Ulf;
Nice post, very well thought out. I, too, visit NPs almost exclusively
off-season. Far fewer people, less traffic, less frustration.
I envy your trip to those Aussie places you describe so well. Someday
perhaps I'll get there. There are places like this in the American
SouthWest where one can get out of the car or SUV and day hike or overnight
where there's not another soul and some of the most striking scenery I've
ever seen. And you'll stumble across thousand or more year old Anasazi
Indian structures, some very photogenic. Some still fairly intact, others
beaten down by the time and the elements or ripped apart by the
'Pot-Hunters' who, on foot I may add, ravaged all the structures they could
find, looking for ancient pottery to sell on the black market.
Photo note: A few years ago, myself and a friend had set up our view cameras
just off the road just North of Capitol Reef NP. There were some beautiful
clouds above the rock structures in the distance. But before we could trip
the shutter, one of our
"thankless government employees who keep our national treasures from
looking like Disneyland"
pulled over in his truck.
"Hey, what are you doing?" he says.
" We're taking photographs",says we, incredulous at the inanity of the
question.
"Do you have permits?"
"Huh, permits?"
"Yes, you need permits to photograph government land."
"Are you serious?"
"I can confiscate your equipment if you don't leave now."
Not wanting to argue with our helpful Park Ranger or the gun on his hip, we
packed up and left.
This is an absolutely true story. What makes it more unbelievable is that
*we weren't on the NP land, just photographing it from a distance.* I've
had similar, though less threatening occurences in Yosemite. I've learned
that you just need to tell them the photos are not for commercial use and
they'll usually let you alone. They've never approached me when I'm using
35mm, only 4x5.
George
>I've followed this thread with great interest as it addresses the maybe
most
>important issue we humans as a race are about to face; how to not only
>survive as our numbers are increasing, but to do it with some more or less
>wild areas left for both other species and ourselves to enjoy. And there
are
>no easy solutions to this.
>
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