Take your camera everywhere you go!!!

[steve_cook]

Hi,

 

About 2 weeks ago, a friend told me that the success to making it as a

professional photographer was to always carry your camera with you.

He said that you never know when something will happen that you want

to photograph. Today I ignored that advise and missed an incredible

photo opportunity.

 

I drove down to the local gas station at 4 Corners (5 miles south of

Bozeman, Montana) to buy a newspaper and a six-pack of beer. When I

drove into the gas station, I could hardly find a place to park. When

I got out of the truck, I saw a sheriff and a buzz of activity. At

first, I thought that some driver was in trouble and getting the riot

act. As I walked around the corner of a truck with a large horse

trailer, I heard a young women crying about the poor beasts. I looked

at the trailer and know immediately they where buffalo, and not

cattle. I immediately realized I had just wandered into a high-energy

protest situation with lots of adrenaline flowing (As background, the

Montana Livestock Association has been removing buffalo from

Yellowstone National Park that are suspected of having brucellosis and

shipping them of to slaughter). I was looking at about 10 buffalo

that where about to become jerky. And guess what? I did not have a

camera with me (not even a dammed point and shoot)!!! So I went over

and looked at the doomed buffalo. This is one of the saddest things I

have ever seen, and the protesters realized I was with them. Now, as

I looked around, I saw a photo opportunity rich environment. There

was a lot of paranoid people wandering around, and the lone sheriff

had his hand constantly on his revolver (but he was not being heavy

handed with the protesters, since there was alot of people wandering

around). The drivers hauling the buffalo seemed to be enjoying the

situation, as you would expect. I went in and bought my beer, came out

and watched the situation. The protesters where using a video camera

to record the scene, but I thought they where missing the real

interesting pictures. They where just too emotionally attached to what

going on to record what were potentionally incredible photos.

 

At this point, I knew that I was hooked on photographing these kinds

of events (if only I had a camera with me). The energy is incredible,

and I am still wired at this moment.

 

I will never, never, never go anywhere without a camera again. Also,

the Montana Livestock Association has just created one of it's biggest

enemies, and I plan on showing them just what photography can do to

show the public the true story. Photography is not dead, and still

has a mission.

 

Steve Cook

High Plains Photography

[steve_cook]

Always read your posts at least 20 times, to detect errors. In my post, I stated that the MLA was removing buffalo from the park, but in reality, they are removing animals that have wandered outside of Yellowstone National Park. And please ignore the typos. Give me another beer.

 

Steve Cook

[tom_goodrick]

Go gettem Steve!

 

The only concern is heat that gets into parked cars. I have found that a closed camera bag on the floor of the back seat disguised under a page or two of newspaper keeps the gear fairly cool except in the worst heat. When I was working - before retirement - I used to take my gear into the office on hot days. There's always a way.

[curt_casteel]

Steve:

 

I admire your passion and agree that it's a great idea to keep a camera with you wherever you go. I would suggest that you don't fall prey to the urge to take photographs only of emotionally charged situations, then present them as the "true story." We have enough of that in the mainstream media.

 

I don't know anything about the conflict you encountered, and thus won't take anybody's side. However, before becoming anyone's big enemy, you might consider taking your camera to cover both sides of the dispute. The Montana Livestock Association might be protecting their stock from brucellosis infection, and thus protecting their very livelihood. I also understand that brucellosis can be passed to humans through the milk of infected cows and goats (I had to look that one up). I don't know if brucellosis is fatal to buffalo, but it might also be that quick slaughter could be preferable to a lingering death. If any of this is the case, record it, as well as the slaughter of the buffalo.

 

My point is, if you take the role of nature photojournalist, and use your images to present a fair representation of both sides in any such conflict, the true story is more likely to be presented and appreciated. If the death of these animals is an unjustified waste, it will be apparent. You might also derive some satisfaction from becoming something of an expert on a given dispute. As just an advocate for one side, your work will always be dismissed by your opponents, and you might never understand the entire situation yourself.

 

Anyway, have another beer and think about it, and good luck with your pursuit.

[mark_matsche]

Steve,

 

It is easy to get caught up in a moment, especially when emotions are in charge and not the brain. I would suggest that in the future you find out some facts before you get all juiced up. If you had a camera, taken emotionally charged photos of the protest, and presented them as a "story" on the issue, it would have merely been a knee-jerk reaction to a situation that I'm assuming you have absolutely no knowledge about (based on your post). This world is full of reactionaries - we don't need any more! What we do need are factual accounts. Todays media is turning into a circus. The old adage of unbiased factual reporting is dead in the water. All we are getting now are entertainment packages designed to boost ratings and push the agenda of the media. We don't need any more of that thank you.

 

I work in veterinary pathology so I happen to know a little about this issue. Did you know that control of diseases such as brucellosis (and others) is a major concern for cattle and other large animals just as control of tuberculosis and hepatitis is of a major concern for humans? These diseases can run rampant if left unchecked and devastate large numbers of animals to sickness and a miserable death. It is impossible to treat individual animals for diseases such as these in the hopes of controling these diseases. It is simply logistically impossible. Culling of individuals is the most effective means of protecting herds. In order to protect the many, we have to sacrafice the few. Also, some diseases in cattle pose a health risk to people. The alternative would be wholesale disease outbreak and devastation to populations. If you care about animals wouldn't you want steps taken to prevent this? I know I would. Slaughter is done (except kosher) very humanely - especially compared to a slow death from a viral infection. I suspect most protesters have no background in veterinary medicine or have an understanding of wildlife/herd management. I would suggest that instead of protesting which solves nothing, these people would be better off getting into a library. Find out what is going on and then decide how you feel about it.

 

Sorry to go off but as photographers, we have quite an impact with our images. How many times does an image stick in your mind rather than words associated with them?

 

Mark

[bobatkins]

It's a complex issue (but not really NATURE photography, more ecology). Check out <a href="http://www.mesc.usgs.gov/yellowstone/bison.htm">http://www.mesc.usgs.gov/yellowstone/bison.htm</a>.

 

<p>

One quote on the subject may be apt: <em>The threat of brucellosis spreading from Yellowstone wildlife to cattle is too small to measure, but the risk too great to ignore</em>. That still doesn't mean you have to shoot the Bison as soon as they put a hoof over the Park boundary though.

[don_baccus]

I really don't thing we should spend too much energy on the issue here , there are plenty of places to get oneself flamed over the issue if that's your desire.

 

Bob's right about the risk being very low, in fact there's no evidence that brucellosis has spread from bison to cows.

 

As a point in fact, the bison were originally infected by cattle...

 

The Yellowstone Elk herd also carries brucellosis, but the Montana Livestock Association and the state of Montana haven't demanded the same type of testing and control as they do for bison. Only an old cynic like myself would argue that the fact that many Montanans hunt elk, and many make their living guiding, feeding, selling gas to, and otherwise thriving on the elk hunt has anything to do with this discrepancy. Only a curmudgeon would point out that the control measures north of the Park are taken larbely to protect cattle grazed on public land (NF land, in this case) at AUM fees on the order of 1/4th of market value.

 

Only someone with a long memory would remember that the REAL issue is "who will control wildlife levels in the Park, Montana or the NPS?". The whole scenario is, to some degree, a tactical attack on the US Government's right to manage its property.

 

As far as Bob's specific comment goes, they don't shoot them the moment they walk across the Park boundary. That was the winter before this one, when they stationed shooters on the Park boundary and "controlled" several hundred bison.

 

This year, they backed off slightly and test the bison. Males and non-pregnant females that test positive are destroyed. Pregnant females are killed because the state of pregnancy apparently interferes with the test. The rest were being trucked back into the Park, last I heard. And they aren't shooting them for the most part this year, they realize that last year's "bison cleansing" yielded far too many photo ops, so this year they truck 'em off to real slaughterhouses.

 

Last year, Montana refused to accept a control program qualified by testing. I think they learned their lesson, as the resultant publicity made it clear that the brucellosis issue - a real issue, as our vet friend points out - was simply a trojan horse to allow the state to implement its goal of forcing the Park to lower the size of the herd by a significant amount. They accomplished this goal (the herd's down to about 1/2-2/3 the size it was two years ago), and now agree that testing and selective slaughter really, really can work after all by gosh and by golly (last year they swore up and down that they refused to consider testing because such a program couldn't possibly work).

 

As far as I know, the spread of brucellosis to humans via cow's milk is only possible for raw (i.e. non-pasteurized) milk.

[steve_cook]

Hi again,

 

Believe it or not, but the real point of my posting was to always carry your camera with you. This was an exciting photo opportunity that I missed. I'm really just a landscape photographer trying to make it in this field. The issue of the Yellowstone buffalo is hugely complex, and is probably beyond the scope of this forum. It involves (but is not limited to) the following:

 

Biology - actually, for our vet friend, I have read plenty about this issue (my post was written in the heat of the moment and could have been better composed). The elk will be the next big problem, as it is starting to be an issue in Wyoming and Idaho.

 

Management - do we want a bunch of cattleman managing our wildlife (in Montana, they are king, followed by the hunters).

 

It is my fault for revealing my opinions on this subject, but it still was a worthy situation to photograph. My goal is to use these kinds of photographs (gathered over several years) as part of an photo essay on Yellowstone Wildlife. Yellowstone could become a large zoo if the proper decisions are not made in the near future. Since I live just outside the park, I can visit and photograph there often (heading there tommorrow in fact).

 

Last, remember, use sunscreen and always take your camera with you.

 

Steve Cook

[dan_smith]

As to the Brucellosis and the threat to the cattle, the chief biologist in Yellowstone NP informed us that no one has yet done any testing to see if the disease can actually be transmitted from Bison to Cattle. It is mainly fear at this point and has been for a long time, just like the stupid paranoia over wolf attacks. Yes, the disease is dangerous, but not even testing to see if it can actually happen is asinine at best. Kind of like our "rugged individualist western ranchers & cattlemen" who live off the federal teat of below cost federal grazing lands.

Carry the camera & take the photos & show your impressions of whatever side you want, just so the photos are good.

[GerrySiegel]

Funny, I did try a point and shoot in a cooler chest with foam for six months. No targets of opportunity came by- or I wasn't alert enough to sniff them out. The single twilight when I sighted a moonscape over the mountains that was 'to die for,' I really needed a tripod,long lens, and no tired family just when *my* juices were starting to flow. If luck favors the prepared mind then luck favors the prepared roaming photographer. But your argument to keep one of these in the car makes great sense, Steve. Apropos of your adventure, when I worked as a student on a Yellowstone summer job with the Park road crew years ago, we once ate bison-burgers. Hmm.

[markci]

If you carry a camera with you at all times you may in fact get some interesting shots, but I really don't see how it has much to do with success as a professional photographer, at least in most specialties. Maybe I'm missing something, but how would having some slides of doomed bison help your career as a landscape photographer, for example? How would a wildlife photographer or portrait photographer or commercial product photographer help their careers by taking a camera when they run down to the local mall? Artistic street photographers, sure, if in fact there's anyone who actually makes a living doing that. Photojournalists, maybe. But these people know they need to keep their cameras with them, and they aren't the primary audience for the nature forum anyway.

[scott f.]

Went to the local Walmart during a storm this week and as I was leaving, the high winds were peeling the roof off. Wish I had my camera for that.

[donna_bollenbach]

I live in Florida and look forward to those cooler months when I can keep my equipment and film in my car without too much concern for heat build-up. While I have not had the opportunity to stop and take a once-in-a lifetime photo, I have enjoyed having my camera with me for those afternoons that I by cahnce had some free time to stop by a local park or preserve to take pictures. One time my graphics department at work needed some pictures of some cypress knees for a poster. I happened to have my camera and a change of clothes with me, so after work I went to a place where I knew I could find cypress knees. I took some pictures and earned a few hundred bucks for a few hours of doing what I love to do. With a full time job and a family my time to photograph is limited (usually early in the morning before anyone else is out of bed), but by having my camera with me I can take advantage of an a few extra hours when I have it. In the summer if I can't take a cooler fo my film or do not want to bring my large backpack in the building, I often leave it at home wishing I had it with me. This year I think I am going to pack a small camera bag with a lens or two to keep with me all the time. Of course, then I might not have the lens I need, but that can be an interesting challenge. Hmm, this has me thinking; if my husbands home with the kids already, my camera's in the car, nice wildflowers in bloom, maybe I'll...Donna

[glen_johnson]

Regarding Brucellosis, I don't think the concern is that it will be transmitted to milk. The problem is that Brucellosis is also called "spontaneous abortion," and cows infected with it (whether they be cattle or buffalo) cannot carry their calves to full term. Once a cow is no longer able to carry a calf to full term, she can no longer either produce beef or milk, and generally she will end up being destroyed. The idea that brucellosis may be selective, and can't be transmitted to cows from buffalo seems kind of wierd. Cattle and buffalo can interbreed (beefalo, a real product of US College agriculture programs), and the method of transmission used to be believed to be from grazing in a contaminated pasture. Neither cattle nor buffalo are noted for their special attention to hygenic grazing.

 

Farmers have had problems with brucellosis for a long time. It isn't a new disease, but it is a potentially costly one.

[kendra_wise]

I agree with taking your camera everywhere you go. Last summer I was driving along I-5 in Oregon between Eugene and Corvallis. It's pastoral but not known for great scenery --- lots of flat fields, etc. It turns out that that evening there was a spectacular sunset with clouds that were unreal --- huge billowing culumonimbus clouds which turned scarlet with the sunset. That type of light doesn't last for more than a couple of minutes. I pulled the car over, grabbed the tripod out of the back and shot 10 pictures or so with my little Nikon EM and an old Nikkor 50/2.8. I had Velvia in the camera so that's what I used. No filters, just the lens and the film. The resulting shots were good, and my lab had a hard time believing I hadn't used a filter --- the clouds were that red and the definition and shading was excellent.

 

So, I got lucky. But as Louis Pasteur said, "Luck is preparation meeting opportunity."

 

Kendra Wise.

[jason]

Always carry a camera.I have carried either an old Rollei TLR,Pentax,Nikon and mostly a Leica M3.You will be more observant.You will see "more".Shoot everyday things.It has become my diary.If you own a Hassie and dont want it tumbled around,get a disposable camera.

[mark_mc1]

I've also thought that I might be out and about without my camera when something really BIG occurs but I'm reluctant to haul my Pentax around in my Jeep all of the time because of some of the reasons already mentioned such as the risk of theft or excessive heat in the vehicle.

 

Although my ZX M is not a particulary expensive camera ($149 for the body at B&H)I've still got over six hundred bucks wrapped up with two lenses, the bag, flash, filters, release, etc.

 

I guess that I could just pack the camera with one lens. Do I carry my tripod around too? Maybe I'll buy one of those Fuji disposable cameras with 800 speed film and a built in flash and stick in in my glove box. It won't take top notch photos but at least I'll have a camera with me when that unexpected photo event occurs. If it gets stolen or warped by the heat I'm out $5.97.

[b. edward sandifer]

This wasn't nature, but follows the topic. Last Saturday evening I

was in downtown Denver after dark and came upon a group of

men dressed in full Klingon costumes unloading items from the

trunk of a car and carrying them into a local homeless shelter. I'll

never forget the bizzare visual image of Klingon warriors grouped

on a sidewalk bathed in the light from a neon "Jesus Saves"

sign. Of course, no camera with me.

[pphaneuf]

I have the "Deluxe" version of the nice Olympus Stylus Epic, which, in addition to the useless panorama "feature" and the different color, comes with a belt pouch for the camera (I think you can get the pouch separately, if you have the non-Deluxe Stylus Epic).

 

It is one of the smallest 35mm camera I ever saw, with a nice 35mm/2.8 lens in front of it. Since I carry it on me all the time, I don't worry too much about it getting too hot in the car or having it stolen (it looks a bit like an older cellphone, not too obvious black leather). It also has a weatherproof body, it can probably resist some amount of wetness. It can be had for around $100 I think.

 

I also carry a cheap tripod in the trunk, which is better than nothing. I do look a bit weird with the minuscule Stylus Epic at the top of a tripod.

[shoshana]

I take my camera with me pretty much everywhere ... and have gotten some interesting shots ... and finally found out why the chicken crossed the road...

 

'shana<div></div>