My public service message for the month. This is to all of you that
see the beautiful images in magazines, books, calendars and in print
and use these images as a reference point to your own photography. Let's
get one thing straight, a beautiful photograph of a wild animal is impressive.
I do not intend to diminish the skill involved in good photography.
I do, however, intend to point a finger directly at those of you who
use bait to improve your chances of getting the winning photo. I have
been photographing wildlife for years and have been appreciating the
work of others for even longer. I have yet to see an image with a caption
of "I threw out a mouse which attracted this beautiful animal."
I get emails every day from people new to the hobby of photography
and new to the lifestyle of birding. People are enjoying wildlife more
every day. It is said higher levels of education improve the chances
of an individual becoming addicted to bird watching. Digital photography
is highly editable, prone to poor ethics and dishonesty and at the same
time has unimaginable benefit to all that we cherish. Nature is definitely
included in this ideal. Photography as a hobby is impacting preservation.
The number of people watching, studying and photographing wildlife now
dwarves the number that hunt for sport and those that destroy habitat
for money in one form or another. The pursuit of the perfect image drives
many to spend thousands, study for hours and buy Sibley's Guides, Winged
Migration and countless other media. In the end, ethics aside, they
could achieve the same results as many "pros" by simply carrying
a herring, mouse or seed in their pocket. Photography is in serious danger of becoming the hobby of the dishonest
person. Public perception is already headed in this direction. I cannot
count the number of times I've been asked how or if I had "Photoshopped"
an image to get the results I do. While the practice of baiting wildlife
for results has been common for years, the number of wildlife photographers
and the resources available to them is still in it's infancy. It is
up to all of us to be honest about our results. Here is my single baited
shot - Cassin's
Finch. Every other image of a wild animal is just that - wild. I
did not change their behaviour for my own ego. I did not entice them
for my own gain. I did not try and sell the effects of a mouse on the
hunger of a wild owl. It is time for those of you that use bait to step up. This is not much
different than the hunter with a salt lick below a tree stand or the
weekend warrior with an annual zoo pass. To all of you that tie a trout
just below the surface to get the awesome capture of a bald eagle showing
its skill or those that crop the hummingbird feeder from your amazingly
close flight image, it's time to tell it like it is. Yes, you needed
help. You do not have the skill to find the animal in the wild. You
do not have the time or patience to wait for days, weeks or months for
the perfect photo of a snowy owl coming right at you. Honest in photography
should be your motive. Yes, go ahead and do what you do, just be honest
about it. It is not a photograph of a wild animal, it is a photograph
of a wild animal's behavior being changed for ego. 
No
Bait Here
