Interview between WTA and Steve Parish, one of the keynote speakers at the workshop ‘Using Wildlife for Tourism,’ May 2012
Steve Parish signing books at WTA's WIldlife Expo, Beaudesert 2008
Steve, you would have to be Australia’s best-known wildlife photographer, and have published an extensive range of widlife-related books for adults and children, including guide-books, celebrations of Australia’s wild beauty, tips on photography, and stories and puzzles for the young. You’ve also traveled to most parts of Australia, and have given advice to travellers, wildlife carers, schools and the general public. We are delighted that you can be with us at this workshop.
Q. You have said that tourists really need to get off the beaten track and visit small towns and out-of-the-way places to meet real Aussie characters and get a feeling for what Australia is. Would you advise this also for true wildlife experiences?
A. this would of course depend on the target audience and where you were in Australia. If your destination was a single wilderness locality then one might expect that every moment in the destination would be the primary focus. If the distances to be travelled are great, for example a John Sinclair wander through Queensland’s south east, then visiting the towns for a break a, a wander and a photo shoot, would be very applicable. When I take a group somewhere I have an plan, then flex it to suit weather, light and the desires of the group members.
Q. Most day-tours tend to be from 9.00am to 5.00pm, or sometimes 8.00am to 6.00pm. I expect you would not consider this the best schedule either for wildlife viewing or photography. Any advice for tourists and tour operators on this?
A. 9am in the morning is when I might be stopping for a break and breakfast, not heading out. Shooting wildlife requires getting active pre dawn, the same applies at the other end of the day.
Q. Do you see any conservation problems with visitors heading off into relatively undisturbed areas? If so, how can we best educate them on appropriate behaviour (in ways that will actually be heard and understood by most) and how best monitor effects?
A. The effect of humans on wildlife cannot be summarised in a sentence, it entirely depends on the situation and of course the skill level of the group being led. If you are working in a strictly controlled National Park, like Kakadu, Uluru, even the Bungle Bungle’s these days, it is likely that you will be sharing the space with many other people. If one is alone, or with two or three people, there are ways around this, i.e. Getting up early is the best one. Very few tourists are up predawn.
Q. You have been a strong supporter of wildlife carers. I have seen animal orphanages in South Africa and elsewhere that charged admission for visitors to see the animals, attend a presentation, and/or stay overnight and join in feeding animals and other chores as well as being taken for walks or drives in surrounding forests. Could you see this working in Australia, to help both introduce people to animals they may never otherwise have a chance to meet so closely and to pay for the food and medications which at present most carers have to pay from their own pockets? Do you also see a potential for this to be exploited, and if so how can we sort out the genuine carers from the others?
A. Paying entry, or requesting a donation is already done in some situations. The Tolga Bat Hospital is one example. Of course this is a terrific idea, however there needs to obviously be some structure. Carers are often very tired people giving up enormous amounts of time.
As for sorting out ‘genuine carers’, I would use my own judgement. I tend not to associate with folk who are judgemental of others.
Q. I have heard you talk on the importance of getting our children enthusiastic about wildlife, and of course you have published many children’s books based on wildlife, and you also give talks to schools, where you take obvious satisfaction in seeing their interest in and appreciation of the animals. Families of course often visit zoos and wildlife parks, but do you think there may be an unrealised potential for promoting overnight family holidays focussing on introducing children to wildlife?
A. This suggestion is of major personal interest to my wife and I. Connecting to nature with family, is in fact a talk I give. This, in my opinion, is the single most powerful way to promote environmental ethic into a community. I would consider one success is all that would be needed to create a sense that one had achieved something very worth while. In fact the only powerful memory I have of my father as a child was when he took me fishing, only once! In fact there is enormous potential in developing such an idea and I will will focus on this in my talk.
Q. I think you were a teenager yourself when you started developing an interest in marine and other wildlife photography. Is this correct? Do you seen any evidence that the challenge of wildlife photography today and the availability of easy-to-use digital cameras can get teenagers interested in spending more time outdoors and noticing our native, birds, lizards, beetles and other wildlife?
A. The opportunities that have become available for ease of access to making nature images have exploded world wide, particularly since around 2005 when the quality became sufficient enough to rival film. Now it has completely taken over. Digital SLR sales have sky rocketed, especially driven by enthusiastic women looking for a tool with which they can communicate their feelings. The standard of imaging has also risen almost vertically. It is one of the fastest growing areas of human activity and nature photography is by far the most popular subject. There is also an explosion in workshops and photo tours world wide.
Q. Do you have any tips for using photography to arouse interest in species that are not so famous, cute and cuddly or big and powerful? How for instance would you go about getting photos of bandicoots, native rodents or little brown birds to get people’s attention and maybe want to find out more about them?
A. Commercially the most popular animals are those species that people can see easily, especially amoung kids. The approach that I take is to strive to create pictures that touch people emotionally, regardless of cuteness. Perception is also an issue. When commercially producing products one must also take into account a retailers reaction. For example if the perception with a retailer is that koalas and kangaroos are what their customers want, then talk all you like about your love of Numbats and Bandicoot’s, you will have problems. This has been my experience over many products across thousands of retailers. Now, with direct to consumer online retailing, this can change. Words are also important, exciting stories are integrally part of the ‘selling’ process as well.
Q. Many are now predicting the slow end to paper books as e-books become more common. Do you see this as a particular trend for travellers who don’t want their luggage to become too heavy, including identification guides (such as the smartphone application for birds of Australia by Michael Morcombe and David Stewart). What about books as souvenirs? In the days of e-books, will actual, conventional books remain popular as Aussie gifts to take back home to friends and family?
A. Yes many are predicting this and that, these are merely points of view though. The only big issue with the publishing industry is NOT the internet. It is the ‘sale and return’ policy. In other words one creates a book, say in January. Let’s say it takes a month, rarely does though. It is then printed say late February. It arrives in your warehouse/storeroom three months later from Singapore. You by the way pay for the book 30/60 days after its arrival. You then sell the book (there could be 3,000 of them). It is now July. The freight is free in store, you may have to pay for ALL your own promotions and marketing and the display you put it on. So, in late October the retailer might want to clear stock for new Xmas lines so your books are returned. Throughout this process you have received no return on your January investment. Calendars are even slower to pay. Sale or return is the death of publishing in its current format worldwide. Most publishers are moving to firm sale, high discounts with online sales. In the end though the risk and margins are the same. So in comes the e-book, well not just yet. Picture rich formats are mainly little more than flat PDF editions of the original paper format. My gut, and its only my gut, is that this industry will explode in late 2012. The question is does one lead, or follow? Wildlife information books will move the fastest simply because these are expensive to produce, they need constant updating and the market is very, very small. We believe, and are experiencing, that books produced as gifts are still strong, wether this lasts remains to be seen. Of course the other big issue is that with the demise of Angus and Robertson and Borders book stores, 30% of the book retail market has vanished. Will it be taken up by the remaining smaller chains and Independents? This remains to be seen. I have just released four e-books on nature photography here https://www.natureconnectshop.com/shop?cat=1929
Q. Finally, I believe you have a number of great-sounding photography workshops coming up, in such wonderful places as Lamington National Park. Could you tell us a website to visit for more information on these?
A. Yes I am developing field workshops with Darran Leal’s World Photo Adventures. I am also developing workshops which will be promoted soon on www.acreativelife.com. These are more seminar formatted and focus on the idea of ‘the whole of life creative process’. Or put another way, how to create your very own ‘reason for being’. Currently my workshops can be found herehttp://www.steveparish.com.au/blog/index.php?page_id=198 If clubs, Societies and or businesses would like to discuss tailored programs please email me here naturephotographersteveparish@gmail.com
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