Underwater Photography Ethics

[hvulin]

I don't think it's wrong as long as the animal isn't harmed.

yes, but how do you know what will harm this animal? maybe it's protecting its eggs somewhere and you don't see it, next thing you know someone ate the eggs and the animal is unhurt!

please don't feed them and don't touch them (btw. how do you know that they are not full of some poisson? (based on their colours they should have plenty of poisson))

 

[Chad_Ordelheide]

I figure, If I want there to be sea life when my kids are of diving age. I might as well just leave it the way it is!! Any annoying story I just heard whick drifts to the very opposite extreme. A couple local airplane pilots stopped in Guam. A couple of my freinds were out walking around the shoreline when they came upon breading humpback Calories (Shells). They said there must have been a few hundred. On the way back they saw the two pilots loading up bags of live ones. 50-100 each. Now I'm guessing everyone here would agree they were pretty much *******s. The point being, they really screwed up the ecosystem here. I don't know anyone who has seen a single one since in that area!!
So who knows if you stressed out the nudibranch enough that he didn't breed that season. Who knows? I say, there is already enough stress on our underwater world. Why stress it more for the perfect shot! If you get the perfect "frame", great. IF you don't...keep looking for it.

CO

 

[_Bella_]

In the time it takes to move something and wait for it to get into a good position you could take a picture of something else.
I admit to to having touched things and even moved things, but does cleaning a crinoid off my own leg count? Ultimately, I don't condone moving things to get a better shooting opportunity.

 

[DBailey]

My policies...

-Don't touch
-Don't feed
-Don't herd

I want pictures of the creatures in their natural state. I imagine I am causing enough stress just by being near them, and I don't want to add any additional stress.

 

[Uncle Pug]

So what do those same folks think about feeding critters to other critters to get them into shooting range?

Depends. If the idea is to get a picture of feeding them.. then that is the only way to get the picture.

Feeding can end up posing a problem for later picture taking however. Now Wendy is like a puppy wanting it's chow but it is harder to get her to sit still and *wait*. That made my last picture session with her a *blur* as she kept trying to get into my camera (flash=food.)

 

[Jon C]

I'll weigh in on this...

Without the "no-touch" credo, the pictures we all take would no longer represent the experience. Hence, it becomes an artificial representation of what we saw.

Our pictures are seen by others...divers, non-divers, friends and strangers. I feel we have an unwritten responsibility to share what is, in essence, the truth of diving and diving photography. We are not directors putting together a film with an imagined script. We are actually not even a natural participant underwater. We do not do justice to the viewer or the subject by manipulating the scene.

Another aspect...if the million dollar shot was easy, it's worth would go down. I vote to wait for the "great" shot naturally, invisibly, patiently. If it doesn't happen, its a good excuse to dive again another day!

In the words of John Y Kennedy...former president of Al's Carpets and Tile in Dayton..."We choose to go photo diving, not because it is easy, but because it is hard..."

Damn! This got too long. Best to all of you.

 

[Gilligan]

I will admit that I have repositioned some nudibranchs and live shells to take photos. Many of the commercial dive boat guides here on Maui handle marine life on a regular basis to show the customers. I was somewhat surprised by this.
One of the pitfalls of feeding marine animals to draw them closer, especially the chum method, is getting bit by a moray eel. Releasing chum close to a reef can easily draw an eel out in the open and in the confusion you may be bitten. To say an eel bite is a messy wound is an understatement.

 

[ssra30]

Releasing chum close to a reef can easily draw an eel out in the open and in the confusion you may be bitten. To say an eel bite is a messy wound is an understatement.

Recently a British diver just lost his finger in the Similans here in Thailand while feeding a moray eel. It is a well known local big moral eel that has been fed lots of time before apparentlyh but somehow he/she mistaken the guy's finger as part of the food this time. So you never can tell when oppps might happen.

 

[Uncle Pug]

As a photographer you should never use your own finger.

 

[Divesherpa]

I took the video camera out today. I exhaled. The bubbles altered the path of a jellyfish. I also scared a few fish into a hole by swimming by.

So....

Should we not dive as we are disturbing their natural habitat?

How far are you guys willing to take this discussion?

My policy is simple: do not intentionally cause harm. This goes for all facets of my life, not just diving. There are exceptions (Lobster, Dungies, etc...) that are slaughtered for my (and family and friends) gain. Yummy!

If I move a nudibranch and it is offended,it is welcomed to write a letter to the ACLU and complain about it. If a Sergeant Major loses 2 of its 50000000000000 eggs because I swam by, the species will not go extinct. I'm sure you guys get my point.

Snowbear, I'm heading back to the great white North in August for a few weeks. Any good suggestions? We will hopefully shoot some DV at the Rookery on Grindoll Island (POW). We may even feed a few Wolf Eels