"Sycamore Wet" © Hank Erdmann

Salt Creek Shoreline, Fullersburg Woods Forest Preserve, DuPage County, Illinois

Blog #7, March 24, 2014

"Photographer's Etiquette"

Food for Thought:

"Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius." - Pietro Aretino (Italian satirist 1492-1556)

"He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the universe"

- Marcus Aurelius (Roman emporer 180 - 121 AD)

"Much wisdom often goes with fewer words" - Sophocles ( Greek dramatist 496-406 AD)

"Shrub Wonderland" © Hank Erdmann Hammel Woods Forest Preserve, Will County, Illinois

Photographer's Etiquette... Recently I had a class in the field at the Arboretum and we had something happen that is one of my

greatest pet peeves. One advantage of doing this newsletter and blog is that occasionally I get to rant

about such pet peeves. I know for a fact that many photographers, both pro and amateur think exactly

the same way and run into what I'm about to describe all too often.

Let me first say up front, that in no way do I think I "own" or any photographer or artist should think

they "own" a scene just because of the fact they are standing in front of it. I don't think that way, I

never want to think that way. Fortunately few photographers think or act that way. But there is a

proper and a wrong way to do things and that involves my topic here; "Photographers Etiquette".

We have a society in today's America that is all too often a "me first, me always, me forever" focused

and yes we all, myself included, occasionally lose sight of our surroundings. We get engrossed in

thought or conversation with someone else and become guilty of the "I'm the only one

around/important/in-the-universe" syndrome. However put a camera in the hand of the

"photographer wannabe" and that attitude increases one thousand fold! These photographer

wannabes and occasionally "a photographer who is" become totally clueless and self-absorbed to the

point of ignorance, or even arrogance.

"Ice Bound" © Hank Erdmann

Morton Arboretum, DuPage County, Illinois

I realize that I'm preaching mostly (thankfully) to the choir here, I mean we teach etiquette in our

photography classes. What I am after here is some help. To fully explain, here is what occurred during

my last class at the Arboretum. It wasn't the most productive day to begin with, good light was

infrequent and we were fighting a little wind and the ubiquitous cold of this winter. The fact that the

idiot class instructor (ME!) led one of the students through a low area where the brief melt of the

previous week left about 6-8 inches of water under the snow to wet down our boots, feet and toes and

make them just a "bit" chilly, didn't help matters at all.

A gentleman (I use the word loosely) saw the class at a place where one of the class members had

finally spotted some decent photographic subject material (Thanks, Jim), and we were all gathered

around making images. "The "gentleman" pulled over on the side of the road...the road that you are

NOT supposed to park along as 52,386 signs along that road make quite clear. To top this off, there was

a parking area not 50 feet away. So the "gentleman" parked his van and walked over and "joined" the

class. Uninvited. Without one word or one glance to anyone. I know I was staring at him waiting for

some kind of acknowledgement, nod or request to slide in. The thought process of course is if you see

a crowd and a group of tripods with cameras intently focused on a place, you know there must be good

photographic material there, Right? So why not just barge right in, even if someone else or half a dozen

folks were there first? He started photographing, not around our periphery, but in between us as if he

were one of the class members.

"Trunk Ice" © Hank Erdmann

Morton Arboretum, DuPage County, Illinois

Silent and brooding, he made his images. He must have been a REAL GOOD photographer as he didn't

need a tripod like the rest of us mere mortals, he just blasted away studying each shot for at least two

or three seconds. Finally this "gentleman" who obviously had the best composition in mind and that

composition was obviously more important than anyone else', stepped in front of one of the class

members and into his image. Even though this great important interloper was obviously making the

image of the day/month/year/lifetime, the class member feeling selfish and put out by this master of

the photographic world, said "excuse me". It's good to be polite especially when "the masters"

incredible image outweighs the fact that he is intruding on an others creative exercise. There was no

response.

The class member said again "excuse me", taking politeness to a place I myself don't know if I could get

to. Again no response. I guess the process of making fine images supersedes all awareness and activity

in your vicinity, even at the expense of anyone else already there (and who just happened to be there

first). Finally the instructor (again me) woke up and did his job and said just loud enough so that the

"master/ gentleman/no-tripod needing/photographer" could not possibly fail to hear, "You are in his

shot". He flinched a bit I think. Finally he looked up, looked back a bit, looked at the ground (I think his

intended image), mumbled something that I think was "sorry" not to the class member but to me, and

slithered off towards his vehicle.

"Glow of Spring" © Hank Erdmann Fullersburg Woods Forest Preserve, DuPage County, Illinois

He didn't quite make it back to his van though as another great photo opportunity presented itself on

the other side of the wetland we were shooting at. Once again, this "master artist", his wondrous art

beckoning and more important once again than anyone else, unknowingly (sadly) and uncaring about

anyone else, he again wandered into our line of shooting view (if we were shooting anything that

wasn't at our feet). This time he glanced upwards at me and at catching my intent glare, he quickly

moved off and back into his car parked at his exclusive very special parking spot and finally left our

group in peace. We did not miss his presence one little iota. I hope my glare and the look of "you are

stretching my patience too far, didn't scare him.....at least too much.

Again I don't ever think I or the group "owns" a spot where we are photographing. That's is just plain

silly and a notion I certainly don't subscribe to. However there are the matters of photographer's

etiquette, of common sense and common decency and a bit of the issue of who was there first. An

unspoken law of the photographic community, at the least in the nature realm - all bets are off for

news photographers and the paparazzi, is that he who arrives first, gets the best spot and those who

follow fit in where they can if they can without intruding. And those who arrive first get that spot until

they are done, even if it's the only spot. On the other side of things, it's also an unspoken rule that you

shouldn't be a jerk and even though you arrived first, once you have your shot or shots, move on and

give someone else a chance (MM!) The great Philip Hyde always admonished his students not to get

the "photo greeds". In the case of a place crowded with lots of other photographers it's also great

entertainment to watch the frantic shuffle the instant you move and open the "prime spot"!

"Forest Dusting" © Hank Erdmann

Hammel Woods Forest Preserve, Will County, Illinois

Let's take a look at what could have happened if the "gentleman" had even a small bit of common

sense. If he had walked up and said "Hi", right away he's on another path, a friendly one. If he had

asked what the group was and if he could join in and take some images, I most likely would have said

"sure, go right ahead, just don't get in the way of the students as they are executing some images for

assignments for class". At the worse I would have said "could you wait a few moments until the

students finish with their assignments then you'll have the whole place to yourself". Besides the toes of

those of us with wet feet were getting cold, (thanks, Hank) and we weren't going to be there much

longer anyway.

I had a group up in Michigan's UP a couple years ago and we knew a big group was coming in behind

us. Upon arrival at the site, I told our group hurry and get their spots, as it was about to get crowded. I

also told them to get their shots and not to feel they had to move until they were satisfied with their

images. It was at sunrise and we would/should wait until the light was best. I told them, once they had

a good image or two, then give others a chance while there was still good light. While we were

shooting one guy tried to edge in between myself and another photographer and we were not even a

foot apart. That of course prompted a response from us both as he bumped both our tripods and the

guy left in a huff. A few minutes went by and we had moved slightly and a bit farther apart and another

person came up and quietly stood behind us, and when I turned around, she apologized for

interrupting us and I said nonsense there's room here, come on over and set up. People who use

common sense and common decency are usually rewarded for doing so.

"First In" © Hank Erdm+ann

Hammel Woods Forest Preserve, Will County, Illinois

Here's my request. All of us who know and practice photographic etiquette in the field need to educate

the non-initiated who obviously doesn't know either common decency or "the rules". Such folks simply

have no clue despite the fact that they probably wouldn't act similarly with any group involved in most

other activities. I don't in any way propose that you, I or anyone confront such a person, I'm not after

conflict and frankly there are way too many nuts walking around these days. Some are now packing

heat in all 50 states or will be shortly here in Illinois. We can still educate while not creating conflicts if

we just practice a little tact. Published below is a small handout entitled "Photographer's Etiquette". I

will print out and carry copies of these in my photo bag and in the car to "give away" when the

opportunity presents itself, as long as I can do it in a non-confrontational way. Which means I get to be

sneaky. Had I possessed one of these handouts when the "gentleman" joined us, I would have walked

discreetly over to his van and when he was concentrating (for all of those two or three seconds) or not

looking my way, I would have put a copy under his windshield wiper. This way he could find it without

being publicly embarrassed or challenged and read it. He'd likely be taken aback a bit but any one

presented with such info, especially if it is done tactfully as I think the hand-out is, would likely at least

start to think about where he/she is heading, stepping, intruding, etc.

Let me know what you think, I'd love your feedback on this one. Can we improve the hand-out? Feel

free to edit as you wish, but do remember that although it would be fun occasionally to really hammer

and insult some idiot who blatantly abuses his presence in the field and just don't care if he does, we'll

reach and teach a lot more folks and in the end likely see improvements using sugar versus pepper!

Ok, for those select few who really deserve to be verbally spanked you can have a couple special

copies that are a bit more direct to give to the few cases where such directness is likely all they will or

can understand.

Maybe, with just this little effort if practiced by enough of us, we'll find some amount of common

sense out there and just maybe folks asking if they can join in. If that happens, it's our turn to be

graceful and invite them in, at least around your edges. If it's at the Arb, take a few extra seconds to

tell them about the Arb's classes, we might just pick up a student!

Next Blog: Not sure, any suggestions?

Allbest, Here's to spring....eventually!

Hank

Below is the Photographer's Etiquette Handout, feel free to copy, replicate, edit, or reproduce. If

you's like a ready made word file, 2 up on a standard 8.5 x 11 sheet ready to go, just email me and I'll

send out a copy.

"Life just is. You have to flow with it. Give yourself to the moment. Let it happen." - Jerry Brown

(Governor of California)

"I accept the universe!" - Margaret Fuller (American critic and social reformer - 1810-1850)

"Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it." - Ernest Holmes

(American writer and philosopher 1887-1960)

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