I know how important it is to recreate responsibly. As an aerial, portrait, and landscape photographer, the majority of my sessions take place outdoors!

In the United States, we have the privilege of being close to awe-inspiring public lands. National and State Parks, National Forests, Wilderness Areas, and BLM lands are all attractive locations. We are incredibly lucky to have such beautiful options front and center or as backdrops for our sessions.

You may have noticed a change to the landing page of my website. It now includes a badge certifying me as an official Leave No Trace Aware photographer! I recently completed an in-depth course from the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics and it was well worth taking part in.

I’m happy to share why, of course. In short, I want to ensure that my business practices help (not hurt) the beautiful locations I love to shoot!

You may not know this but I previously worked with an environmental consulting company. I took great pride in my work as both a technical writer and an FAA Part 107 certified Unmanned Aerial Systems Pilot as part of the position. Suffice it to say, environmental advocacy is important to me!

If you want to learn how to recreate responsibly, Leave No Trace has some fantastic resources on their website at https://lnt.org/. They even put together an online awareness course – Take Action to Protect the Outdoors! The course can be completed in 30 minutes to an hour, depending on your pace. It’s an effective way to learn how we can care for and help conserve the outdoor locations we love.

Ready to dive deeper into the discussion? The National Parks Service and other organizations have additional resources available! Check out Plan Your Visit/Tips for National Parks and #RecreateResponsibly!