Wildlife Photography Ethics

National Geographic published an article last week about the ethics of wildlife photography and filming that is worth the read. Don't Feed The Bears: Ethics in Wildlife and Photography and Filmmaking can be found at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140116-wildlife-photography-film-ethics-manipulation-feeding-staging-science/

When viewing pristine images of nature and the animals that reside there such as the one below, as a photographer it never occurred to me to manipulate animals in order to get the shot that I wanted. Granted I have not had experience with many wild animals other than moose but I simply waited for them to move into different positions or moved myself. The article dives into the fines associated with "cheating" to get that perfect shot and gives recent examples of awards stripped from winners, fines given, and credibility lost. Give it a read. What are your thoughts?

Photo from National Geographic Article

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140116-wildlife-photography-film-ethics-manipulation-feeding-staging-science/