I am a very lucky guy. I grew up in a household with parents who immigrated from Russia with absolutely nothing to their names and who worked so hard chasing the classic American Dream. They taught themselves English, found themselves jobs, and leaned heavily on their strong work ethic to earn for their family and provide me and my sister with everything we needed, giving us everything they never had as children.
In other words, I was a spoiled Brooklyn kid. However, whatever misgivings I may have had as a spoiled child seems to pale in comparison to the petulance and haughtiness that I see on social media by some photographers these days. How did we become such an entitled bunch of divas?
For the purposes of this post, I’m going to focus mostly on the photographers and destinations of the Pacific Northwest, where I now live, but this can easily be applied to just about any publicly accessible destination in the world. Lately, I’ve noticed a trend of photographers complaining that the destinations they visit have become overrun by other people, whether they’re tourists or locals who are simply enjoying themselves with no photographic agenda.
These photographers lace their photo posts with sardonic satire about how “the good ol’ days” are gone and their sacred places are now defiled and ruined because people are now picnicking there or are bringing their dogs for a walk. There also seems to be a direct correlation between the level of entitlement and the difficulty/remoteness of getting to the location. Sure, most local photographers expect to be surrounded by other people when visiting Multnomah Falls on the weekend. But when they see a group of people enjoying themselves at the base of Abiqua Falls, they get uppity.
My confusion stems mostly from wondering what planet these photographers come from where they think that because they lugged their camera gear down a steep, muddy scramble or across a 7 mile path, they should be the only ones there with no human or canine obstacles to contend with. The way I see it, these people made the very same effort to get to this hard-to-reach public location so why wouldn’t they be able to enjoy it in whichever way they choose (so long as it is non-destructive, supportive of the environment, and safe)? Is there some sort of precedent that a photographer has over a casual visitor? If there is, I’d love to know what it is.
Look, I get that our goal with making the long and hard trek to a particular destination is to get photos of it. It’s in our blood and it’s what we do as photographers. What I don’t get is the angst or anxiety about having other people enjoying themselves there, too. So, to help quell this rash of entitlement that is going on, allow me to provide some tips to restore your inner peace and make the most out of your visit.
Just ask
Cool, you’ve just finished your crazy long hike up and down a bunch of mountains and hills. The excitement is palpable and you’re already framing shots in your mind when one of two things happen. Either you arrive to the scene and there are a bunch of people already there or you get there before others but then these people show up after and inadvertently place themselves in your frame. Should this mean that you pack up your gear and shove off upset and defeated?
Absolutely not! In every single case where I had another person obstructing me from getting a particular photo, all I had to do was calmly approach them and politely explain my intention. In every single instance, that person or group of people either moved out of the way for me or allowed me to huddle in with them to frame up my photo. In fact, the only times I’ve been met with any sort of resistance was when I asked another photographer if I could set up for a photo. If you want to experience this for yourself, head over to Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park at sunrise to see what territorial, entitled and aggressive photographers look like. It’s just gross.
Go at off times
Do you know what I do when I want to visit Multnomah Falls with no one else there? I head out at some ungodly early hour or when it’s bitterly cold outside or during the week. If it’s a Saturday afternoon during the summer and the weather is perfect, how could you possibly expect to be the only one at just about any popular destination? Now, I know that it is not always feasible for you to make it out during the week because you have to work or you simply can’t summon yourself out of bed at 3AM. To that, I have no real response except that some things just aren’t in the cards for everyone and that really is ok.
Realign your expectations
I’d love to capture a perfect sunset at Delicate Arch in Arches National Park without another soul constantly running through my photo but I know that simply will never happen. The trek to Delicate Arch is not the easiest one and requires real physical exertion. So, if 500 other visitors chose to take it on, then they have just as much of a right to enjoy the sunset as I do. And if some of them feel the need to grab that selfie under the arch just when that golden light is at its best, I just take a breath and remember that this is why god invented the clone stamp brush and the “Median Stack Mode” statistics script in Photoshop.
I know that a lot of what I wrote here is a bit direct and can be off-putting to some but I hope you don’t take it in a negative or hostile way. My goal is to shine a light on a trending behavior that I’m seeing online and remind everyone that we are all people who are entitled to a certain level of civility, respect, and understanding. Photographers are not any better or more entitled than anyone else and it’s high time that we remind ourselves of this.
Very good post and I couldn’t agree more.
You nailed it. I have seen the ugliness at Mesa Arch, Delicate Arch, and Maroon Bells. Photographers literally screaming at other park guests or photographers. It isn’t just Americans, either. I came across a very perturbed German photographer when he arrived at Mesa Arch to find that I was already there. There is plenty of room at Mesa Arch and most people seem more than happy to take turns at different spots. I don’t think I will go back to Maroon Bells in the fall, although I would dearly love to, due to the nastiness that I saw on my… Read more »
That was great!
I’ve had the same experience many times, most often at national parks and monuments. Some photographers are quite nice about moving you out of the way. Others, not so much. I think there’s two types of mindsets for travel/nature photography – people who are on a strict timeline and obsessed with “getting the shot”, and others who take their time photographing a place and don’t mind being held up by someone else for a minute, or not necessarily getting the exact shot they wanted. For example, at Bryce Canyon, I made it to a popular viewpoint just before sunrise. Unfortunately… Read more »
Journalist and photo- editor and city editor and Dad and brother photographer…well put remarks!
Absolutely true, Brian. It may be frustrating to wait for that perfect shot but I can usually pull it off with some patience. Or, as you say, with the intention of cloning out distractions or using stacking techniques.
What bothers me is people who do not respect the very thing they came to see. Now that makes me mad.,
You’re right on! I have had the same experience with asking if I could just have a sec to get a shot…most of the time now, I just find another angle for the shot and avoid bothering people. Hey, we’re all out there to enjoy this world in the moment, you know? Why is MY time more important than theirs or Theirs more important than mine?
Can’t we all just get along? :)
Nice post, thanks!
Great article! Personally, we’ve raised our kids and we have become a nation of entitlements on so many levels (not just photography). Patience and being polite are sadly disappearing,
As an amateur in Photography and a professional in sales, I can attest that sugar gets far more than vinegar. Vinegar is good only for salad people. I might suggest that instead of getting the identical picture that a thousand photographers create at these beautiful places, you might try taking pictures of PEOPLE with the background of a beautiful natural view. A very original picture would be that of forty photographers trying to get the same picture. Granted, you might have a bit of trouble getting their permission, but I am sure that there would be a way.
Great article, you just have to get up earlier or stay later and light paint!
Your photographs are inspiring! and the first ….is stunning :) a little hard work, determination, and practice is whats its all about! perhaps it isn’t just some photographers who are exhibiting the signs of “Entitlement.” I’m seeing it in across the spectrum of the community in general. Awesome post. cheers!
Bri, your longstanding belief of sharing has led to your success. While others want to keep their locations and techniques a secret, you don’t think twice about sharing your photos with the world, discussing where and how you took the picture, and most impressively the processing applied afterwards. You have always had a core belief of sharing with others that goes back longer than your photography. Thank you for keeping it up, because the best way for us all to learn and grow is in the footsteps of others.
Great article Brian. Personally, I just try to avoid these situations altogether. I prefer talking to locals and finding those locations very few know about. There’s a lot of the world still undiscovered and definitely unphotographed. Spent a lot of time hiking trails and climbing mountains in the Olympic National Park when I lived near there. The places I went, very few ventured into. It was rare for me to see anyone else. Unfortunately, I was a military photographer and most of my images went to the National Archives. I need to take a spring, summer, and fall and revisit… Read more »
I don’t think I can add any value to what others have already said. This is spot on… Although what photographers fail to understand is that people in a photo aren’t always bad and can actually add to the shot since often times they add some perspective to the shot.
“Etiquette” – it’s a great word, and one that’s rarely understood by the current crop of self-taught photographers. Back in the good old days (pre-internet) we used to learn this stuff as we apprenticed, we’d carry a “seasoned photographers” bags, make tea for them and their clients, load their film holders and most important of all, learn to take criticism and advice, all this before taking a single picture.
Today, after a few online courses, and an investment in some high-end gear, it appears everyone is either a master photog, photographic educator or DoP.
How times have changed…….
Well put Brian. i have had little trouble with the average tourist except sometimes with busloads of asian tourists. However i have run into some amazingly rude and territorial photographers especially at mea arch, grand canyon and maroon bells. What I don’t get is why they want to sit in one place for hours and get the same shot over and over again. Move around, your photos will be much better and it will give us all a chance to capture that “shot”. Unfortunately it seems the way this country has gone.
Well said. Holds true for other things as well.
Brian, your right on the money. Iv’e been shooting landscapes for over 35 years in one of the most isolated places in the world. In recent years I have been travelling more and have seen all of the above happening.
Your comments are bang on, Brian. Thanks.
Very timely Brian. I’m heading out to Utah to shoot the ‘Mighty Five’ in a few days and hope to get some good shots. Your words really hit home with me and will help me get MY mind right before I get to any of the locations I plan on shooting. Hopefully I’ll run into some ‘not-so-entitled’ folks with cameras. Keep up the great work!
Brian,
Good post. I was out at Joshua Tree recently for a midnight star shot at Arch Rock, and of course there were probably 10 other photographers already there ahead of our group, but we all worked together and got what was needed. Doesn’t have to be a fight. Sounds like your parents are an interesting story, try sharing their emigration saga with us, could be a good story!
It is not just photographers. While in Hawaii about a year ago, my wife and I went to one of the nice spots and started shooting. After having good freedom of movement for a half hour, a tour bus came up with a busload of foreign tourists. The tour guide came up and tapped me on the shoulder as I was setting up for a shot. He waived his hands at me telling me to move, it was a hand movement that communicated pretty clearly that I was in his spot. That didn’t work for me…I wasn’t finished. He tried… Read more »
As always Brian, you are right on! Yes – there are iconic spots we want to put our own artistic stamp on- just as many others want to do photographically or just want to experience the grandeur of the location. I have found in my travels that for the most part the photographers are very polite and willing to work with you. The ones that try my patience have been non-photographers that when politely asked to wait or move give attitude and proceed anyway. But they tend to leave quickly and to avoid a confrontation I just smile. Another approach… Read more »
I couldn’t agree more. However as a Studio photographer, I come up against the same problem in my Studio, yet it’s either a cat or dog that I am asking to leave.
Journalist and photo- editor and city editor and Dad and brother photographer…well put remarks!
You’re right on! I have had the same experience with asking if I could just have a sec to get a shot…most of the time now, I just find another angle for the shot and avoid bothering people. Hey, we’re all out there to enjoy this world in the moment, you know? Why is MY time more important than theirs or Theirs more important than mine?
Can’t we all just get along? :)
Nice post, thanks!
Absolutely true, Brian. It may be frustrating to wait for that perfect shot but I can usually pull it off with some patience. Or, as you say, with the intention of cloning out distractions or using stacking techniques.
What bothers me is people who do not respect the very thing they came to see. Now that makes me mad.,
You nailed it. I have seen the ugliness at Mesa Arch, Delicate Arch, and Maroon Bells. Photographers literally screaming at other park guests or photographers. It isn’t just Americans, either. I came across a very perturbed German photographer when he arrived at Mesa Arch to find that I was already there. There is plenty of room at Mesa Arch and most people seem more than happy to take turns at different spots. I don’t think I will go back to Maroon Bells in the fall, although I would dearly love to, due to the nastiness that I saw on my… Read more »
Great article! Personally, we’ve raised our kids and we have become a nation of entitlements on so many levels (not just photography). Patience and being polite are sadly disappearing,
Very good post and I couldn’t agree more.
Great article, you just have to get up earlier or stay later and light paint!
I’ve had the same experience many times, most often at national parks and monuments. Some photographers are quite nice about moving you out of the way. Others, not so much. I think there’s two types of mindsets for travel/nature photography – people who are on a strict timeline and obsessed with “getting the shot”, and others who take their time photographing a place and don’t mind being held up by someone else for a minute, or not necessarily getting the exact shot they wanted. For example, at Bryce Canyon, I made it to a popular viewpoint just before sunrise. Unfortunately… Read more »
That was great!
Great article Brian. Personally, I just try to avoid these situations altogether. I prefer talking to locals and finding those locations very few know about. There’s a lot of the world still undiscovered and definitely unphotographed. Spent a lot of time hiking trails and climbing mountains in the Olympic National Park when I lived near there. The places I went, very few ventured into. It was rare for me to see anyone else. Unfortunately, I was a military photographer and most of my images went to the National Archives. I need to take a spring, summer, and fall and revisit… Read more »
Bri, your longstanding belief of sharing has led to your success. While others want to keep their locations and techniques a secret, you don’t think twice about sharing your photos with the world, discussing where and how you took the picture, and most impressively the processing applied afterwards. You have always had a core belief of sharing with others that goes back longer than your photography. Thank you for keeping it up, because the best way for us all to learn and grow is in the footsteps of others.
I don’t think I can add any value to what others have already said. This is spot on… Although what photographers fail to understand is that people in a photo aren’t always bad and can actually add to the shot since often times they add some perspective to the shot.
“Etiquette” – it’s a great word, and one that’s rarely understood by the current crop of self-taught photographers. Back in the good old days (pre-internet) we used to learn this stuff as we apprenticed, we’d carry a “seasoned photographers” bags, make tea for them and their clients, load their film holders and most important of all, learn to take criticism and advice, all this before taking a single picture.
Today, after a few online courses, and an investment in some high-end gear, it appears everyone is either a master photog, photographic educator or DoP.
How times have changed…….
Your photographs are inspiring! and the first ….is stunning :) a little hard work, determination, and practice is whats its all about! perhaps it isn’t just some photographers who are exhibiting the signs of “Entitlement.” I’m seeing it in across the spectrum of the community in general. Awesome post. cheers!
As an amateur in Photography and a professional in sales, I can attest that sugar gets far more than vinegar. Vinegar is good only for salad people. I might suggest that instead of getting the identical picture that a thousand photographers create at these beautiful places, you might try taking pictures of PEOPLE with the background of a beautiful natural view. A very original picture would be that of forty photographers trying to get the same picture. Granted, you might have a bit of trouble getting their permission, but I am sure that there would be a way.
Well put Brian. i have had little trouble with the average tourist except sometimes with busloads of asian tourists. However i have run into some amazingly rude and territorial photographers especially at mea arch, grand canyon and maroon bells. What I don’t get is why they want to sit in one place for hours and get the same shot over and over again. Move around, your photos will be much better and it will give us all a chance to capture that “shot”. Unfortunately it seems the way this country has gone.
Brian,
Good post. I was out at Joshua Tree recently for a midnight star shot at Arch Rock, and of course there were probably 10 other photographers already there ahead of our group, but we all worked together and got what was needed. Doesn’t have to be a fight. Sounds like your parents are an interesting story, try sharing their emigration saga with us, could be a good story!
Your comments are bang on, Brian. Thanks.
I couldn’t agree more. However as a Studio photographer, I come up against the same problem in my Studio, yet it’s either a cat or dog that I am asking to leave.
Brian, your right on the money. Iv’e been shooting landscapes for over 35 years in one of the most isolated places in the world. In recent years I have been travelling more and have seen all of the above happening.
It is not just photographers. While in Hawaii about a year ago, my wife and I went to one of the nice spots and started shooting. After having good freedom of movement for a half hour, a tour bus came up with a busload of foreign tourists. The tour guide came up and tapped me on the shoulder as I was setting up for a shot. He waived his hands at me telling me to move, it was a hand movement that communicated pretty clearly that I was in his spot. That didn’t work for me…I wasn’t finished. He tried… Read more »
Well said. Holds true for other things as well.
Very timely Brian. I’m heading out to Utah to shoot the ‘Mighty Five’ in a few days and hope to get some good shots. Your words really hit home with me and will help me get MY mind right before I get to any of the locations I plan on shooting. Hopefully I’ll run into some ‘not-so-entitled’ folks with cameras. Keep up the great work!
As always Brian, you are right on! Yes – there are iconic spots we want to put our own artistic stamp on- just as many others want to do photographically or just want to experience the grandeur of the location. I have found in my travels that for the most part the photographers are very polite and willing to work with you. The ones that try my patience have been non-photographers that when politely asked to wait or move give attitude and proceed anyway. But they tend to leave quickly and to avoid a confrontation I just smile. Another approach… Read more »