Welcome Wildlife and Nature Photographers!!!
Charlotte Wildlife Photography Group is a group for photographers of all skill levels and is free to join!! The group is based in the Charlotte, NC Metropolitan Area (but all are welcome, we have members as far away as Columbia, SC and Tennessee) with events in the counties of Western North Carolina and beyond. The wildlife and nature/landscape outings will range from native species in natural settings to non-native species that are in sanctuaries, zoos and other facilities that promote conservation and education. Animals will be treated with the upmost respect with safety and non-exploitation in mind. The primary goal is to support organizations that give great care and compassion to the animals in their facilities or support organizations that are involved in conservation or nature. We will also work with organizations on non-wildlife projects when the opportunities present themselves for Nature Photography outings, such as landscape photography, sunset or sunrise outings, etc. When working with organizations, they may request images from our outing to help their organization and cause. Members may do so if desired and it is strongly recommended. The idea of "Conservation Photography" is providing images to organizations so they can be used to help educate and raise awareness about conservation, environmental issues our the host venue.
While “Conservation Photography” will be the primary goal, the group will also work to advance the photography skills of all members with technical and artistic discussions via meetings and forums. Members will get out of this group only as much as they put into it. Your feedback on events you would like to see and leads on venues that we can visit are VERY important, please visit the forum and provide feedback if you have ideas or suggestions. I look forward to seeing those of you I know and meeting all the new members!!
Ethics (Updated 2/9/12)
Please review this video and article to understand the type of behavior that I will expect from members when dealing with any wildlife or nature setting.
http://www.thefreequark.com/2012/02/why-wildlife-photography-ethics-are-important/
http://www.thefreequark.com/quark-philosophy/
Thank you!!
Brian Hochmuth
Note: Going forward there will be a fee added for each paid event to cover pay pal fees, meetup.com subscription fees and other administration costs (name tags, business cards, domain registration, etc.). I want to be clear about the fee so everyone knows where the money is going.
Event Fee schedule:
Free Events, no fee.
Events fee is $1.00 for all paid events, or whatever the paypal fees are rounded up to the nearest dollar if it is more than $1.00.