As I posted earlier, I apologize for the political posts as of late. With the past week of posts I feel that I must explain myself. We nature photographers generally have a specialty, whether it be landscape, macro, wildlife or, like my specialty, environmental conservation, and the list goes on. Often, we nature photographers, are nature photographers just to be nature photographers. This is generally the way it starts out but in time one will find a niche or a passion for a specific focus encompassing ones work. Working alongside conservation land trusts, and environmental groups like Wild South, Southern Environmental Law Center, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, The Conservation Fund and many more, has channeled my desire to use my photography to help protect our wild places. Rocky Fork, a 10,000 acre undeveloped land tract here in East Tennessee, has intensified my focus even more toward the environment and with environmental conservation comes politics! There’s no way around it and I can’t deny that I’m very passionate about the work I do, be it photography, my conservation efforts and politics. For my field of photography I can’t see any way around political objectives being injected into the discussion. Conservation is very political and it has been since President Theodore Roosevelt helped make it that way. As for this blog, it belongs to me and reflects my work as a photographer. It’s about my existence as a conservation and environmental photographer. There will be lots of photography and there will be some politics as I feel the need to express myself. Our new site, www.mountaintrailphoto.com, is all about photography! You WILL NOT see any politics there, you’ll only see articles about photography for photographers! For those that feel passionate about nature photography for nature as well as photography, and feel as I do, that conservation and environmental issues need us in the fight to save our wild places, then I hope this is the place you visit. I welcome all to stop by and I hope that I can make a difference in guiding you in your quest to help protect our wild places!
Canon EOS 5D, TS-E 24mm, polarizer, ND grad, f/16 @ 1/16 sec
Without the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, a wonderful local land trust, and the efforts of environmentalists, photographers, politicians, and ordinary people that have a love for wild places, this area would now be closed to the public and million dollar homesites, ski runs, restaurants and lodges would grace this beautiful location.
