Digital Photography
Digital photography is revolutionising the way that we record plants and animals and is also helping to re-establish the popularity of this traditional pursuit. The aim of these webpages will be to provide practical advice from collective experience on how to get the most from this rapidly developing technology.
Background
In a recent article in British Wildlife (17:1) Paul Jepson commented on the Victorian era craze for biological collecting – it used to be important for climbing the social ladder. Then shooting and collecting became frowned upon between 1910 and 1950 and has become replaced by a fascination for the natural history, embodied through film and photography. Recently there has been a wide popularity of birdwatching and recording for atlases but this has still been the preserve of largely older generations. Observation leaves nothing to have and to hold and to study long term.
Photography overcomes this but has not been as instantly accessible nor affordable as it is becoming now. The popularity of information technology with the younger generation may help revitalise interest in recording among the young. It is easier now to ‘pluck a specimen’ without having to carry enormous i.d. guides or immense knowledge around with you. We still need our county recorders though, to verify what the casual observers may see and photograph. In many ways digital photography is making natural history sociable again. Results can be communicated through websites. Mostly upfront capital costs – then very cheap to run. And Naturalists are becoming more of a client base than they were, encouraging business and marketing benefits. Paul Jepson concludes his excellent article with: ‘perhaps it is time to discuss and debate how we may best capitalise on the exciting opportunity that digital technology represents.’
