Selfie destruction of the redwoods

[nbagno]

I love trying to photograph these redwoods each spring, but it makes me sad to see people treat this treasure as their personal playground.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/12...eking-selfies-to-get-3-5-million-rescue-plan/

 

[TheRook]

I think selfies are not so much the culprit as the title suggests. At the base of the tree, one would need an extraordinarily long selfie stick to bring in enough of the tree trunk into the frame to get a worthwhile shot out of it. More likely, the tree damage is caused by people posing for others to take a pictures. Trash is of course a different issue. Perhaps setting up more trash bins at key locations could alleviate that problem.

 

[NedL]

It's the geotagging that goes with the selfies. For a long time this grove of giant redwoods was almost more like a rumor or a myth... and the location was a not well known... like the hyperion tree...

 

[mshchem]

I went to the site and donated 25 bucks. The most amazing living things that I've ever seen were Redwood trees at Muir Woods near San Francisco. I would give a 100,000 bucks to spend a day with the folks that lived amongst these trees before the plague of "civilization"
It must have been paradise.

 

[jtk]

In early 70s, when I worked in Adolph Gasser's industrial/commercial photo on Clement Street, four of us (two guys and two girlfriends) would get up at 6, cross Golden Gate Bridge, drive to Muir Woods, photograph if we wanted, and return to work by 9AM. Several New Years mornings we got up even earlier, went to Mount Tam, hiked up, and photographed dawn (didn't need to return to work on January 1).

 

[CropDusterMan]

I saw people crossing the fence at the recently restored Mariposa Grove in CA to do the same. I lost it
on a few of them. Normally I wouldn't do that, but it just pissed me off so much. I'm not apologetic either.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

We are the largest virus on this planet. We will get what we deserve.

 

[jvo]

We are the largest virus on this planet. We will get what we deserve.

yes we are... though it is our children and grandchildren that will pay the price

 

[MartinCrabtree]

As it's been through our time. Yet we've learned little.

 

[jim10219]

Of all of the atrocities mankind has done to this planet, this ranks pretty low on the list. The only reason this is getting any attention is because it is so photogenic and visited by photographers. If it were and equally important ecosystem, but less desirable location for photographers, it would likely be sold off or destroyed.

So you see, the very fact that photographers are destroying it is probably what's going to save it in the long run.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

I went through the Southwest last April and visited all the main National Parks, Bryce, Zion, Canyonlands, Grand Canyon, etc. They're visited by millions each year who can be awed by their beauty and majesty. But they are not any the worse off for the use and we get to see and use God's beauty and natural resources. They require our tax money to be spent to care for them just like I need to spend my money to hire gardeners to care for my property.

Should you be the only one to photograph these trees? Would you fence off these parks for your use only? Don't other people pay taxes too?

 

[Wallendo]

I don't have the photographic talent to make useful photographs of these trees, although if I ever make this trip I will try. I find it interesting that all these Instagram "photographers" go to great lengths to take the same photographs as others have done, although I will admit that my snapshots of the Eiffel tower, the Tower Bridge, and the Statue of Liberty look just like every other tourist's photographs.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

I don't have the photographic talent to make useful photographs of these trees, although if I ever make this trip I will try. I find it interesting that all these Instagram "photographers" go to great lengths to take the same photographs as others have done, although I will admit that my snapshots of the Eiffel tower, the Tower Bridge, and the Statue of Liberty look just like every other tourist's photographs.

It can;t be the same photo if it's a selfie because they're in it and no one else has that picture.

 

[jtk]

I went through the Southwest last April and visited all the main National Parks, Bryce, Zion, Canyonlands, Grand Canyon, etc. They're visited by millions each year who can be awed by their beauty and majesty. But they are not any the worse off for the use and we get to see and use God's beauty and natural resources. They require our tax money to be spent to care for them just like I need to spend my money to hire gardeners to care for my property.

Should you be the only one to photograph these trees? Would you fence off these parks for your use only? Don't other people pay taxes too?

Awe, magesty, and God are fine, but it's critically important to be aware of the damage the current administration is starting to do to many of these wonderful places...butchering Bears Ears National Monument, positioning to auction important parts for fracking (around Chaco Canyon) and uranium mining (around Grand Canyon). Even though we have vast excess of antiquated, destructive fuels, not to mention zero ability to safely store nuclear fuels. Those realities are well known to outdoors people, educators, and of course Native Americans...but not nearly enough to many tourists.

 

[mark]

Its a worthy cause. Living in an area with 1000s of visitors a day the damage is immense and most don't mean to do it. The hard part is keeping people on the trails because they feel entitled to go where they want because they paid the entrance.

 

[faberryman]

I spent several days in September visiting perhaps a dozen redwood groves in state and national parks in northern California.. The venues weren't crowded, none charged admission, people stayed on the trails, and I didn't see any litter. It was a wonderful experience.

 

[bsdunek]

What's not talked about so much, is how photographing is making our earth dark. Every time you take a photo, your camera, film or digital, absorbs some light, which is never returned. As photographing increases, especially with all the use of cell phones, we will be losing light at increasing rates. How long before we darken our earth? This will cause less plant growth, which will be detrimental to endangered species of plants, and in turn, animals. It will also reduce the output of solar panels, reducing the amount of renewal energy available. Of course, it should reduce 'Global Warming', which may be a good thing.
So the question I see is, should we ban or tax photography?

 

[removed account4]

What's not talked about so much, is how photographing is making our earth dark. Every time you take a photo, your camera, film or digital, absorbs some light, which is never returned. As photographing increases, especially with all the use of cell phones, we will be losing light at increasing rates. How long before we darken our earth? This will cause less plant growth, which will be detrimental to endangered species of plants, and in turn, animals. It will also reduce the output of solar panels, reducing the amount of renewal energy available. Of course, it should reduce 'Global Warming', which may be a good thing.
So the question I see is, should we ban or tax photography?

i know what you mean !
there is another problem too that is only talked about by some ...
that whenever you photograph someone some of their soul is stolen ..
so there is the loss of light, but the selfies ..
well they are just leaving a generation of zombies and souless beings.
it used to take a long time for someone to lose their soul, they had to do
all sorts of ill deeds .. but now ... thousands and thousands of selfies
its a mess ..

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

It all comes down to education. And this behaviour is not limited to one age group or demographic. We've become so wrapped up in ourselves and so cut off from nature... Crikey, I sound like a hippy.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

What's not talked about so much, is how photographing is making our earth dark. Every time you take a photo, your camera, film or digital, absorbs some light, which is never returned. As photographing increases, especially with all the use of cell phones, we will be losing light at increasing rates. How long before we darken our earth? This will cause less plant growth, which will be detrimental to endangered species of plants, and in turn, animals. It will also reduce the output of solar panels, reducing the amount of renewal energy available. Of course, it should reduce 'Global Warming', which may be a good thing.
So the question I see is, should we ban or tax photography?

Switch your flash on and add light to the universe.

 

[Berkeley Mike]

The Merc says photographers but I doubt their authority. Local territorial geezers might blame mountain bikers. Having managed many fieldtrips with kids their facility with climbing around on anything is huge. They probably outnumber shooters by quite a margin. All that said, guests who visit California don't tend to have a many of the environmental considerations integrated into their awareness and behavior.

 

[removed account4]

We've become so wrapped up in ourselves and so cut off from nature..

Switch your flash on and add light to the universe

maybe but how is it gonna save us from the freaking screenzombies ...
they are all around us driving, wandering, shopping watching TV
at the movies at the library, outdoors, indoors .. souless zombies..

where's donald sutherland when you need him

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

 

[naeroscatu]

What's not talked about so much, is how photographing is making our earth dark. Every time you take a photo, your camera, film or digital, absorbs some light, which is never returned. As photographing increases, especially with all the use of cell phones, we will be losing light at increasing rates. How long before we darken our earth? This will cause less plant growth, which will be detrimental to endangered species of plants, and in turn, animals. It will also reduce the output of solar panels, reducing the amount of renewal energy available. Of course, it should reduce 'Global Warming', which may be a good thing.
So the question I see is, should we ban or tax photography?

If you repeat this often enough some people will actually believe. Some schools started to introduce the hipster book of physics with brand new discoveries and upgrades to the old ones. The point is that majority rules, so whatever majority of people believes is true will override the laws of physics or other obsolete laws like that.

 

[Berkeley Mike]

for there is nothing either good or
bad, but thinking makes it so...

Hamlet, William Shakespeare