John Cantelo
Well-known member
On a recent birding trip, the tour leader firmly expressed the opinion that, as a professional bird tour leader, he never carried a camera. He argued that people had paid him a lot of money to find and show them birds and that faffing around with a camera would only distract him and compromise his role. Has he got a point or is it an unreasonable demand? I don't think it's a big problem if guides have a handy bridge camera and grab the odd photo but wonder how far those with expensive SLR kits are willing to limit themselves to benefit clients. I've heard stories about some guides seemingly caring more about getting that shot than getting folks onto the bird. So, should (or perhaps do) bird tour companies have a policy on this with a no-camera rule for leaders (unless bird photography is a big element of the trip)? Note that word 'professional', if the leader isn't paid (as I think may sometimes be the case) then I think different rules may apply.
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