Photography Is Important In Wildlife Conservation
Picture This!
With the revolution in photography how can digital images help to the conservation of wildlife in Africa?
It’s sad to learn that Kodak has hit challenging times, but critics say the company failed to adapt to digital. Even sadder to discover that it might well have been Kodak that invented the first digital camera back in 1975. Apparently the camera was talmost as large as a coffee machine, so not very practical!
More than 2.5 billion people world wide own a digital camera, according to Samsung, and where once we treated our film with something approaching reverence, we can now merrily snap away knowing that in among the 100s of images we take there may be one or two gems.
Professional photographers might argue that digital has killed the craft of photography, but on the upside, digital gives us a much more instant way of recording events in many different scenarios.
So can this freedom in photography be put to good use in countries like Africa where animal conservation is so important?
Well, yes! Wildlife photography can be used to create valuable records for educational purposes. African Impact, for example, works with the Green Vision Foundation to create a database of images. Photographs are used to get local communities involved in looking after plant life and wildlife. Showing local schoolchildren the beauty that they are surrounded by encourages future generations to care for their environment.
Wildlife photography is an essential tool in conservation volunteering; it helps these researchers who are collecting data on animals and local flora and will be a vital element of the information gathered.
South Africa’s game parks are a really outstanding location for photography and wildlife enthusiasts. In the parks you’ll find the ‘big five’; rhinos, elephants, lions, buffalo and leopard (and of course many more amazing animals like zebras and hippos) along with unique plant-life.
Imagine the scene – you’re watching the sunrise over the water hole from the comfort of your cabin when a family of lions wanders up for a morning drink. You reach for your camera and zoom right in on the majestic face of the proud lioness. Now that’s something that you will never forget!
Kodak may not have stepped up to the digital revolution, but the rest of us have. Using the technology to help with wildlife conservation is just one way of celebrating digital – as long as the camera isn’t the size of a coffee machine…