Dear HCN,
In your article, “A
Question of Photography Ethics,” reporter Dan Oko unfairly impugns
the integrity of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) over a bear
photograph which he charges was taken in an unethical manner and
subsequently appeared in National Wildlife magazine. But Mr. Oko
leaves out some important facts.
First, the
photographer in question is a freelancer, not an NWF employee.
Thus, the organization must depend on the information provided by
that photographer in evaluating his work – no further degree of
control is possible. Second, NWF and its publications are leaders
in setting and abiding by the standards for ethical wildlife
photography. Our magazines were the first in the country to label
photographs of animals taken in captivity or under controlled
conditions. In the past, when we have been able to confirm
unethical practices by a photographer, we have stopped working with
that freelancer.
Philip B.
Kavits
Vienna,
Virginia
The writer is vice
president for communications of the National Wildlife
Federation.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Not our photographer.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
