Environmental changes continue to affect our lives as well as the fate of other species. Conservation of environment perseveres to be conventional, which surely is an appreciable step. But the question here is in the next ten, twenty, or fifty years, what will our earth look like? In answering this question, photography can rise to the occasion.
Photography unveils environmental issues and does it in a very comprehendible way. It doesn't matter what part of the world you belong to; the language of photography remains universal. Furthermore, at a time when people are preoccupied with their daily lives, photography allows people to assimilate significant information swiftly.
Photography has progressed as an influential way to empower conservation. Photography has been involved in this role since the 1860s, although not widely identified as such. Renewed emphasis on photography-for-conservation came into play at the beginning of the 21st century, essentially in response to the human-caused environmental problems like overpopulation, deforestation, burning fossil fuels etc, acknowledging that the global pattern of ecosystem degradation was not sustainable.
Conservation photography is a type of outdoor photography, which focuses on both the beauty of nature, and the need to protect it. A National Geographic photographer, Joel Sartore explained, “the typical nature photograph shows a butterfly on a pretty flower. The conservation photograph shows the same thing, but with a bulldozer coming at it in the background. This doesn’t mean that we do not need beautiful pictures, in fact we need it as much as the issues or simply we can say images exist for a reason.”
So, the idea what we get here about conservation photography is creating images that will bring a change. As a conservation photographer, you have some responsibilities and it doesn’t end when you press the shutter, it actually begins there.
As a photographer after reading this you must be wondering how to be a conservation photographer. You don’t have to be a professional or famous photographer for this. I think what matters the most is turning your attitude or skills towards conserving something you care about. It could be anything, a local park closer to your house, natural areas, forests, monuments, local culture, or anything that need protection and preservation. You can capture pictures of these which people are trying to save. You can also document some conservation projects or you can also work with some conservation organisation. Many of these smaller organisations don’t have a photographer and are constantly in need of fresh images to tell their stories.
At last, the idea is about creating a picture that creates an impact. So, the question here is, “Is your picture making a difference?”