Canon 1Ds II, f2.8 24-70mm lens, Robinson 22 helicopter.One of the interesting things around here lately is the number of requests coming through for stock photos of the Murray River dying. One from an international agency requested pictures of the river dry... but not from drought , rather it must be dry from over use of irrigation water. Now it must be difficult for international editors to understand that the Murray River isn't really a river in the true sense of the word. Rivers by nature ebb and flow. During rainy seasons more water flows down them, sometimes causing flooding. During dry periods the amounts of water flowing down them decreases to the point they sometimes stop running altogether.
The Murray River however, is managed more as an irrigation channel. During wet periods huge amounts of water are stored upstream in dams and river flows are tightly controlled to ensure that there are sufficient flows to meet irrigation, human and so called environmental flows. The stored water being released during dry times to ensure that these needs are still maintained. So that now even when water shortages are critical, river levels haven't change dramatically with all the dams and weirs doing their job. But if your an editor needing to illustrate the river in drought, the picture above which looks like a totally normal river, despite the fact that it is a recent shot of the Murray River near Mildura under drought conditions, is totally useless. You really need to show something graphic, like dry cracked river beds, or tree roots exposed by unusually low water levels, or dead or dying marine life.
That leaves me in a bit of a predicament. Do I continue to resist the temptation to fudge reality and start submitting images which although not factual, do illustrate the rivers situation? Or do I forgo the income and only submit images that are genuinely of the Murray as it is now? It's really easy to find some swamp that is currently dry, take a few shots and flog them off to buyers who probable don't care that much about truth anyway.
That my friends is the problem for me. I know a number of my competitors have elected to supply what the client wants. More stock images of the Murray River and it environs can be found here, and our good friend Paul Atkins has some new shots of the lower lakes of the Murray here.
The Murray River however, is managed more as an irrigation channel. During wet periods huge amounts of water are stored upstream in dams and river flows are tightly controlled to ensure that there are sufficient flows to meet irrigation, human and so called environmental flows. The stored water being released during dry times to ensure that these needs are still maintained. So that now even when water shortages are critical, river levels haven't change dramatically with all the dams and weirs doing their job. But if your an editor needing to illustrate the river in drought, the picture above which looks like a totally normal river, despite the fact that it is a recent shot of the Murray River near Mildura under drought conditions, is totally useless. You really need to show something graphic, like dry cracked river beds, or tree roots exposed by unusually low water levels, or dead or dying marine life.
That leaves me in a bit of a predicament. Do I continue to resist the temptation to fudge reality and start submitting images which although not factual, do illustrate the rivers situation? Or do I forgo the income and only submit images that are genuinely of the Murray as it is now? It's really easy to find some swamp that is currently dry, take a few shots and flog them off to buyers who probable don't care that much about truth anyway.
That my friends is the problem for me. I know a number of my competitors have elected to supply what the client wants. More stock images of the Murray River and it environs can be found here, and our good friend Paul Atkins has some new shots of the lower lakes of the Murray here.
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