Comments on: Dall Sheep Ram, Denali National Park

By: Carl D

Carl D — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:40:26 +0000

Hey Mark,

Or maybe ‘A fool and a camera’?

Cheers

Carl

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:20:21 +0000

The book is a great idea – could have broad appeal as well if you include non-nature work. Titled “What some people will do for a photograph…”

By: Carl D

Carl D — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:18:49 +0000

Hey Folks,

Sorry, I thought I had replied to the comments above, but apparently not.

Mark – I think the responsibility ought be on ‘management’, because regardless of what permits we carry, the application of regulation is always going to be subjective – and it SHOULD be subjective. But it’s always up to the rangers or other law enforcement folks how to apply them – i.e., they should be the ones to do some wildlife awareness licensing. The rules need to be applied with discretion; if someone is bothering an animal, put a stop to it. If someone is not bothering the animals, leave them be.

Unfortunately, these kinds of institutions LOVE numbers, because they are run by lawyers. So they want to cover their own a**, by saying “50 yard limit” or whatever. That makes it easier for them, but it’s not always reasonable, in my opinion.

I agree on John Q (and some photographers) ….. we should write a book on crazy stuff we’ve seen.

Cheers

Carl

By: doug roane

doug roane — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:39:08 +0000

Incredible image and amazing situation to be in, Carl. I agree with what you and Mark said!

By: Mark

Mark — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:16:32 +0000

Hey Carl – I couldn’t agree more with you in your statements about moving being more of a disturbance than sitting there quiet. I also think it is unfortunate that issues of being too close seem to come up more and more with shots like this. This animal clearly doesn’t seem to have one ounce of stress that you are there, and shooting this wide and the perspective it offers demonstrates that trust. It’s a very intimate shot. Being close doesn’t always equate to imposing stress.

That said, I think it is also a tough position the rangers are in and the difficulty they might have in taking context into account. I wish they would also, especially if you were there alone and not in a public setting. Unfortunately as you know – John.Q.Public doesn’t have the sensibilities some of us have – far from it it seems most times. To make matters worse, other photographers – pros or otherwise – make the situation more difficult for the rangers by being idiots.

I sometimes wonder if the concept of a “wildlife awareness license” would work. Licensed people in the field are somehow already certified to know what they are doing.

By: John Wall

John Wall — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:56:47 +0000

Excellent and amazing shot, and I like that you addressed the issue of getting close in a national park. If you’d been in a wilderness area, or simply in a nondenominational wildland, there’d be no beef at all. Jurisdiction is everything these days. The politically correct thing to do would have been to turn yourself in at once. Maybe they’d have accepted the photo in lieu of payment.