As outdoor recreation areas become more crowded, the adverse effects on the landscape become more evident. Landscape photographers can help set the example by practicing Nature First Principles while we are out in nature photographing these beautiful scenes.

Are you a landscape photographer? Are you familiar with the Nature First Principles? If not, you should be. As landscape photographers, we are in the public’s eye more than most. We can help set the example to help protect our natural environment through our actions. 

In 2019, a group of nature photographers formed the Nature First organization and established a set of seven principles to prioritize the protection of nature. Practicing landscape photographers should familiarize themselves with these principles, lead by example, and help spread knowledge of these principles through their friends and workshops they might lead. 

There are seven principles to the Nature First approach for your photography.

Prioritize Nature Over Photography

When approaching a photography scene, remember to prioritize nature over your photograph. This might mean not going into a sensitive area, even if the best angle for the photo is there. It might mean honoring a rule or regulation for the area you are photographing in. Whatever the situation, always prioritize the well-being of nature over getting the shot.

Learn About the Areas You Photograph

Take time to educate yourself about the areas you photograph in. Learning more about an area often gives you more insight as to why there are certain restrictions. From sensitive plants to cryptobiotic soil, there are often science-based reasons you should avoid hiking off-trail or disturbing certain areas of nature. Learning about these areas helps keep you safe and explain to others why the area is protected.

Think About the Impact of Your Actions

It is always good to pause and think about the impact of your actions. From the damage your actions may take to the example it may set for others, stop and take a moment to think about your impact on the environment around you. If your action could lead to harm — going off trail, climbing a fence, moving a rock — rethink your action and make a choice that does not cause the area potential harm.

Don’t Share Locations

Be very cautious if sharing locations and seriously consider not sharing locations. As landscape photographers, we like to go out and photograph amazing scenes. But, before you share the location, take a moment to think about the infrastructure around that location. Can it handle crowds of people, cars, foot traffic, etc.? If not, don’t share the location, as it can lead to an adverse impact on areas that are not ready for a high volume of visitors.

Follow the Rules

Part of being a responsible landscape photographer is knowing the rules of the areas you visit. This can range from hours of visitation, to acceptance of off-trail hiking, to whether flying a drone is permitted or not. 

Take the time to familiarize yourself with the rules and regulations of an area you visit and follow those rules. They have likely been put in place to protect the area we want to photograph for future visitors. Don’t be the one breaking the rules, be the one setting the example.

Leave No Trace

Even with all of the above, leave no trace! When you leave a location, it should look like you were never there. Don’t leave trash, don’t leave markings, and don’t damage the area. 

In fact, do better, and if you see trash out on the trail, pick it up and help leave an area better than you found it! As visitor numbers increase, I continue to see more and more trash left behind by the multitudes not practicing leave no trace principles. Lead by example.

Educate Others

Again, lead by example. Help educate the friends you go out practicing landscape photography with, and teach your workshop clients these Nature First Principles. As people who spend a significant amount of time outdoors, we have a unique opportunity to help guide others and teach these principles newer generations may have yet to learn. 

I strive to practice Nature First principles on all of my outings. I even include key principles in my workshop informational emails leading up to my landscape photography workshops and during the course of a workshop.

If you want to learn more about the Nature First Principles, you can read about them on their website. I encourage all landscape photographers to practice the principles and be an example when outdoors practicing landscape photography.

The route to Benjamin Rinenbach’s career was not direct, even though photography has been a lifelong passion.

“I’ve always been fascinated by photography,” said Rinenbach, 46, an award-winning Rancho Bernardo photographer. “Since I was a kid, before I could read, I was looking at ‘National Geographic’ magazines, fascinated by the pictures.”

Throughout his life, in the military, working in construction and as a firefighter/paramedic, Rinenbach said he always took photos with whatever camera he had, be it a point-and-shoot or smartphone. But it was not until six years ago that on a whim he decided to pursue photography seriously.

“A spinal fusion and a drunken late night camera purchase on eBay changed his path forever,” he wrote on his website, rinenbachphotography.com.

This photo by Benjamin Rinenbach is called “4 minutes at Sunset Cliffs.”

(Benjamin Rinenbach)

That path is taking him this weekend to the San Diego Convention Center, where Rinenbach will be among the 95 exhibitors representing hundreds of artists from around world at the 15th annual Art San Diego fair.

Rinenbach plans to exhibit around 20 photos, ranging from 12-inch square to 30-by-40-inch images. Last year, he won Art San Diego’s “Best Solo Exhibitor” award during his debut at the event.

“It was a nice shot in the arm, overwhelming,” Rinenbach said about his award. “I am extremely humbled and appreciative of it.”

Art San Diego is organized by the Redwood Art Group, which holds contemporary art and design fairs across the United States. In addition to the exhibits, the event will feature art labs that provide interactive experiences. The fair has also partnered with Monarch School, Humble Design and Arts District Liberty Station. Artwork purchased through this partnership will benefit downtown San Diego’s Monarch School, which educates elementary through high school students who are homeless.

A self-taught photographer, Rinenbach’s inspirations are photographers Edward Curtis and Ansel Adams, along with film directors John Ford and Sergio Leone.

The Chicago native said during the early parts of his life he lived “a predominately left-brain existence.” This included being a skateboarder, gymnast and “secretly” writing poems while serving as an Army infantryman and working in construction. A back injury six years ago while firefighting in Chicago ended his 12-year career as a firefighter/paramedic.

During his recovery he started pursuing his right-brain creative side.

“I wanted to explore and experiment with the artistic side of myself,” Rinenbach said. “I have fallen in love with it.”

His preference is for black-and-white photography: “I find color to be distracting. I like shadows, shapes, contours and contrasts. I find no benefit of those in color. I love looking at black-and-white. It is emotive and suiting to my eyes. It is interesting to my eyes.”

Benjamin Rinenbach took this photo at Joshua Tree National Park. He calls it “Josh at Dusk.”

(Benjamin Rinenbach)

Three years ago Rinenbach, his wife Christa, who grew up in Scripps Ranch, and their now 15-year-old son, Ben, and 13-year-old daughter, Cam, moved to Rancho Bernardo. Leaving Chicago, where the couple met, and moving to San Diego to be closer to his wife’s family was something they had wanted to do for a long time, he said.

Since moving here, Rinenbach said he has found lots of creative inspiration. He calls most of his photos “desert and coastal noir,” so he has many options within a short drive. Taking photos of the Pacific Ocean and San Diego’s coastal areas is a given for local photographers, he said, but some of his favorite spots are in San Diego’s desert.

“For me, to have the ability to be in a place where I can look at the horizon in any direction and there is nobody between in that chunk of the world, but yourself, the critters and clouds … there is great peace. It is humbling. There is nothing man-made. It is just mother nature in any direction.”

His favorite lighting is overcast. He said he often does long exposures, letting the lens stay open from two to eight minutes.

“The cloud cover or water collaborates with you … with the clouds you do not have any blown-out highlights from the sun, which is too harsh,” he said. “It is just natural filtered light that provides great photo opportunities.”

Rinenbach said he enjoys the process, which requires him to be patient and slow down. “I can’t wander away, so I am forced to be patient and enjoy the scene before me. It is about more than a cool snapshot, but the process for me.”

This photo by Benjamin Rinenbach is “4 minutes at Cabrillo.”

(Benjamin Rinenbach)

Rinenbach’s daughter Cam sometimes accompanies him on his photography road trips that may have no set destination. He stops when inspiration strikes.

“My daughter is very invested in it, has a decent camera and gear, and explores with me,” he said. “Not long from now she will be a far superior photographer than I am.”

He did not start out doing landscape photography. Initially, he took whatever jobs he could get, which is why he has several photos of ballet dancers on his website. He started working with a ballet company in Chicago, which led to him not only photographing the dancers, but their families who liked his experimental and artistic style.

“I loved it,” Rinenbach said about working with the dancers. “I figured that work was not too far astray, very emotive and high contrast … it was a good fit for my style.”

Even now, when creating some of his visual arts pieces that often incorporate multiple levels of glass with his photography, he will overlay a photo of a dancer with a landscape scene to create a new image.

“It is other worldly,” Rinenbach said of the final image.

Benjamin Rinenbach took this 4-minute long exposure of the Ocean Beach pier. He calls it “Oceanic Shavasana.”

(Benjamin Rinenbach)

Rinenbach said he enjoyed exhibiting his work at last year’s Art San Diego and that it led to several commissions for him. For example, he was hired by San Diego biotech company Illumina to help decorate its building. He contributed work that incorporated acrylic and wood with his photography and was involved in the installation’s coordination so all the artwork complements the building’s design.

Some of his mixed-media is 3D photography sculptures that weigh 50 to 100 pounds due to the multiple layers of glass.

Art San Diego

Hours: Noon to 5 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Where: San Diego Convention Center, Hall E, 111 W. Harbor Drive, Downtown

Tickets: $10-$30 (parking not included)

Online: redwoodartgroup.com/art-san-diego

Himchak writes for the U-T Community Press.

At MoMA, her images of Vietnam, the American South and the California desert show the vanishing line between boot camp and theater, fiction and truth. They are tour-de-force beautiful.