It might sound to you like I’m trying to be mean and hog information.  I’m a landscape photographer so I seek out remote and secluded locations for my photo shoots.  If you see my photos, you might find that you want to visit some of these locations yourself.  However, this is where the problem begins.  This is where I opt to use discretion.

Much of what you and other people find attractive about landscape photography is the untouched-by-humans feel.  It’s the wild and untamed view.  It doesn’t matter how rugged or pristine the view, if it feels like it has been tamed by human beings, it loses some appeal.

I do my best to make my landscape photos look beautiful and pristine.  No doubt you are probably on the long list of people who love such untouched landscape photos.  From that list of landscape photo lovers, there are a certain amount of people who decide they would like to visit the place(s) depicted.  A smaller sub-segment actually try/succeed in visiting the location(s) depicted.

The Problem

Most people will generally be respectful of the area and other people when they set out to visit an outdoor location.  These people are not the problem.  If you are a respectful person when doing the tourist thing, then I’m not talking about you.  A big thank you as well.

Sadly, not everyone will be respectful of the wild places they visit.  People are careless or downright disrespectful and destructive, often in the name of fun or safety.  This has lead to amazing natural features being dirtied, damaged, or destroyed in the process.  This behavior makes it more difficult or even impossible for others to enjoy the view for themselves afterwards.  Please don’t forget that littering an vandalism are illegal.

Social media has made the problem worse over time.  With the growing popularity of influencers, internet celebrities and wannabes have been starting to branch out and find interesting places to photograph.  They can and do pursue selfies and stunts to impress their followers.  They can and do end up trashing places and ruining the view for others in the process.

Sadly, many popular landscape photography locations are now full of tourists with cell phone cameras.  While the cameras aren’t a problem, the disrespectful and destructive human beings can be a big problem.  Some people decide to deface the landscape in some fashion.  They permanently ruin everything for everyone else when they do.

If careless tourists don’t end up risking their own lives, health, and safety for a viral photograph, then they crowd around and trash the place for others behind them.  They can also block the view for others by their cutesy snapshots.  They can take up all the room for a shot so that you can’t get in with your own camera.

I, myself, have stood in a crowd of photographers hoping to get a landscape shot.  I have also stood in a much larger group of tourists trying to squeeze in and make myself some room to try for another landscape shot.  It’s not pleasant.  There’s a risk that I won’t get my shot due to the sheer volume of people.  Most are respectful when I’m holding my camera, but some are not and you can’t tell who the disrespectful ones are ahead of time.

Another problem which has started cropping up lately has been defacing the landscape in the name of safety.  As you can see in the video below, even the Boy Scouts can’t prevent people from deciding to destroy something.

As you can see, an increase in visitor population density has increased the number of people who are disrespectful and destructive to amazing photography locations.  This has increased the instances of vandalism and downright destruction which have happened in protected sites.

One Solution

While the ideal solution to the problem would be to teach people to properly behave themselves and then have them do so, it is little more than a pipe dream.  As each person decides how they will act in each situation thanks to their free will, we will continue to have people choosing to be disrespectful and destructive in pristine outdoor settings.

Sadly, there is another easier-to-do solution to this problem which will probably make people angry.  That solution is to keep exact locations quiet from the general public.  It requires exercising discretion in disclosure.  IF you find a great secluded place which is untouched by human hands, it is a treasure.  Keeping this location quiet will stop the disrespectful and destructive humans from ruining things for everyone else.  However, keeping it pristine requires your discretion.

This is why I’ve started using a bit of discretion when it comes to revealing the locations of certain of my landscape photos.  I generally reveal some of the location just because it’s helpful and useful.  If someone wants to buy a print of my landscape photo or wants to pay a commercial fee to use it, then they can find the information they need.  I’m starting to try and not share too much so that destructive and disrespectful tourists won’t trash the place the next time I want a photo.

Conclusion

It may seem mean and downright selfish of me to not share the details of where I chose to stand in my landscape photos.  However, I’m keeping specifics of each location to myself so that I can go back and not be overrun with tourists and garbage.  I can take my next landscape photo and not worry about whether or not I need to clone stamp out some trash or some people from my shot.  I don’t have to worry about squeezing in to find space for a photo.  Also, I don’t have to worry about angering park rangers by showing people where to go and mess things up.

So, my apologies if it seems like I’m deliberately withholding information (which I am) so you can go see places in my photos for yourself.  I am but for good reason.  I can’t predict what you’ll do or who you’ll bring along with you on your adventure.  Still, I want to keep part of the world pristine enough to photograph and keep providing beautiful landscape photos for you to enjoy.  This is why I use my discretion and withhold information.