE) for Wildlife Photos

One of my least favorite shots from Sani lodge now serves as a constant reminder of poor practice to me. This subject was one of many subjects collected by Tropical Herping working on a photographic field manual of Herps in Ecuador. This parrot snake (Leptophis ahaetulla) was played with.

It was grabbed by the tail and gently swirled in circles. Then it was gently batted about the head, to engage in defensive gaping (an open-mouthed threat display). This occurs naturally to a certain extent, but with more stress, the defensive gape is held for longer.

There were more than 30 different individuals, each experiencing greater or lesser amounts of abuse, and all held in sub-standard conditions over the course of days. Held in plastic or cloth bags, they were stressed out, mishandled, at least one died to my knowledge, and at the end, they were translocated beyond where they were caught.

Although I wasn’t involved in the project (the guidebook) or capture, I still photographed some of the species and offered my logistical help to them on where they could find other species. It’s one of those unfortunate incidents which was an eye-opener for me, and really forced me to look at my own practices and question them, even small actions and arthropod subjects. They may appear small or insignificant, but it speaks to an overall respect for nature, and it can be a slippery slope into poorer and poorer practice.

The tacit approval I gave amounted to an endorsement and I consider myself as much to blame as those doing the collecting and abuse. These practices are rife within macrophotography, and one should not expect experience, professionalism or status to be an indicator of a person’s ethical standards. Always question whether something needs to be done and if it doesn’t, don’t support it and if it continues, speak up. These experiences helped mold and form my concept of Ethical Exif.

The respect with which we treat wildlife – whether it is a charismatic and emblematic species like the Jaguar, the common or under-appreciated backyard denizens, or even vilified pest species – our treatment is a reflection of us and our values. Nature, though wild, is a looking glass through which we can gaze upon our own humanity, a mirror to our human nature.

Ethics is a contentious and complicated subject, full of pitfalls and paradoxes, logical fallacies and fabrications. The ‘right’ course of action is often mutable, subject to situation and current social mores which not only differ from country to country but from one year to the next with the emergence or reversal of scientific data.

https://petapixel.com/2018/07/16/ethical-exif-ee-for-wildlife-photos/

Mike

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Absolutely YES! If any action causes the bird/animal to change its behavior, the bird/animal is exhibiting signs of stress.

Your responses in both topics that you started indicate that you ARE most definitely taking this personally, despite what your words state.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Perhaps you already regret writing this then: DISRESPECT has a very very bad connotation to me. It is my biggest pet peeve in life. YOU just disrespected a combat veteran who if it weren't for us you would not have the freedom to malign another human being OPENLY.

At any rate, my vote is yes to whatever you want to call the action of "attempting to get close." It should be obvious to anyone who respects nature that you do not - under any circumstances - approach nests. Period.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Do you remember this topic:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-548510-1.html

.

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

Yes. Thanks.

Mike

sailwiz Loc: Santee, CA

Just saw the title and thought I would have a look. I'm a vet and I don't get carried away about it. All I care to say about what I can see in this post is this is why telephoto lenses were invented.

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

Yes. Of course.

Mike

Reconvic Loc: clermont Fl

My initial reaction was personal. Then , although I did nothing more than step out of my vehicle and then jump back in, I simply wanted to know what disrespecting nature is. Your comment did not take into consideration the circumstances of my taking the photo. At any rate let's get back to the topic at hand and leave personal comments out of it.

Country Boy Loc: Beckley, WV

Unnecessary stress! That is why they make telephoto lens - with the proper lens you could have gone to the other side of the road and taken a better photo. If you don't have a proper lens, it is best to just pass on the shot.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

You didn't use quote reply, but I'll assume you're speaking to me. If you go back to your Gallery topic you will see that you didn't mention the circumstances of the shoot in your opening. If you felt bad about disturbing them, you could have said something then. It could have been a good way to help educate others.