Editorial

Editorial : Do you nature photographers have it easy ?

By Paul Whitham LPSNZ

BEFORE I BEGIN this editorial, let’s start with a disclaimer. I am not a nature photographer, nor do I really have a desire to be one. Over many years, and many attempts, I have come to the conclusion that I like to be in control in my photography.

I do not have the patience to spend hours trying to get images of creatures who have no intention of cooperating with me. That is not to say that I cannot take nature images. I can, and have actually received honours with them in club competitions.

I can appreciate the efforts that nature photographers put in to capture great images. I do not suggest that nature photographers have it easy when it comes to actually taking the photos.

However I do believe that nature photographers have a slightly easier road, than those who shoot other genres, when it comes to their entries in both the national exhibition and the honours system.

Firstly, nature is the only genre that has its own category in the national exhibition. Images in all of the other genres have to compete against each other to be selected. Nature images can be entered into the open category, as well as nature, meaning that photographers have two cracks at getting images accepted. This also means that nature photographers have a greater chance of winning the Ron Willems medallions as these are based on the number of acceptances gained and medals achieved. Now I know that the entry of nature images in the open category is to allow post processing, but it still creates an advantage.

Secondly, there appears to be a difference between the ways that nature images are assessed compared to open. Within the nature guidelines, used to assess images in both national exhibition and honours, you find the following statement:

“The storytelling value of the photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality while maintaining high technical quality.”

Furthermore, nature honours sets do not appear to have to show a diversity of photographic approach that is required in open sets. Diversity of approach is one of the principal reasons why sets are unsuccessful, especially at the APSNZ level.

The notion of storytelling does not appear in the open category - so why is it specifically included in nature?

My suspicion is that nature images are deemed harder to control and therefore leeway was created.

This may have been valid in the days of film when you were really limited in what you could shoot and had no idea what the result was at the time. With modern cameras you can shoot thousands of images and you can see at the time whether you are getting the shot. It is my belief that it is time for nature images to be assessed in exactly the same way as open ones. I have no doubt that the true nature photographers will disagree with me - and that is the nature of opinion pieces.

All cameras on the beach at the ICM workshop at Muruwai. Photo by Karen Triggs