Federal Register | Proposed Directive for Commercial Filming in Wilderness I encourage you to comment on the proposed regulations, which if passed, could limit your use of the wilderness lands in the USA for any sort of commercial photography. Here is a link to the public comment site, which gets entered into the public record. Look for the big, green Submit a Formal Comment button: https://bitly/10mTrvY Here is the comment I submitted, along with a sample upload of one of my wilderness images: I can appreciate the governments concern for protecting the precious federal wilderness land areas. It is a worthy goal to keep these wonderful lands pristine and I understand the need for regulations and laws designed to protect the wilderness. However, as a fine-art nature photographer, I have some real concerns about the overly restrictive reach of some sections of the proposed regulations. I take my family to Great Smoky Mountains and Blue Ridge Parkway on a regular basis. We enjoy the ancient mountains, smoky valleys, streams, rivers, waterfalls, and wildlife. My family enjoys taking photographs of the wild areas and have enjoyed it for many years. I go one step farther than just family visits, which I am sure the government has no interest in limiting. I am also a stock photographer, which means I set up a single small tripod and take photographs and video that I use for a small amount of income from various stock agencies, such as FineArtAmerica, GettyImages, iStockPhoto, and Alamy. In other words, I make part of my living as a nature and landscape photographer. I am also an author of 15 photography books that teach others how to enjoy their cameras in places such as the wilderness lands you want to protect. As an experienced photographer, I respect the natural areas I photograph and do not want them harmed, otherwise, how could I keep photographing them? I am careful to take my pictures from areas designated as publicly accessible. Your proposed regulations would harm my ability to make a living for my family. I use no props, other than an occasional video recorder attached to my DSLR camera and a tripod. I use no models, heavy vehicles, or any equipment that would get in the way of others who want to enjoy the same scenery I crave to photograph. Therefore, I ask you kindly to consider the many photographers who in some way derive a meager amount of income from photographing nature, wildlife, and wilderness areas. These are publicly owned lands and my rights as a photographer should not be infringed by the governments imposing expensive fees or regulations preventing me, as a small nature-photo business owner, to continue with my livelihood. I implore you to rethink your desire to prevent me from photographing wilderness areas for personal enjoyment and small-business commercial reasons. I love these wilderness areas, and my photography is designed to highlight the beauty in nature I see in these special places. Please do protect the wilderness from heavy commercial use that would damage the areas or restrict others from enjoying the land. My type of fine-art photography and video does not harm nature or impede others. Here is a sample of my work: portfolio.young.photography I appreciate the opportunity to comment on the proposed regulations and hope that you will reconsider any fees and regulations that would harm my small fine-art photo business and my ability to enjoy the wilderness areas of the United States of America.
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 21:32:40 +0000
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