Field Craft and Manners (1 Viewer)

I know, an emotive and old topic but I recently experienced some pretty poor behavior at a well known bird photography location in California. Yes, I know there has always been selfish and/or stupid behavior but the recent boom of digital cameras and specifically DSLRs seems to have increased the number of people doing dumb and inconsiderate things!

We were photographing Pelicans near San Diego and were 'over-lensed', so set-up further back than what I would consider the closest approach to the birds. 3 gentlemen (note my restraint there ) arrived and set-up much closer to the pelicans but in a poor position for the light...and proceeded to fill memory card after memory card of Pelicans sat around doing bugger all. When the Pelicans started to preen, they decided that they needed to get closer...and started to flush the closest birds. I left them to it because we were concentrating on the furthest birds. However their constant, loud chatter and fast movements soon got the attention of all of the birds who promptly stopped doing anything interesting...at this point I politely asked them to move back, which they did but by now the Pelicans we were working had moved so we packed up. Within two minutes of leaving, I looked back and saw that the gentlemen were now standing where 6 or so Pelicans had been perched! Within another minute or so, all of the Pelicans had gone and I can only assume that the gentlemen were wondering why... :eek!:

2 weeks later, same place but only one Pelican is present in a poor position. I am standing with another photographer waiting to see if anymore arrive, both of us are set-up with our lenses pointing towards the Pelican. A person comes along and sets-up 10 feet in front of us...I mean actually, directly blocking our view of the area! Worse, they are aware that we are there but carry on filling their memory card with the poorly placed Pelican! :eek!:

I think that the majority of the incidents are because of ignorance and getting carried away...note that I am specifically ignoring the idiot minority who don't care about anything except themselves.

So, if the majority of bad behavior is partly due to ignorance, how do you educate people? How do you stop people from flushing every bird (or animal etc) by their noisy, visible approach? How do you teach respect for the subject? How do you teach awareness of others around them (people and nature)?
I think that a forum like this is a good start, so maybe people have some 'guidelines' they try to follow themselves...

I find carrying a lead pipe in my camera bag helps!One tap on the skull usually does the trick!But seriously,some people are just plain ignorant.I dont just mean to others around them but to the welfare of the subject as well.Therefore i am afraid i have no answer.We get idiots like this the world over.

mw_aurora said:

I think that the majority of the incidents are because of ignorance and getting carried away...note that I am specifically ignoring the idiot minority who don't care about anything except themselves.

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You think they're a minority? That's optimistic.

I share your despondency Mark - but, like Mike, I have no non-violent answers to this..!



Some people are, and will always be, dickheads.

If possible, I try to politely persuade them that keeping further back from the subject will actually get them much better photos, and suggest they set up next to me (tell them that the bird is nervous but will come close if they keep still and quiet).

Most people are grateful I've tried to help them, and interested in any tips to help them get better shots (we were all begginers sometime). I can then try to explain the importance of being quiet, calm and stealthy when photographing wildlife, and hope it sinks in.

Of course some people couldn't give a rat's ass about anyone else, and there's no point wasting time on them, but I have to say it's rare I meet someone who has a really bad attitude.
I think the very fact that someone is engaged in wildlife photography means they are more likely to be receptive to advice from a more experienced person.

Offering a couple of suggestions as to where they can find other interesting birds/wildlife will get them on your side, and once you're engaged in (deliberately quiet) conversation, you can steer the subject towards fieldcraft, giving examples of when someone stumbled noisily towards a rare bird you'd been stalking for hours, and scared it off, etc. etc.

I must admit sometimes I can't be bothered, and just pick up my equipment and walk off pointedly annoyed, mumbling obscenities to myself. Maybe that gets the message across too, but I think helpful persuasion works better.
When people are entering a new "world" it's natural to want to fit in, so welcoming them in and leading by example has to be the best way.

[If possible, I try to politely persuade them that keeping further back from the subject will actually get them much better photos, and suggest they set up next to me (tell them that the bird is nervous but will come close if they keep still and quiet).

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Sad as it is to say this, but I have found they take you more seriously if you have a big black camera with a monster lens stuck on the front. If you are toting a discrete compact they have a ' And who the hell are you to tell us how to do it' attitude. (I had this experience recently - the guy's attitude changed remarkably in the time it took me to set up the long lens)

Gordon, I don't think it matter what lens your using, I had a similar experience to Mark. I was trying to get a Goldcrest in Dorset, everything was perfect the light the background, my position, the bird was not at all upset with me, until this couple walked between the camera and the bird.
Now you can't miss a 600mm lens on a tripod, so you would have thought that they could have waited. I think it's more than just ignorance.

I think you have raised two seperate issues here, the first as you say in the topic title is a lack of field craft, and all beginers lack that, so could be excused, in this instance it would have been more productive to engage the "offenders" in conversation and nicely point out the error of their ways, unless of course they knew what they were doing with the equipment they had at the time, its all well and good telling someone to keep back when you have a lens that has twice the focal length.

The second issue is one of blatent ignorance, I would probalby have shouted something like, "thanks mate, I was after the Pelican but your @r$e will have to do instead" or "you make a lovely window"

On the flip side, sometimes I'm surprised at the politeness of others. E g the other day I was 'attempting' to catch a marsh tit at a feeder next to the car park at Weir Wood resr, Kent with my hand held photo camera and my scope. I slowly became aware that a gentleman who had been at the lakeside earlier was discretely standing in the middle of the car park and patiently waiting for me so he could go to his car. Since it was the car park, and I was just waiting for the bird, I felt a bit embarassed at his forebearance.
Must be that people can be polite and thoughtful a lot of the time, expectations vary, and its the 'bad' minority of anything that causes the big impression.

Here in the UK I've never understood why at a big twitch so many photographers think having a camera means you can just walk up & stand in front of everyone to get your shot. I've seen such behaviour at almost every big twitch I've been to in Kent so it's not a matter of unusual or exceptional behaviour,
John

deshojo said:

If possible, I try to politely persuade them that keeping further back from the subject will actually get them much better photos, and suggest they set up next to me (tell them that the bird is nervous but will come close if they keep still and quiet).

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Saturday morning I kindly asked a photographer - excited by his brand new white lens - not to put it too forward outside the hide's window because in that way he could scare birds away ... he replied that he usually put his lens out that far (showing exact distance with his hand out of the window) and nothing happens ... in a while even horses had disappeared!
So what am I expected to do? |})|

Some people are just spoiled and selfish, and expect the world to stand aside for them to do their oh-so-important things.

gmax said:

Saturday morning I kindly asked a photographer - excited by his brand new white lens - not to put it too forward outside the hide's window because in that way he could scare birds away ... he replied that he usually put his lens out that far (showing exact distance with his hand out of the window) and nothing happens ... in a while even horses had disappeared!
So what am I expected to do? |})|

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I can think of several things you could have done, mainly involving uncomfortable placement of the lens... :eek!:

Violence resolve nothing (verbal included), maybe try to show what they can gain by being patient, more discret. A confident bird or animal can show you a lot; feeding, cleaning, curiosity, etc... So you can be the spectator of great thing sometimes.

avan said:

Violence resolve nothing (verbal included), maybe try to show what they can gain by being patient, more discret. A confident bird or animal can show you a lot; feeding, cleaning, curiosity, etc... So you can be the spectator of great thing sometimes.

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To quote from Cool Hand Luke (and Guns N Roses), 'Some men you just can't reach.'

Its a fact of life!