{"id":69,"date":"2021-06-10T15:10:48","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T15:10:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/2021-5-31-meet-our-partners-2-photohound\/"},"modified":"2022-12-02T14:53:42","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T21:53:42","slug":"meet-our-partners-photohound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/news-items\/2021\/06\/10\/meet-our-partners-photohound\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Our Partners: PhotoHound"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"69\" class=\"elementor elementor-69\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-87d3547 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"87d3547\" 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-27de73f\" data-id=\"27de73f\" 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-8c59973 elementor-widget elementor-widget-post-info\" data-id=\"8c59973\" 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-f9b1cf7 elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"datePublished\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/news-items\/2021\/06\/10\/\">\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>June 10, 2021<\/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-c71c2b9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c71c2b9\" 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 class=\"\"><em>Interview by Brynn Schmidt, Nature First Staff, all responses and photos by Luka Esenko<\/em><\/p><p class=\"\">Nature First partners with organizations that share our goal of protecting and preserving the world&#8217;s natural and wild places. Both PhotoHound and its founder, Luka Esenko with Ensenko Workshops, are partners with Nature First and align well with our mission and goals. We asked Luka to tell us more about PhotoHound and why they partner with Nature First. We hope you enjoy getting to know him as much as we have.\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\"><strong>Tell us about PhotoHound<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"\">PhotoHound is a community where photographers share and find the world&#8217;s best photo spots. We are a small team of four photographers, distributed in four different places: London, Wales, Berlin and Ljubljana. We created PhotoHound because we believe there is\u00a0 a better way to share photo locations with the photography community &#8211; one where we lead by example and put nature before getting the shot. Our mission is to inspire photographers to explore creatively but responsibly, taking care of the locations we shoot. We\u2019re continuing to \u2018bootstrap\u2019 PhotoHound and have made the decision not to pursue the route of seeking venture capital investment so that we can stay true to our values.\u00a0 For us, it\u2019s about building a lifestyle company that will allow us to share a percentage of our revenue with the photography community and charitable organizations that support environmental initiatives.<\/p><p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-1417\" src=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20201027_EP70167-1-copy-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20201027_EP70167-1-copy-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20201027_EP70167-1-copy-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20201027_EP70167-1-copy-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20201027_EP70167-1-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20201027_EP70167-1-copy-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20201027_EP70167-1-copy.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p><p class=\"\"><strong>What led you to partner with Nature First?<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"\">The main reason is that we share common values about protecting nature and our environment. We understand that sharing locations can have negative consequences and we wanted to do this responsibly and with minimum impact.\u00a0 The Nature First community has a lot of knowledge and we believe that we can learn and improve through our partnership.\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\"><strong>Most people would question why a company that shares photo locations is a partner of Nature First. What is your approach and how does it align with the Nature First principle of \u201cUse discretion if sharing locations\u201d?<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"\">This is a fair question and here are a few thoughts on this. Firstly, we will never be able to stop people from going to places and taking photos. If someone wants to find the location of a particular Instagram shot, the information is out there. What we can do is to educate people on how to approach (or avoid) these locations and to do so responsibly. We can explain why it is problematic, what photographers can do to help, and reiterate that no shot is worth damaging the environment. Secondly, what if we offer alternative locations? There are many photographers out there who would prefer to explore less popular places &#8211; places that are safe to visit and without hassle. This is exactly what the New Zealand tourist board has been trying to do; to lead people away from the overvisited Instagram spots to alternative places that can support an increase in visitation. If you haven\u2019t already, do check out their<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-55827641\"> social media campaigns <\/a>&#8211; they are to the point and brilliantly funny.\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\">We also need to put things into perspective. Most of the spots on PhotoHound are fine to be shared and enjoyed by photographers who use some common sense. Many are urban areas, places with proper tourist infrastructure, and marked trails. Equally, there are a number of locations that we would not share on PhotoHound for obvious reasons. It\u2019s not always black and white, hence the Nature First principle to use discretion if sharing locations. It\u2019s also the reason we created a way for photographers to tag each location as either \u201cShoot Freely\u201d or \u201cShoot with Care\u201d requiring some additional advice. We also look at\u00a0 which locations should be rejected for sharing by the curation team because they are \u201ctoo fragile\u201d.\u00a0<\/p><p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-1418\" src=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200526_EP73369-1-copy-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200526_EP73369-1-copy-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200526_EP73369-1-copy-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200526_EP73369-1-copy-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200526_EP73369-1-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200526_EP73369-1-copy-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200526_EP73369-1-copy.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p><div id=\"block-yui_3_17_2_1_1622479370177_21455\" class=\"sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html\" data-block-type=\"2\"><div class=\"sqs-block-content\"><p class=\"\"><strong>You seem to have significantly changed your approach to photo sharing from the early days of your previous company, Snapp Guides. What led to this change?<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"\">We realized that there was a more inclusive way to share locations rather than by publishing single author guides, so we pivoted to introduce community contributed content on our website. Now everyone can add a spot or an image.<\/p><p class=\"\">The PhotoHound team curates every spot that is added to our platform. We reject spots where we think revealing the location would harm the environment or cause problems with local communities. The tagging system ties in well with our responsible photography guidelines and encourages photographers to think about useful advice to give other visiting photographers. I\u2019m happy to say that our community has adopted this very well and most people are very aware of the impact photographers (including themselves) have on the environment.<\/p><p class=\"\"><strong>How has your audience reacted to the way you now do location sharing?<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"\">People love the idea that they can add locations themselves and share favorite places responsibly.They\u2019re enjoying the app and we\u2019ve seen a lot of amazing content shared on the world map. Our new approach is also more interactive; users are sending us reports and suggestions for improving the spots regularly. This led us to implement a commenting system for locations to make it even more community-minded and responsive to what\u2019s happening at any location in the future. Our lead mobile developer, Anton, is an avid nature and landscape photographer. He joined our team after listening to the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mattpaynephotography.com\/gallery\/conversation-with-luka-esenko\/\"> podcast<\/a> at Matt Payne\u2019s F-Stop Collaborate and Listen, where we discussed responsible photography and sharing locations.\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\"><strong>What are you working on currently?<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"\">Right now we are finalizing the PhotoHound mobile app. This will allow our users to have our guides on the go and use the content in offline mode. We\u2019re hoping to go live with the app at the right time, as people finally start to travel safely again.\u00a0<\/p><p class=\"\">Personally, I\u2019m doing a lot of photography here in Slovenia. With Covid travel restrictions, I have more time to explore places I don\u2019t usually go to when on workshops. This is quite refreshing but I\u2019m looking forward to working again. I miss leading photography workshops and hanging out with people who have the same interest!<\/p><\/div><\/div><div id=\"block-yui_3_17_2_1_1622479370177_94417\" class=\"sqs-block image-block sqs-block-image sqs-text-ready\" data-block-type=\"5\"><div id=\"yui_3_17_2_1_1668190365143_418\" class=\"sqs-block-content\"><div id=\"yui_3_17_2_1_1668190365143_417\" class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          combination-animation-none\n          individual-animation-none\n          individual-text-animation-none\n        \" data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"><figure id=\"yui_3_17_2_1_1668190365143_416\" class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"><div id=\"yui_3_17_2_1_1668190365143_415\" class=\"image-block-wrapper\" data-animation-role=\"image\"><div id=\"yui_3_17_2_1_1668190365143_414\" class=\"sqs-image-shape-container-element\n              \n          \n        \n              has-aspect-ratio\n            \"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-1419\" src=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200514_EP71528-1-copy-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200514_EP71528-1-copy-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200514_EP71528-1-copy-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200514_EP71528-1-copy-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200514_EP71528-1-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200514_EP71528-1-copy-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200514_EP71528-1-copy.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/div><div><p class=\"\"><strong>Then, for your workshops Luka, could you answer the following, \u201cwhat does a responsible photography workshop look like to you? How do you implement Nature First principles into your workshops?<\/strong><\/p><p class=\"\">Responsible travel and photography has always been the basis for any of my workshops, even before it became a more widely known concept. I\u2019ve always sought to provide an all-encompassing local experience that genuinely connects photographers with the places that they are visiting and photographing. As well as thinking about the natural landscapes we shoot, I focus on the food we eat, the traders we meet along the way, the quality of local accommodations we stay in, and the cultural experiences we enjoy.<\/p><p class=\"\">So in practice there are many things. First of all, a small group really is a small group &#8211; six people maximum. This definitely means less impact on nature, but is also better for the participants. We always \u201cshop local\u201d for accommodations, meals, and even car rentals and other businesses we interact with. This way the money stays in the community we are visiting. A photography workshop is a great opportunity to promote the ideas of Nature First and responsible travel in an \u201corganic\u201d way. I strive to be a role model by leading discussions and educating others about local flora and fauna, local culture, and traditional practice.<\/p><p class=\"\">We are so thankful that Luka took the time to talk with us and provide more information about his work and responsible nature photography. If you are interested in becoming a partner with Nature First, please contact us at <a href=\"mailto:info@naturefirst.org\">info@naturefirst.org<\/a>. Also, you can learn more about PhotoHound and Luka\u2019s workshops at:<\/p><p class=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.photohound.co\/\">PhotoHound\u00a0<\/a><\/p><p class=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.esenkoworkshops.com\/\">Esenko Workshops\u00a0<\/a><\/p><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-1420\" src=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/luka-esenko-photo-by-dan-briski-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/luka-esenko-photo-by-dan-briski-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/luka-esenko-photo-by-dan-briski-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/luka-esenko-photo-by-dan-briski-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/luka-esenko-photo-by-dan-briski-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/luka-esenko-photo-by-dan-briski-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/luka-esenko-photo-by-dan-briski-12x12.jpg 12w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/luka-esenko-photo-by-dan-briski.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-1421\" src=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200520_EP72593-1-copy-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200520_EP72593-1-copy-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200520_EP72593-1-copy-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200520_EP72593-1-copy-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200520_EP72593-1-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200520_EP72593-1-copy-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20200520_EP72593-1-copy.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>\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 class=\"\">Nature First partners with organizations that share our goal of protecting and preserving the world&#8217;s natural and wild places. Both PhotoHound and its founder, Luka Esenko with Ensenko Workshops, are partners with Nature First and align well with our mission and goals. We asked Luka to tell us more about PhotoHound and why they partner with Nature First. We hope you enjoy getting to know him as much as we have.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":70,"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 center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[48],"class_list":["post-69","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-partners"],"aioseo_notices":[],"authors":[{"term_id":48,"user_id":36,"is_guest":0,"slug":"jonnorris-nf","display_name":"Jon Norris","avatar_url":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/5a1f8e7595e193d9f04032a8a8742e36.jpg?ver=1776538019","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69","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\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3083,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69\/revisions\/3083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturefirst.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=69"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}