{"id":2202,"date":"2022-11-07T21:58:27","date_gmt":"2022-11-07T21:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/?p=2202"},"modified":"2024-07-03T07:17:51","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T13:17:51","slug":"developing-a-sense-of-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/news-items\/2022\/11\/07\/developing-a-sense-of-place\/","title":{"rendered":"Developing a Sense of Place"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"2202\" class=\"elementor elementor-2202\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-394d25aa elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"394d25aa\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-1df8bb2\" data-id=\"1df8bb2\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-68e3ed4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-post-info\" data-id=\"68e3ed4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"post-info.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-inline-items elementor-icon-list-items elementor-post-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-435c911 elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"datePublished\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/news-items\/2022\/11\/07\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fas fa-calendar\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-date\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time>November 7, 2022<\/time>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a7aa432 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a7aa432\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><\/p>\n<p>During the pandemic, many people rediscovered nature as a welcoming escape from sheltering at home.\u00a0 People hiked local trails, walked around their neighborhoods, or simply sat outside observing nature in their own backyards.\u00a0 For me, it was a time when I dusted off my camera and rediscovered my passion of capturing beautiful images outside.\u00a0 I was excited to reconnect with nature, but wanted to approach my photography a bit differently.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want to blindly walk around clicking away at everything I saw.\u00a0 I wanted to do it with purpose, understanding, and respect.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d4d832b elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"d4d832b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"791\" src=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Bobcat-Stalk-PR-1024x791.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-2218\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Bobcat-Stalk-PR-1024x791.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Bobcat-Stalk-PR-500x386.jpg 500w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Bobcat-Stalk-PR-768x593.jpg 768w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Bobcat-Stalk-PR-16x12.jpg 16w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Bobcat-Stalk-PR.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Bobcat Stalk - Point Reyes \u00a9 Stephanie Becker 2022. All Rights Reserved. <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c55c97d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c55c97d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>I started following photographers that prioritized the well-being of nature over photography and saw how impactful and beautiful their images were.\u00a0 I watched their webinars, consulted with them, and even had the pleasure to participate in photo tours with them.\u00a0 Two of my all-time favorite photographers, Melissa Groo and Daniel Dietrich, were my inspiration and embodied all of the Nature First principles that I continue to follow today.<\/p>\n<p>Something that resonated deeply with me was the notion that if you take the time to learn about your subject, whether it\u2019s the types of plants that attract bees, the migration patterns of birds, or the calls of coyotes, you will have a deeper respect and appreciation of your subject and ability to share that knowledge with others through your images.\u00a0 You are putting Nature First with what I call a learn, then click approach.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e1c59d1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"e1c59d1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/White-crowned-Sparrow-Pt-Reyes-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-2217\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/White-crowned-Sparrow-Pt-Reyes-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/White-crowned-Sparrow-Pt-Reyes-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/White-crowned-Sparrow-Pt-Reyes-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/White-crowned-Sparrow-Pt-Reyes-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/White-crowned-Sparrow-Pt-Reyes-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/White-crowned-Sparrow-Pt-Reyes.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">White-crowned Sparrow  - Point Reyes \u00a9 Stephanie Becker 2022. All Rights Reserved. <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-293b787 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"293b787\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>I decided a great way to better understand the environment I was photographing was to develop a sense of place and become a certified naturalist learning about the local soils and climate, water resources, plants, invertebrates, birds, mammals, wildlife, and the stewardship of our natural resources.\u00a0 I started to photograph through a different lens so-to-speak.\u00a0 I researched the places I would go while taking careful note of the trails to follow to avoid damaging sensitive habitat.\u00a0 I used field guides to understand the various plant life and species of insects and birds and where I might find them.\u00a0 I also studied the behaviors of certain mammals to understand their body language and signs of when they might be stressed.\u00a0 Ensuring that your subjects are not stressed by your presence is so important and knowing when you should save your click and walk away is putting Nature First.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-02884ae elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"02884ae\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"791\" src=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Male-Northern-Harrier-Point-Reyes-1024x791.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-2215\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Male-Northern-Harrier-Point-Reyes-1024x791.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Male-Northern-Harrier-Point-Reyes-500x386.jpg 500w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Male-Northern-Harrier-Point-Reyes-768x593.jpg 768w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Male-Northern-Harrier-Point-Reyes-16x12.jpg 16w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Male-Northern-Harrier-Point-Reyes.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Male Northern Harrier - Point Reyes \u00a9 Stephanie Becker 2022. All Rights Reserved. <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b1634b0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b1634b0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>I also learned that what you do with an image is just as important as how you get it.\u00a0 Meaning, it\u2019s not just applying Nature First principles when you capture the image, but applying those principles when you share that image.\u00a0 How are you representing the subject?\u00a0 A coyote that is stalking prey can make for an intense-looking photo, but it would be misleading to write a caption that says, \u201cscary encounter with a coyote today\u201d when the coyote was simply hunting for a meal. Or even with no caption at all, people can misconstrue what they are looking at.\u00a0 I think this is an important point.\u00a0 So many images are being shared and re-shared through social media and can easily be taken out of context without the right captioning.\u00a0 In addition, it\u2019s important to be careful about sharing locations, especially bird nests or animal dens which could draw more people to that site and unintentionally drive the parents away from their young.\u00a0 Putting Nature First is also looking at the possible impact of your actions when sharing images with the public.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a247b66 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"a247b66\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"690\" src=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sunset_Call-1024x690.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-2216\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sunset_Call-1024x690.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sunset_Call-500x337.jpg 500w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sunset_Call-768x518.jpg 768w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sunset_Call-1536x1035.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sunset_Call-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sunset_Call.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Sunset Call \u00a9 Stephanie Becker 2022. All Rights Reserved. <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-01d3810 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"01d3810\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>As photographers, there is so much we can do to create beautiful, ethical, impactful images:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Research the subject you would like to photograph.<\/li>\n<li>Research the location of your subject and any rules and regulations, and adhere to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lnt.org\/\">Leave No Trace<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Observe your subject before you click by keeping a safe distance, taking note of its surroundings, and body language.<\/li>\n<li>When sharing your photos, try to provide education about your subject and use appropriate captions.<\/li>\n<li>Avoid sharing locations of sensitive habitat and wildlife.<\/li>\n<li>Always follow the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.naturefirst.org\/en\/principles\">Nature First Principles<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All of the pictures you see in this article were photographed with a long lens and cropped to give the subject space.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During the pandemic, many people rediscovered nature as a welcoming escape from sheltering at home.\u00a0 People hiked local trails, walked around their neighborhoods, or simply sat outside observing nature in their own backyards.\u00a0 For me, it was a time when I dusted off my camera and rediscovered my passion of capturing beautiful images outside.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3301,"featured_media":2210,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[62],"class_list":["post-2202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wildlife"],"aioseo_notices":[],"authors":[{"term_id":62,"user_id":3301,"is_guest":0,"slug":"stephaniesbeckergmail-com","display_name":"Stephanie Becker","avatar_url":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/acdff86ab94d8bae54a04777b5835587.jpg?ver=1777194142","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3301"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2202"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4998,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2202\/revisions\/4998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2202"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}