The Consequences..... This morning while reading some of the Photography Blogs I read through my reader, I had a few things kinda hit me in my face. So much so that I thought that I write about them here. This post is rather serious, so hang tight with me, on this one. And a FYI, if any of you are offended, I apologize ahead of time.
Thanks to all the new watchers too, I really appreciate the support. I also have gone ahead and updated my photoblog
"Mountain Mist Photo" if any of ya wish to check it out. You can subscribe by RSS or get it in your email to stay atop my journeys. Anyways, thank you everyone and now on with the show!
The Consequences.....--- So it hit me, like a ton of bricks while reading my blog roll in my reader this AM. One photo, one pic, simply stopped me dead in my tracks. And it made me think. Think long, hard, clear, and weigh things for just a moment in my head. (the power of photography can be amazing can't it?) But like a freight train, while thinking, it just kept rolling along in my head, and invariably wound up in a political mindset of all things. However just why, makes a lot of sense.
Some of us here on DA--- are on the serious side of the coin when it comes to our photography. Some of us are professional, and some are very serious amateurs wanting to be the best they can, while some are aspiring professionals. If you aren't, it makes no matter, really. As long as you enjoy what it is you are doing. However those of us who are on the serious side of things, I think have to be concerned with a whole other aspect of issues.....
The Recyclable Photographer--- It seems to me that many on the serious side are very conscious of our world today, the issues which we face in nature, the destruction of our earth, the wildlife which is being destroyed for the sake of medicine, like Tigers in China for example, and ultimately our RIGHTS as photographers. I would venture a guess that most us wouldn't vote for McCain and his like if our lives depended upon it. And in light of the recent activity at the Republican National Convention, with so many photographers being arrested who were covering events and the destruction of their equipment, well, it even says it more so.
Photojournalists today---- face things here in America which they had never had to face before. Many of the tactics can be likened to a Police State or a Communist Government, where police demand that they delete the images on their memory cards (which by the way is illegal to do), arrest photographers for "unlawful photography" (which, is a false arrest as no such crime exists) and confiscate and demand their equipment. This kind of thing is happening everyday, sadly, and it isn't just happening to photojournalists either. It is happening to everyday people as well. One only needs to look on DPreview.com & news sites to see the large amount of threads which have been posted...
AP photog arrested while covering anti-war protest.Be careful where you take photosPHILLY PHOTOGRAPHER ARRESTED AT RNCDozens of journalists arrested while covering RNCPHOTOGRAPHER ARRESTED FOR TAKING PICTURES OF VICE PRESIDENT'S HOTELStreet Photographer Arrested for Shots of Women & KidsThe image above was shot by photographer
Tony Webster and is entitled "Just Before My Arrest" and was brought to my attention by
rebelx (thank you) Looking through his flickr stream is amazing, and really puts images to words with what I am talking about.
On the Nature Side--- As I said, it seems many of us are well aware what challenges we face these days, as photographers and also what the environment faces as a whole. Global Warming, while still denied by many on the right in Washington, is undeniable. Storms are getting stronger, the polar caps are melting, and life as we know is about to change unless we do something. I think this is one of the things that we, as nature and wildlife photographers, really see happening a lot. And many photographers like
Art Wolf for example, is a member of
"The International League of Conservation Photographers" Each and every time I am out shooting---, I can't help but to stop and think, if all this which I am capturing will be around in the near future, will the pollution erode things even more, will man keep treading in places and leaving things behind, wildlife which is now considered abundant, be gone and lost forever?
Lead To The Slaughter--- The image that stopped me today was one that knocked me off my seat almost and is below. We as humans take for granted so many things when it comes to animals and wildlife on the planet, that destruction of a species is often not even given a second thought or a care by those doing it. Take for example this moment in The Congo, where Gorrillas are being slaughtered. Left and right. And for what? The picture below is the image which stopped me cold, and was shot by Getty photographer Brent Stirton, and will be in Newsweek and National Geographic, he won the Visa d'Or Feature Award for his work on covering this issue.
BUT STOP and LOOK at IT, CLOSELY--- Seriously, take it in. Look at it. It is more than moving, it is the face of fear.....as a Congo military office walks by, not noticing the Gorilla, he snapped this. If he had noticed him, he would have been killed, yet, look at the Gorilla, the face, the eyes, the fact he is almost hiding out. Look. You see it? He is scared, and you can't tell me he doesn't know what is going on. Hiding in the bushes, trying to figure out what to do, how to preserve his OWN life, and how to cope with what is happening around him. THIS my friends is not just a photograph, this IS life and THIS is NATURE. This is all powerful, so much so it brought tears to my eyes. What on earth are we, as humans, doing to this world, the animals that inhabit here, the harm we cause? And why must it be done? Think. Look. Question. Before it is to late, and atrocities like above are allowed to go on.
Click image to see larger shot and to read the article.
---John
Previous Important Journals A slight cause for inspiration Are YOU a lightchaser? Are YOU being colored blind to art? Want a FREE professional art website? A Primer on © In Everyday Language! How To Make DA Work for YOU!!! I've Been Interviewed!--- an interview with yours truly by
LadyAnubis What does DA do for YOU!?!?--- Examining DA and seeing who else is addicted to the largest art site on the net!
Save The Camera!--- Posing the question, "has Photoshop, or is it, replacing photography?"
Don't Play The Guessing Game !--- Why image descriptions and keywording is important for YOU when you upload your images to DA.
B&W, Sepia, and why it is not seen... The lost artform of monotone and why it is so often ignored.
Sharing some processing secrets--- Sharing some of my secrets in my workflow and the techniques which I use.
Organizing Your Pictures--- How to keep better track of your images.
What IS a GOOD photo?---Examining what exactly IS a great photo and what makes one.
What IS a beautiful photo?--- A serious look at what makes a beautiful photo and how some people on DA are hell bent against it!
So You Wanna Sell Your Art?!?!?--- Exploring one way of making $ with your art that many have come to do!
25 Cent Fortunes--- How Microstock Photographers are rolling in the cash and how you should be, too!
When Are Photos Like Penny Stocks? --When They Sell!!--- An inside look at the business of Microstock and Photography.
Murphy's Law of Photography--- Because whatever can happen often will happen!
Creative Commons is BAD for Photography!!!--- A Heated Photography Debate--- Exploring the morals and ethics in "is it ever wrong to take a picture??"
An Open Letter to The DA Administration--- My not so candid thoughts on making this site better.
My HDR Workflow--- An examination of how I use HDR in my photos.
Why RAW Works!--- If You aren't shooting in RAW, you sure as hell should be!
Let's Talk Marketing Your Photos--- Examining different ways to get your work seen and sold.
Marketing Your Images, pt2--- The second installment on marketing your work.
Let's Talk About Keywording--- Making keywording in your images work for you!
Some Of The Artist's I Admire 
