Pledge of Ethics

• I am a naturalist first, artist second. If the two are ever in conflict, my love of nature always prevails. I would never make a photograph, no matter how beautiful, if doing so jeopardizes the welfare of my subjects, the environments I work in, sensitive flora or fauna, or the quality of experience of others sharing the place with me—whether they are human or non-human.

• I pride myself on being a creative artist. Creativity is defined as the production of novel (i.e., original) and useful products. As such, I never set out to copy another photographer’s work. I also don’t photograph common and already-familiar compositions. Alas, my own original works are often copied by other photographers without credit or attribution. If any image of mine reminds you of someone else’s, I am confident saying mine likely is the original.

• To protect the welfare of places and things that are important to me, and to protect (to the extent I can) the originality and uniqueness of my works, I do not disclose the locations of my images nor of places I know to be ecologically sensitive and/or where a visitor may still find solitude and peace. For the same reason, I can’t justify profiting from bringing clients or tours to such places.

• My photographs and writings aim to express authentic qualities of my experiences in natural places and my own skills as a writer and photographer. No part of any of my works is generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

• Out of respect for the welfare of wild creatures and for the experience of other people seeking peace in wild places, I never use drones or other noisy devices, nor artificial light sources, in my work.

• My public writings, teachings, recommendations, and opinions ensue from the ways I live, think, and work. To avoid any appearance of undue influence or impropriety, I do not accept monetary sponsorships from any individual or organization except for payments and donations offered freely in trade for, or to support my freely-produced work, without preconditions.

• I believe that art must be a product of personal expression, created according to an artist’s own sensibilities, ethics, and judgment. Beyond what minimal impositions may be required for an artist to earn a living, I believe that art should never be created with or influenced by the goal of complying with any externally imposed rules or to appease any judge. For this reason I never create my work with the goal of winning contests or other people’s approval. Also, for this reason, I am not—nor have any aspirations to become, or to present myself as—an “award winning” artist.

• I consider myself a professional artist in the sense that I make my living in art. I don’t believe that the designation “professional” should be considered as having any other useful meaning, especially as related to the quality of one’s artistic work. If I was independently wealthy or had other sources of income, I would gladly give up the professional aspects of my work.

• As a creative artist, I believe it is my job to create—to bring new things into existence and to enlarge the living experience of those who view my work beyond just showing them what they could or would have seen themselves without my contribution. While I believe absolutely that recording the beauty of the natural world—as it is and as a random person may see it—is an eminently important and satisfying use for photography, to me it is not art.

• At times, I alter my original captures deliberately intending to make the locations I work in difficult or impossible to identify. This is not a creative choice but an ethical one. During my career I have seen natural places diminished significantly, even destroyed, by excessive visitation, and often by careless or overzealous photographers chasing after trophies. To be absolutely clear: what these photographers do is not what I do. I would rather alter the appearances of my photographs than to put the places I love—their natural character, their importance as viable wildlife habitats, and the (wild, solitary) experiences they enable—at risk.

• The purpose of my artistic work is to enrich my life and to enable me to live in the most meaningful way I can: to elevate the qualities of my own experiences and to repay the favors I receive from fellow humans by way of offering whatever inspiration and enlightenment I am able to, to those who may find value in my work. As such, considerations of a legacy are beyond my concern. Whether I or my work are deemed worth remembering beyond my years, is for others to decide, and have no bearing on how or why I practice my work.

—Guy Tal

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