One of the perks of my job is spending so much time outside and in the mountains. It's my happy place. Along with so many other people. And why wouldn't it be? So much beauty and nature and not to mention it's cooler! But you guys, we need to talk. We need to all collectively work on our canyon etiquette. Not behaving and thinking we are "above the rules" got us all in trouble up Little Cottonwood with Albion Basin. The wildflower bloom needed some serious R & R after years of people doing whatever they wanted. As a result it made it so hard to enjoy this year. There were so many rules added and actively being enforced that it scared away any clients that wanted to shoot up there, but didn't want to pay the permit fee. The Parks Service really started cracking down on photographers - and they should, as well as everyone else out there. You know the old saying, "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footsteps?" That's what we need to bring back to common knowledge. We all need to do better, as professionals, hobbyists, amateurs, hikers, etc. 

So how can we help preserve our forests and keep them open and available for us all to enjoy? I'm glad you asked. 

#1. STOP THROWING CONFETTI 

     This may seem like something dumb, but it is the number one thing I see out in the canyons when I'm shooting. People love confetti! It's so festive and fun and a great way to celebrate finding out the gender of your unborn child. But it needs to stop. If you really want the look of confetti flying all around you and making beautiful bokeh, book a studio. Below are some pictures from fellow photographers that happened upon confetti out in the wild. (Images curtesy of Mike Johnson, Carly Bingham and Eden Strader) 

Want to take a guess how long those stayed there? Not to sound like a hippie, but there are so many other alternatives to throwing confetti. Real leaves or flower petals, I've even seen people do sprinkles before, but the bottom line is, paper confetti does not belong in the canyon.

#2 STAY ON THE TRAILS

One of the biggest reasons that Albion Basin started requiring permits was to keep people on the trails. Too many people were starting their own trails and stepping on flowers and vegetation. Walking over and over again on a man made trail keeps plants from growing. You can kinda tell in the photo above that Eden Strader lent me, that all the plants are trampled down in wide path leading to the tree line. 

#3 DON'T PICK THE FLOWERS

I love a hand picked bouquet as much as the next person, but to put it bluntly - you pick the flowers, and they won't come back next year. The circle of life for that plant does not involve living out the rest of it's days on your kitchen counter. Not to mention, we need the flowers there for pollination and so everyone can enjoy them. These canyons we are so lucky to be blessed with have a looooot of visitors. If everyone "only picked one" there'd be none left for us all to enjoy.

Now that I'm off my soap box, I hope you'll help me spread the word and educate. Educating people is the only way we are going to preserve the canyons and keep them beautiful for us all to freely enjoy. Destroying nature is never worth the shot, and I don't want to see trampled pictures of flowers from people who, "did it for the 'gram." Lets just be respectful and take care of our earth.