#Superbloom Tourists Nearly Wrecked California. Here's How It Happened and How You Can Be an Ethical Photographer.
- A city employee was struck by a hit-and-run driver
- A visitor was bit by a rattlesnake
- Tourists continued to faint in the heat
- 500 vehicles were parked illegally on the freeway over the weekend
- Bring your own props whenever possible. Never kill the local flaura or fauna to use for your photos.
- Listen to official warnings. This not only protects the integrity of your photography, but it could save your life.
- Try your best to shoot when the least amount of tourists are there. Tourists ruin your shots, plus you don't want to add to any pressure the locals are already feeling.
- Talk to people! I don't know how many shots I've seen ruined, or done really poorly, because the photographer didn't make local connections. The local people will know particularly magnificent areas you may otherwise never know about.
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Photo by Roxana Crusemire on Unsplash
The #Superbloom Fiasco
150,000 people upended Lake Elsinore, California last weekend in search of the perfect shot of something known as the #Superbloom.
Lake Elsinore, after using every available resource to try and control the unruly crowds, closed the canyon. Then, they reopened it. Officials from nearby cities flooded in as support.
The mayor of Lake Elsinor went so far as to post a personalized video on Facebook pleading with tourists to stop coming.
All of this chaos was caused by Instagram mayhem over a measly poppy flower, or rather many of them.
California received record rains this year, as did the whole of the United States, and as such the wildflowers went crazy.
The tourists not only overran the small town of only 70,000 residents, but they began ruining the flowers during attempts to get better photos.
The other list of ridiculous and unsafe behavior included:
Our Favorite #superbloom Photos
While we don't condone the reckless behavior of most of the selfie-sticking touting tourists, we also know many photographers did their best to follow the requests of city officials and police.
Plus, the #Superbloom is truly too magnificient and extraordinary to not admire.
The folks over at RedCapCards, a small publishing firm, create otherworldly cards and paper products for those moments in life when Hallmark doesn't cut it.
They gave a beautiful shoutout to model and photographer, Margaret B. aka APrettyCoolGirl.
We love her posts because she is quick to point out that she didn't stray from the path for these entrancing photographs and that she purchased the flowers used for her artistic nudes at a flower market prior to arriving in Temescal Valley.
We love seeing small business supporting each other while also acting ethically with their props.
Editor's Tip: Do you have beautiful photos but aren't sure how to display them? Turn them into large format prints! See what your photos look like as fine art.
On the other hand, we also respect photographers like BySheree who stand up for the work they believe in.
She states in her #Superbloom post that the amount of hate messages she received became almost unbearable. However, she defends her work as ethical, condemns cyberbullying and keeps on posting her gorgeous photographs.
One of our favorite moves a lot of these photographers make, though, is to bring their own props.
TheSlyestFox, an LA-based art director and photographer, did just this with a small mirror.
The best way to prevent land getting ruined is by bringing your own toys to mess with.
Finally, we can't get enough of MarlonHolden's fine art photography.
Sometimes we forget that the simplest photographs of nature are the most beautiful.
Plus, he gives you a cheat sheet for exactly how to take each photo. He took this with an ISO 200 and a shutter speed of 1/320.
How Much of This Is About Photography Ethics?
It's hard to argue that most of these tourists are "photographers." Sure, everyone is a photographer when they have built in camera equipment on their phones and take them everywhere they go, but it would be hard to argue all of these tourists follow a strict code of photography ethics.
Plus, photography ethics are difficult to outline. For one, each person needs to sit down and create a list of what they want to get out of their photography and this can inform how they want to go about creating shots.
As an example, photojournalists will have an entirely different set of rules for a shoot than a fashion photographer. One photographer wants to capture the world as accurately as possible and one wants to create a fantasy.
However, there are some rules everyone can follow, especially when you are shooting outdoors.
A Possible Solution from... China?
Photo by Banter Snaps on Unsplash
China has a huge problem with tourists flooding their country during cherry blossom season and ruining the cherry trees.
Why on earth would anyone want to shake cherry trees, you might ask. In order to get the blooms to fall over their faces for the perfect selfie.
So, Wuhan University created an app that simulates cherry blossoms falling over your face.
You can even blow on them.
Photo by Sarah Diniz Outeiro on Unsplash
The university also only allows a certain amount of visitors each day, and the visitors have to save their spot 3 days in advance.
Learn More:
Via the South China Morning Post and the San Francisco Chronicle
