I know I promised my next article would be a location report on Donna Nook, Bradgate Park, or Wollaton Park, but I got a little sidetracked by Andy Rouse's blog.
Andy has been asked to write a column in a photography magazine on whether camera traps are "cheating" following the results of this years BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. The winners of the last two years competitions have been camera trap photographs.
On his blog Andy has asked for opinions on the debate and I thought I would share mine (I also emailed him)
I think the primary duty of the photographer is to inspire and inform members of the public by showing them images of animals and behaviours they would not normally see.
For photographers to be able to do this, the need to be trusted. This obviously impacts on practices such as HDR, excessive use of photoshop, and images of captive animals. I also think it would be extremely dishonest for a photographer to fail to disclose that an image was taken with a camera trap.
As for whether I think it is justified to award a photographer for a camera trap image, this is a more complex issue.
I think it depends upon the intentions the photographer had when setting up the trap. If the photographer set up the trap randomly and a Golden Eagle caught a Reindeer in full view of the camera then I do not think it would be right to give an award.
However, if the photographer placed the camera with the specific intention of capturing this image and used a large amount of field nouse to do so, then I think the award would be justified.
Field craft is as much of a part of wildlife photography as technical ability, and although this scenario would require more field craft than technical ability it still requires both so is in my opinion a true wildlife photograph.
Anyway, as this post has been a large block of text, I have included a seal picture from last year's trip to Donna Nook to wet your appetite for the pictures I will hopefully be getting this weekend.
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