Ethical bird photography

Here is an article about how a professional photographer named Alan Murphy practices ethical bird photography and gets great bird photos--not by interfering with birds but by setting up his photos according to the "bird's desires and needs, not his own." Because he took the bird's needs into account, he got a natural photo that was exceptional because the bird felt safe. Read the article, from Birder's World magazine blog,

This provides support to my belief that both bird photography and bird observation are most effectively accomplished when people actively avoid disturbing birds and minimize intrusion into their lives. Certainly those of us who are amateur bird photographers are not likely to use photo blinds or spend several days setting up a bird photo shoot. However, there are a number of things we can do to reduce disturbance and minimize intrusiveness. One example is using your car as a photo or observation blind--I do this a lot and find it a very successful technique when feasible. Both birders and photographers can use trees and other vegetation to reduce our profile to the birds--I did that this week-end at Lake Cheraw while viewing and photographing shorebirds and all I had was tall weeds to stand behind, but it helped.

SeEtta